Did the Rumble In The Jungle decide who the greatest of all time would be?

If Foreman had destroyed Ali like he did Frazier, he probably would be considered the GOAT.

 

Absolutely.

 

I'd say so.

I wonder, if Ali came back and beat him in the rematch....?

 

The general perception of Ali changed dramatically after the fight. Although he still had his detractors he now had much less of them. He was given keys to cities and invited to the White House.

 

Possibly.

I don't think Foreman would fight for much longer though. He was getting increasingly disillusioned and tired of boxing.

 

Strong case for it either way - either Foreman had decisively beaten the three top guys of his era and stood unbeaten on his throne, or Ali (who was almost entirely written off as a loss waiting to happen) came back from the virtual dead and did the unthinkable; killed the giant killer.

 

That depends; would a win over 74 Ali be enough to make George the GOAT? It would certainly elevate him to the top 3, but idk if I'd put him above Ali and Louis.

 

I'm in a minority that ranks Joe Louis #1 at HW, though I can easily see Ali at 1. Those 2 are quite some way clear of the rest, imo.

If Foreman had beaten Ali then, be it immediately after that fight or assuming every other fight proceeded as it actually did in his career, he'd still rank below Louis for me. Louis would become a clear #1 in my mind (rather than him or Ali for GOAT at HW being a toss up) & would probably be the #1 in most people's lists.

In fact, assuming the rest of both Foreman's and Ali's careers proceeded as they did in reality, Ali would still rank ahead of Foreman, imo, on account of the fact he'd still have a substantially deeper win resume and the Foreman loss would have been a post exile past prime version of Ali.

 

If Foreman demolished Ali twice, like he did Frazier, then retired, he'd probably be universally recognized as #1.

 

That would be three HUGE scalps: Norton, Frazier, and Ali. I have to agree.

That said, iif Foreman didn't retire, Holmes would have beaten him in 78 anyway. Just my opinion.

 

Why? No one give the 30 something Ali a chance before the fight. Just about everybody picked Foreman to stop him so why would doing what everybody thought at the time would have happened suddenly makes those boxing people then suddenly call Foreman the greatest of all time? Back then people probably still thought Louis, Marciano, an Dempsey as the greatest heavyweights ever

 

I think I agree with that. The slightly younger juggernaut incarnation of Foreman, man, I don't know, Holmes could be too brave for his own good, but once Foreman started to fade a little, I do think Holmes could have taken him.

 

Ok, you do have a point there. I think I forgot Ali was the underdog there.

 

Actually, if he fought Jimmy Young before that......