Supposing Ali had retired after Zaire in 1974

Agreed. The Thrilla was a legacy fight for both guys,and the one which established who was the better out of the two of them.

 

Good points,Duodenum. After Muhammad came back in 1970,he eventually shook off the rust around early '72 and by '74 he was the closest he'd ever get,again,to his 1967 best. After the Rumble,he slipped slightly between that and Manilla,then quite a bit from Manila to the third Norton fight. Another slight slippage occured between Norton 3 and the Shavers battle. After Shavers,it was big deterioration time again. As you say,Ali looked terrible,comparatively for Spinks 1 & 2.

 

Also,if Frazier had won in Manila,he not Muhammad would have been given the accolade of being the best fighter of that era. This is in spite of Frazier losing his title to Foreman,and Ali beating the same guy.