muhammad ali vs larry holmes

Ali during rumble in the jungle, via his own admission, wasn't in great condition. Ergo he tried to dance as little as he could in the later rounds

I'll take Holmes via decision here

 

Ali was in fantastic shape by the time the fight came around, aided by the change of dates. He was almost 33 and no longer the pre-exile Ali is all. He stayed in his own little village, had his own cooks and didn't have the distractions of ice cream, sex and the press demand he had in America. his camp was very simple, very dedicated and distraction free.

This would be a tight fight with Ali past his best and Holmes peak. Holmes youth would certainly bridge the gap between them. Ali had also beaten Frazier in 74 and tho declined was still fighting at a high level. It was immediately after Foreman when he let his weight go and tapered off. Ali close decision or toss a coin for me.

 

He was in great shape.

 

Ali of Zaire was in incredible shape and was punching with power for the first time in years. This was the time period I visited his permanent camp at Deer Lake Pa. A local hwt who I knew was Ali’s sparring partner which allowed me to visit often.

Ali chose to fight more staticky because:

1). Thickly padded ring canvas killed Ali’s legs during round 1. He knew that dancing would only exhaust him and quickly.

2) George was quicker than Ali anticipated.

3). Ali was moving 4-5 steps to George’s 2. At this rate alone Ali knew he would tire before Foreman.

 

The Ali of 1974 would beat Holmes via U 15 round decision or late round TKO.

 

Holmes beats any version of Ali from the 70s

 

Can I get a source on this?

 

I believe “The Fight”.

 

Doug Fischer -

Ali’s original fight plan was to move constantly, use his quicker hands to beat Foreman to the punch and extend the fight to exploit Foreman’s questionable stamina. Although his stick-and-move tactics won Ali the opening round, his surroundings and his opponent’s tactics demanded a dramatic shift in strategy.

First, Ali realized the heavily padded canvas would deaden his legs long before the end of the scheduled 15-rounder. Second, if the canvas didn’t drain his gas tank the oppressive heat and humidity – both of which were in the 80s even at 4 a.m. – would. Finally, Foreman proved himself quite adept at cutting off the ring, which meant Ali would expend more energy getting to his escape routes than Foreman would by blocking them.

 

Ring Magazine Oct 30 2014:

“First, Ali realized the heavily padded canvas would deaden his legs long before the end of the scheduled 15-rounder.”

 

Had no clue about this. Wladimir used the same strategy against Fury. Thanks for educating me

 

Thanks for having an open mind. Would you believe i read this stuff as a kid in high school lol. Bit sad that i remember so much of it. There was a sports book with great sporting events and it had a big segment on Ali - Foreman. Covered the canvas, ropes, George cutting the ring and all the rest of it. I love this fight - what an event.

To be fair we also have to remember George's training was hampered by his cut too. He was in top shape and then couldn't run for a bit and sparring was off limits for some time. In that time Ali whipped himself into even better shape.