How does Ali from the rematch with Norton fare against prime Frazier and Foreman?

He would have held less in the FOTC and his detractors would do less complaining. He beats Big George, albeit in a more conventional way.

 

The Foreman fight would work out in similar way to the real fight that Muhammad and George had in Zaire.
The Frazier one is much the harder one to call. If Muhammad can keep away from the ropes most of the time,and keeps the battle in the centre of the ring then he beats Joe by a very close margin. But if he allows Joe to bull him towards the ropes at regular intervals then it'll be Frazier who wins a close battle.

The Ali who beat Ken in September 1973 was a better version than the FOTC incarnation.

 

No chance.

 

Foreman could perhaps beat Ali if Ali took Frazier’s place in Kingston, that is, over-confident & not really regarding Foreman as terribly dangerous. He lost to Norton under similar circumstances I could see him getting knocked out by Foreman.

 

Muhammad had n't really lost any more hand or footspeed in bewtween FOTC and second Norton bout 30 months later. Plus he was sharper and had more confidence in his stamina. He did n't lose any more speed until after 1974 in my opinion.

 

I would consider the best Foreman to be one trained by Clancy or the early 90s one. I think any version of Ali would have his hands full with either of those more disciplined versions. If he fought the Jamaica Foreman, it would be same as Zaire, Ali would throw straight punches, beat GF to the punch, make him lose his composure, tire him out, then knock him out.

A well trained Joe Frazier would probably always beat Ali.

 

Ali looked excellent in the second Norton fight, but he couldn't have beaten FOTC Frazier imo.

He probably would have beat George, though.

 

I think Ali wins both of the fights.

I know Joe Frazier is beloved and that people think there's never been a greater heavyweight than him in FOTC, and he was always going to be a tough outing for Ali because of his personal animus against the man that drove him past the already significant heat he could bring in the ring. But I think Ali at the end of the day was his superior as a fighter, and I like an Ali who's sharp, motivated and the ring dust off him to win the fight.

And the exact opposite could happen as well LOL ...

 

I'll say this. Foreman and Frazier would've both beaten the Ali of the first Norton bout and they wouldn't have needed a split decision to do so.

 

Agree 100%! FOTC Frazier was a man possessed--he wasn't going to lose that night--period!!

 

He was always going to be a tough out, styles make fights and all. I would argue Ali fought a stupid fight the first time, kind of like Sugar Ray Leonard's first bout with Duran. Ali made the proper adjustments for their second fight. He had already lost quite a bit by 1974. He could have employed the same strategy in the FOTC with less holding.

 

I don’t think it was Ali who’d lost “quite a bit” by ‘74.

 

Ali definitely cleaned up his act for the 2nd Norton.