Did Ali of 1974 have Foremans number?

ABSO****INGLUTELY. Everyone should watch the fight again. Ali wasn't just rope-a-doping Foreman, he was beating him in every exchange, out-speeding him and schooling him in counterpunching. Ali was Foreman's worst nightmare.

 

Pretty much.

Revisionist history is a pet peeve of mine, and there's not many better examples than this myth of how Ali only won because he tired Foreman out, as if it was like Homer Simpson in that one episode. Ali was landing the cleaner blows throughout the fight, although he certainly took his share of body shots.

 

y****inges.

 

Yep. In particular, it was that fast straight right hand that would beat Foreman every time. I think that was Foreman's biggest problem against Young as well: given a confident fast counter-puncher who would always land first, Foreman just couldn't find a way to win.

Any Ali (other than when he was way past his best) beats any version of Foreman. Styles make fights.

 

D dumber Foreman was d best . Would have beaten Ali in normal weather & ring . Probably by stoppage .

 

That night...Foreman fought one of the dumbest fights I've ever seen...

 

Ali would have beaten Foreman,hands down,in an early rematch,no matter what tactics George attempted to use. A 1976/77 fight would have been harder for Muhammad but he'd still have stood a great chance of pulling it off,imo.

 

It was the only way that George knew how to fight. It was the self same Foreman who'd beaten Norton and Frazier. It's just that George came across an Ali who was basicaly a force of nature on the night that they fought. Plus,Ali's genius at improvising.

 

I am not sure sure you could say Ali had his number, he had a great game plan and practiced it in the ring to perfection.

 

Ah......the weather factor,yet again.

Two words for you,and the second one is MAXIM !

 

Another 2 words and d 2nd is YOUNG !!

But d weather factor had d lesser effect on d outcome , d most decisive factor was d ropes .
It doesn't matter if Ali didn't rope a dope all d time , it is enough that he did it and it is what saved him in that fight . He had a place 2 hide in and he exploited it . And it is even not as if it was a coincidence that d ropes were d way they were , not that a coincidence is something that allows people to deduce such things such as Ali had Foreman's # .
Ali had no1's # . Not Doug Jones' , not Henry Cooper's , not Joe Frazier's , not Ken Norton's , not Jimmy Young's and not George Foreman's .

 

IMO Foreman just could never have beaten Ali, he was Foreman's bane, a tall, fast, strong, boxer. Who stood up to him, for one Ali didnt seem afraid of him, he could clinch George cause he was strong enough, and talk trash to him. Then after the clinch when Foreman finally broke it, BAM! Ali would beat him too the punch everytime.

 

"It was n't the African weather......it was the Ali LEATHER"

Well,for someone who had NOBODY'S number,Muhammad did n't have that bad a career,all things considered

 

Great summary,Guy :good