Was Ali really considered old for Foreman fight?

Ali was considered past his best by most of those 'in the know.'
Archie Moore for example, and **** Sadler too. Ali was always super confident, but he had some misgivings about his age.

Crazy to think now that Ali at only 33 was considered past his best, but those days a heavyweight nearing 30 or just otherside it was considered getting on a bit.

Of course, Foreman's maneater reputation had a lot to do with the overall consensus of how the fight would pan out.

But yeah, back then 33 was considered pushing the envelope a bit.

 

Seems like until the 90s it was generally assumed that you were on the slide once you were past the age of 30. It's strange now to read reports of Leonard-Hearns II and see them talked about like old men when they were only 33 and 30. Or Jersey Joe Walcott's first title shot where he's described as "venerable" when he was all of 33.

 

For one, boxers used to have shorter careers. So if you were past 30, you were past your prime.

Also, Ali had a very intense style during his prime. He danced and moved for 15 rounds. After his return, he couldn't return to the same style, so many had said he was over the hill. What nobody knew was that he could adjust his style, and rely on strength, reflexes, and IQ as well as his speed.

 

As Has been mentioned Ali could no longer dance from 1 to 15 as in his quicksilver 60's pre-exile days, and many good judges at the time felt thats indeed what it would of taken for him to of Beaten Foreman, It was generally agreed that Clay/Ali was never any type of In-fighter, you could probably of counted the number of body punches he threw on the fingers of one (ok Maybe two ? ) Hands, and add to the the hands themselves, Ali had started to on occassion suffer from painful Bursitis(?) of the Knuckles and had to have cortisone injections, he therefore would often Flick his shots... And of course we knew that Wrecking machine George was not at all bad at cutting off the ring.. It did not add up to an enjoyable evenings veiwing for the Ali Fans, I remember one Newspaper Heading up its Preveiw with the Headline " A Legend Dies at Dawn " Ali's Exotic and Rare Bird of youth was deemed to of Flown away in the 60's

But what was not fully appreciated at the time was that the Phoenix that was emerging, was more mature and Stronger, had sharp Talons , when the hands were good, Had superb timing and Space Perception, The young man had gone.. But now stood a Man..

As an aside, age/ing is a question that raises its head now and again, Was Palomino (32) really Past it against Duran.. Or was Duran simply a man on Fire... He did the same to Leonard soon afterwards after all

Was Alan Minter really Shot when he fought Tony Sibson for National Honours... Or did he simply get caught by one of Sibbo's Patented Left Hooks ?

 

I don't know if "old" is the right word.

But Ali was considered "washed up" after he lost to Ken Norton in 1973.

Even his biggest supporter, Howard Cosell, wrote (in Cosell's book that came out that year) what amounted to Ali's sports obituary.

After his exile, and his loss to Frazier in 1971, there was a lot of excitement for an Frazier-Ali rematch for the title. Then Frazier got destroyed by Foreman and Ali lost to Norton and had his jaw broken on top of it ... and Ali and Frazier were both considered done.

Not old men ... but done as the very best in the division. And if you look at those two fights, they certainly appear to be.

Cosell wrote in his book something along the lines that now the sports world would never see Ali-Frazier II. The richest fight in the history of boxing was now lost. Ali would now be a punching bag for young prospects like Norton.

And people who didn't like Ali wrote even worse things.

So, yes, he was considered finished before the Foreman fight.

The fact that Ali ... in three consecutive fights ... beat Norton in the rematch, then beat Frazier in their rematch, and then knocked out Foreman to regain the title ... was such a HUGE accomplishment at the time that it made Ali the most famous man on earth in the mid 70s.

He wasn't before. After losing to Frazier and Norton, he was viewed more as a tragic figure.

But he was a global star after those three consecutive wins. Bigger than practically anyone on earth.

And the idea that he'd beat the only two men who ever beat him ... two men who basically beat the cr@p out of him ... and then stop Foreman ... was something no one thought possible. Not after the broken jaw in 1973.

 

Many former heavyweight champions had attempted to regain the championship before Ali (including Ali once already himself ! against Frazier in '71). They had all failed. Except for Floyd Patterson, who was only 25 when he regained it.

 

Starting with Dempsey, excluding aberational Walcott, 32 signaled the end of the prime.

 

Yes Ali was considered old and most people though he would get badly hurt

 

Back in those days (and much earlier) once a fighter hit 30 he was considered a veteran.

This considered coupling it with what Foreman did to Frazier and Norton made the majority feel that Ali was too old to beat George at this phase.

We all know what happnened. Ali was a very young 32 in Zaire !

 

u need to remember they fought more often and often started much younger too. 30 was seriously in every sense, a vet.