Anyone else think Ali's knockout of Foreman was an early stoppage?

I think that the commentator took up the count a trifle slowly which made it sound like an early one. If George had managed to get up off the floor by the count of ten,one of two scenarios would have played out -

1/ George would have been stopped by a rampaging Ali as soon as the ninth began.
2/ As George would have been a befuddled mess in between rounds,his corner would have pulled him out.

 

You can time the amount of time he was down and he was down for 10 seconds. Not sure how that qualifies as wayyyy to premature...

 

“The champ got a short count” was on the cover of magazines - A second fight was worth a lot of money too. You’ve got to sell a rematch somehow.

 

It might’ve helped sell a rematch for an uncompetitive fight.

 

Where in the rule book does it say that a fighter has to be down longer than Tyson Fury was against Deontay Wilder in order for it not to be a long count? Tyson Fury wasnt even born when this fight took place so please tell me why the events of his fight with Wilder should have any impact on the outcome of Ali-Foreman.

Its not the count that matters, its the referee's discretion. If the referee looks into the eyes of a fighter and deems him unable to continue thats it. Fights over. And this fighter was down for ten seconds regardless of what Bob Sheriden, who was not the referee or the timekeeper, was counting. Foreman was exhausted and punch drunk going down and you dont whether he was rubbery legged or glassy eyed when he got up because A. you werent there and B. the cameras cut away from him to watch Ali go celebrate in his corner. Nevermind the fact that Foreman walked meekly back to his corner after being counted out WITHOUT so much as a question to the referee about why he stopped it.

 

The count was a perfect 10 - meaning an actual 10 seconds. It might’ve seemed fast due to the majority of counts being a bit longer than an actual 10 seconds.

That’s not to say Foreman’s rising and the toll of “10” were not very close - they were. Here’s the problem with the acceptance of real time variances of counts from one ref to another.

If Zack Clayton tolled a real time 12 seconds, George beats the count - the round was almost over - 2 secs to go I think - so Foreman then gets the 1 minute rest period.

One doesn’t have to argue whether that would’ve made a difference to the outcome - personally I don’t think so, though Ali was tiring himself as he later admitted - therefore he put the pedal to the metal to put George out.

 

He looked mostly terrible, especially the last couple of rounds. He'd connect but then Ali would snap the crap out of him.

I highly suggest watching that last round, Ali literally made him into the mummy he described him as beforehand. Ali looked fresh.

He went down for 10. That's a knockout.

 

To me it was a bull**** stoppage.

 

Ali could have hit one more time as he was going down. After all George hit Joe in the head with his back turned when they fought in Kingston.

 

I always thought it was a tad quick but his gloves may have been still touching the canvas when he said 10. Back then they counted pretty fast

 

If you compare this count to the count of Tyson Fury, in the fights with Wilder, then this count is fast. Comparing through every perspective this count is fast. In the first fight Fury Vs. Wilder 1 Fury rose to 9, and in the fight Fury Vs. Wilder 3 Fury's count is too slow compared to Foreman's.

 

Good point. Ali did hold back on another punch - and it was captured perfectly in a still photograph - the left hand cocked and ready to go as I recall.

One might speculate that it was merciful.

However, I read a description in a boxing magazine that I thought was spot on - saying Ali held back because he didn’t want to spoil the aesthetics and effects of the preceding punches.

As it was, it was a “pretty” knock out so to speak - and Foreman’s descent, spiralling toward the canvas was the cherry on top.

Another punch might’ve spoiled the “artistic” way George fell to the deck.

Just a side note - George was very good at cutting off the ring - but to assess his success in that regard in Zaire is problematic - since the canvas was soft and the ring very small.

Ali had to contend with and adapt to the those two disadvantages/factors as well as dealing with the raging Foreman coming at him.