If Ali had won the Fight of the Century, and George Foreman had ended up fighting him as a contender, how do you suppose the fight would have played out? Would Ali have taken him as seriously as he did in the Rumble in the Jungle? At that point, Ali was more than aware of Foreman's formidable punching power and ring cutting abilities, and didn't take him for a fool. Everybody thought Frazier would beat Foreman in their first bout, so...
I really believe it would have been the same result as by 1974 Ali was 32, and by then his abilities would have diminished. He would have still invented Rope A Dope, as in his comeback he used the ropes in sparring. His 1967 form was long gone.
good thread Its hard to say. Maybe Ali would have underestimated Foreman. Then again its very hard to see Ali getting stopped/tko'd. So how would Foreman have won? Is he going to tko Ali? Maybe but extremely unlikely. Is he going to outpoint him over 15 rounds? No. Ali still had fast hands and too much skill, and Foreman lacked endurance. IMO Ali would have taken a beating in the first 5-6 rounds, much worse than he actually did in the Rumble. He would have survived and then stopped Foreman late, maybe around round 12. I do think Ali would have taken much more punishment and it would have had a greater negative effect on his longevity had he underestimated Foreman. However, Ali is too durable to be stopped.
