Supposing Ali-Norton 3 had taken place in Manila '75

ThinBlack · Aug 5, 2011

Duodenum said: ↑

Thinking out loud here, a known shooter like Inoki was a horrible choice for attempting a stunt like this. Japan was the last place Muhammad should have gone for such a performance, especially against a domestic favorite like Inoki. The man attempted hooking with Sammartino. Bruno may not have been the greatest worker, but he was and is a legitimate badass. Of course Inoki was going to try advancing his reputation at the boxing champion's expense rather than putting him over in Tokyo, if he'd already tried to test somebody like Sammartino.

The WWWF, AWA and NWA Champions at the time were Sammartino, Bockwinkle and Terry Funk. Any of those three would have behaved themselves and been a more sensible choice for such an exhibition. All were much better known in the States than Inoki, whose reputation was essentially made in the English speaking world by his peculiar selection for this event.

Ali's preference was to be the heel, which would make face Sammartino a better choice than heel Bockwinkle or tweener Funk. Terry could adopt a face role however, especially in the Astrodome, a Texas venue were Ali was already an established presence against the Big Cat, Terrell, Ellis and Mathis. Funk was indeed the face in defending the NWA Title against Muhammad's first mentor in this arrangement, the dreaded and hated original Sheik, Ed Farhat. (To this day, I don't know what the falling out between them was over. Originally, the notion that they were brothers in Islam was part of what brought them together, but I was just a kid reading the kayfabe Apter magazines at the time.)

Sammartino and Ali would have been monstrous in New York or Philly (where Frazier's fans obviously hated Muhammad), and there would have already been a built in rivalry aspect for Bruno with Fred Blassie having replaced the Sheik. (It was kind of weird seeing Blassie seconding Ali against Kenny Jay in the AWA with Verne Gagne as the referee, since Freddie was WWWF talent.) If Vince Jr. had already purchased the WWWF from his father, there's no way he would have let Ali-Sammartino get away. Bruno's experience sparring with Liston could have also been played up. Being a fan of boxing, I believe he would have been an excellent choice, the more I think about it.

While at first contemplating New York as a venue, it does seem more to me like Philadephia would be an optimal location, especially if a retired Frazier joined Arnold Skaaland in backing Bruno. (Joe later did participate in WrestleMania II as a face, just as Ali was involved in WrestleMania I. Smoke was still competing when Ali-Inoki was arranged, and it took place 11 days after Foreman battered Joe into retirement. If Muhammad could have waited until Smoke called it quits, then maybe the two of them could have arranged a lucrative "Fight IV" type of angle.)
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Muhammad Ali against Superstar Billy Graham would've been a natural matchup.

Stevie G · Aug 6, 2011

Instead of the Inoki horror,Muhammad should have had another warm up bout in June of that year. Against Henry Clark,for example. Clark had put a string of wins together,and would have served to have kept Ali sharp for Norton in September.

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Supposing Ali-Norton 3 had taken place in Manila '75

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Stevie G Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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Supposing Ali-Norton 3 had taken place in Manila '75

ThinBlack Boxing Addict banned

Stevie G Obsessed with Boxing Full Member