Let's say that by the 70 s , Title fight s were scheduled for 20 round s .Now if that were the case , then in the FOTC , would we be looking at Ali's first loss ..by stoppage ? Could Muhammad have survived another 5 round s verse the machine called Joe Frazier ??
20 rounds may well have helped Ali. A slower fight would have suited his style more. Few can press like Frazier for 15, even less for 20.
Frazier stops him. The writing was on the wall starting in rd 11. Sure Ali had some brief moments after that but the writing was on the wall.
I'm gonna go with this .Ali ,was so battered in that 15 th that I can't see him getting through another 5 . Whenever his corner stopped it or he was actually stopped by the ref but he was in a world of pain .
Different strategys would have been needed. I suspect this helps Ali a lot, maybe enough to turn the result of the fight... But with a gun to my head I would still go for Frazier by decision.
If you extended a fight that originally took place while it was a 15 round fight I guarantee it would not be an exact replay round by round with extra rounds onwards. The fighters would most likely employ a much different strategy and slower pace in order to go the full 20 rounds.
Probably so but I can still see Joe ramping it up once he feels Ali getting tired.And with the layoff affecting him ,Ali's legs will def be going over 20 Rounds .
Ali was badly hurt win round 11, and floored in round 15. Frazier still wins here, and might even stop him. He had plenty of steam left. If the Ali vs Norton 1 was 15 rounds, Norton might have won via TKO as Ali was hurting.
Ali has to win at least 4 rounds just for the draw, so unless you think he’s going to knock Frazier out, which seems like an even more ridiculous proposition of him winning 4 of the last 5, there is no argument for him winning on this night. Frazier UD
