Bowe`s size and reach may have been too, he would have also have landed a lot of hooks, I`d pick Bowe on points, but Ali was pretty good in rematches and Bowe had a very poor defense.
The best version of Ali in the 70s the one who looked sharp and had movement for the entire duration of a fight aka Norton 2 would out point Bowe. Bowe didn't look good vs fighters who fought him on the outside just look at the fight vs a past it Tubbs.
Depends largely on the part of the decade we’re talking about from 1970 to 1974 I’d make Ali a heavy favorite to win a decision. From 1975 onward it’s much closer
Ali '74 outpoints Bowe of '92. Ali still has the speed to confuse and keep Bowe off balance,and he's canny enough to smother/avoid Riddick's inside work.
This. The Ali of Zaire was still a supernaturally resourceful, intelligent, adaptable fighter with a great heart. Bowe does some damage for sure; his left hook would knock sweat off Ali's head more than a few times. But he just got hit way too much. I can see Bowe eating the lead right, getting aggravated/foiled when he tries to stay inside. And let's not forget Ali's humiliating mental tactics, he'll be trying to make Bowe feel like the tiniest piece of whale-dung on the bottom of the ocean. Ali was REEEEALLL good at that. Bowe is drunker than Zaire Foreman by the 8th round, Ali is pot-shotting him with the right. A left hook used as follow up to a missed right lead drops Bowe, who gets up and gets picked apart until the ref stops it. Ali himself isn't looking too good at the end, he ate more jabs and hooks than he should have, and was staggered twice. If a trilogy started at this point on, Bowe would unanimously beat him both other times imo.
The Rumble in the Jungle Ali still had enough in the tank to beat Bowe up. Bowe was struggling with Herbie Hide until Hide's glass jaw started failing him. I could never envision Bowe dealing with the handspeed and power of a sharp, in form Ali.
Bowe should win but he'd blow it. I think it would be sort of like the Wepner fight lots of clinching, rabbit punches,low blows etc, eventually Golota quits or gets dq'd.
