Right people, how do you see a rematch going between these guys, lets give it a year after the Rumble in the Jungle and both fighters sign to fight again. Does Foreman fight smarter and beat Ali? Or does Ali's superb boxing skill and intelligence prevail again? Opinions...
Ali wins every time. Rematch - Foreman paces himself better and does not fall into the rope a dope as much, lasts more rounds, but still gets stopped in rounds 10-15. Ali simply had too much speed, hit George too easily, and had the defense to make George miss and get frustrated. Even in his prime, George was never a late rounds fighter, and Ali would make him fight hard in the late rounds.
In a rematch, Muhammad would have gotten George in a faster, larger ring, one he could dance in without his legs getting tired (not that he would have bothered dancing much). Foreman was already convinced he couldn't knock Muhammad out. George actually didn't fight that poorly in Kinshasa, hammering the exposed left side of Ali's body with his hardest rights, but to no avail. Nor did George possess the handspeed and straight punching needed to successfully go toe-to-toe with Muhammad in mid ring. George might have gone the distance with Ali in a rematch, but in pacing himself to do so, he would lose a very lopsided decision. If they had met again though, I think it's more likely Ali stops him in the championship rounds.
Agreed, i'd prolly think Foreman should get the distance in tho a late stoppage is possible. I don't believe Foreman can win, Ali can take plenty of his shots and even if George paces himself Ali will just outbox him over the duration.
Ali would probably have sticked and moved a bit more. Even if he did hit the canvas during the early-mid rounds, no doubt he'd have come back. While Foreman did have a solid jab, it was not nearly as quick and sharp as Ali's. So winning a jabbing contest from the outside, Foreman comes off second best.
Those loose ropes were part of the reason that it worked the first time. Foreman had to stand in the second row among the spectators to be able to fire any shots at Ali's head. Takes nothing away from Ali's win, it still took someone of his boxing genius to take full advantage of the circumstances as they presented themselves.
Foreman was inactive for about 2 years after he fought Ali, and went into a deep depression. Don't think a rematch was on his mind at all. Understandable, after hitting Ali so many times against the ropes with no result gained for his efforts.
The range of opinions expressed on this forum is what makes it so damn interesting! I would never have even suggested this thread, assuming that we all would have agreed that the psychologically broken Foreman could do no better than the first fight, and would probably have done worse.
Foreman called Ali out for a rematch from late 1975. He was inactive for about 14 months after Zaire. Hardly a week went by without George asking for a rematch, Ali always had an excuse "I will, after two more fights" etc. George was #1 mandatory contender throughout almost all of Ali's reign- until the Young defeat. He was dropped slightly due to inactivity in the Summer of 1975, when Frazier became Mandatory until Manila. After that he was installed as #1 again. Still, no fight (despite him being the biggest name out there and being voted Fighter of the Year for 1976).
Ali was a magician, but I do believe a re-match in the United States would produce a different fight. The out door heat expedited Foremans lack of stamina. The hostile crowd ate away at Foremans psyche, but it armored Ali. Ali was on a virtual holy mission to defeat Foreman. A cut limited Foreman's sparring. The loose ropes greatly aided Alis rope-a-dope tactics. If the fight was indoors in an air conditioned building. If the crowd was more neutral. If Foreman didn't get cut in camp or had months to heal. If the Ropes didn't sag and allow Ali to lean back from Foremans punches..... All of the X factors in 1974 went Ali's way. A re-match a year later means Foreman would be hungry, and Ail would be older and slower without the above advantages. Ali gave Norton, Frazier, Cooper, and Liston re-matches, but Foreman never got one. I think Ali and his management understood the conditions for an upset were perfect in the jungle.
