Supposing Jimmy Young had been given the nod over Muhammad Ali..!

That'd be my take. Instant rematch, Ali gets the title back, then things move on as usual.

 

Jimmy Young is only a "purist's favorite". I can only imagine a lot of people labeling him as a horrible champion like Leon Spinks. Considering if he would have beaten Ali he'd join Ken Norton and Joe Frazier in that tiny hallway "of men that beat the greatest". Honestly, I thought Jimmy had the fight by a hair, but as much as a triumph that it was for Jimmy boxing politics would not let a champ like that linger. The fight was also a stinker. For as attentive I am to boxing, that's one of the matches that makes me sleepy unless I'm in purist mode.

To me Jimmy hits across two points of interest: his awkward-yet-slick boxing style and Philadelphia fighters. The latter more than that of the former.

 

Outside of a rematch with Ali, Young would have beaten Foreman, Lyle, probably Shavers at that point as well. The Norton fight was close, maybe Young would have been given the benefit of the doubt had he been the champion. I'm most interested on how Larry Holmes would have done against a prime, focused Jimmy Young.

 

If Young had got the decision ,[one I did not think he merited].Boxing today would be in even worse shape than it is.
Young stunk the joint out ,and he would stink out the title.

 

how much of a stink do you think a young-bugner fight would have made ??

 

Enough so you could smell it in the back row:good
Statue Joe ,and Young ducking through the ropes ,very enthralling!

 

Young-Bugner
The stench would linger so bad they'd have to convert the arena into a cow shed or something, it would be unfit for human entertainment purposes.

 

Well, it probably wouldn't have been any worse than losing to Leon Spinks, and frankly it might actually have been a less disgraceful loss. As for how things would have unfolded after? A rematch would have been likely, as would have a close and highly disputed decision for Ali.. From there, i think things basically procede as orginally played, with Holmes ending up as the eventual champion and within the same time frame..

 

they may have been thrown out for "not trying"

 

ali was such a weak champion after the final frazier fight. apart from the dunn fight he had reached the point where he just couldnt stop a world rated fighter anymore. it was just wits, experience, bluff and balls that was winning him fights at that point.

 

James Young would've been a bogus champ had he got the nod over Ali in 1976. He'd still lose to Ken Norton in '77, so therfore Norton would've been champ a few months earlier than when the WBC handed him the belt after Leon Spinks was stripped in March of '78....

James Young was slippery, but also stinky.... And he got his ass kicked by Cooney in '79 or '80 when Young was still young at ages 33 to 34........ But Young became a lazy slob and decided to forsake training and he was coming into fights flabby at over 220 pounds.... Not kool........

Young was listed at 209 to Ali's 230 pounds earlier in '76....... Young got lazy......

MR.BILL

 

Jimmy would lose a rematch to a focused Muhammad, if Ken didn't get to him first.