The twist in the tale is there is no Joe frazier but foreman in his time line. Turns pro same time as Joe, meets exactly same opponents. Chuvalo, Oscar, Ellis, buster. How's those fights going. We no what happens with chuvalo granted. Then the big one. Fotc how does the comeback ali do against foreman. This is no rumble in the jungle, this is a ali just two fights in to the comeback. Is it a forgone conclusion that Ali beat s George every time? And to make it interesting if he beats ali he meets a young undefeated frazier!?
Evening Fergs. Nice thread again. How's this for a scenario? George does as he did. Blows away the opposition easily up to 71 including all the names you mentioned as well as Jerry Quarry. Bob Foster doesn't take the bout and nor does Dave Z. Seemingly invincible, he gets psyched by the hype around FotC and gasses between rounds 8 and 12. Has a year out and in early 73 meets the new champ Joe Frazier who outpointed Ali in a classic. This Joe is damaged goods from the classic with Ali and George is able to jump on him and blast away with wide swings and uppercuts, repeatedly knocking Frazier down until the ref stops it in the second. It could have happened, you know. It could have happened.
Alright edd. Yes mate that sounds very plausible. Kind of what I had in mind to.. As usual u come up with a cracking good answer!
Then he goes on to beat Norton who had beaten a comebacking Ali, a couple of gimmes and then signs for the rematch with Ali, in Zaire in late 74. You probably know where I'm going with this, don't you?
Very interesting premise! First of all, by facing the fighters Frazier faced, George would acquire experience and seasoning that he lacked in his own actual early development. While always strong and powerful, he needed fights that would take him into later rounds and push his endurance. An Oscar Bonavena might not go out in two rounds - he just might take George the distance in a hard fight. Jerry Quarry and Jimmy Ellis would be good tests. I believe that George, like Frazier, would go into the FOTC undefeated, and maybe he breezes through all those opponents as well. Much would depend on whether this version of George can go the full fifteen. I won't say that I would pick him to win FOTC, but I do believe that he would be better prepared than he was in Zaire, despite not having faced Frazier and Norton yet. And Ali would not have been as battle-ready as he was in Zaire, making for a most interesting match-up.
Can certainly see the logic behind that, JW. Frazier's championship opposition did present George with great opportunities for learning his trade without huge risk and that's a good point about Ali gaining seasoning, too. The question is would Ali's legs ca 1971 have enabled him to achieve what the seasoning and guile he gained between 71 and 74 allowed him to do in Zaire, albeit in completely different fashion? I say, yes. He could build points, rest and, if needed, he showed vs Bonavena and Frazier that he was already tough enough to get through rocky periods. He was just a better boxer than George at this point and could have kept those rocky periods to a relative minimum. I wonder, taking your point about Ali getting battle-ready leading up to Zaire, how it would have panned out in the real world had these two met in 73 when George won the title. At this point, Ali's legs were going but he may not have honed his alternative defence strategy where ring smarts and endurance replaced elusiveness to the point it was at in Zaire in 74. This might have been the absolute best time for Foreman to have fought Ali. What do you think?
Good answers from u guys. I always wondered if the circumstances were different as to when ali met foreman, it would have been a different result. There's always this point that some say frazier would always give Ali tough fight s but he would always have beaten foreman. But what percentage of that was due to the location and timing. If George was meeting a ali for instance in fotc would it be possible for foreman to take that. Is it set in stone that when ever or where ever these two meet foreman would always end up on the canvas looking up at Ali?
Muhammad would always have beaten George circa 1970-75,imo. Around '71 he may not have done it so emphatically,though,for reasons printed above.
