Let’s say it’s the first fight after the thriller in Manila, Ali gets adequate time to recover obviously, but it’s still the post thriller in Manila version, remember Ali beat young post thriller in Manila who beat Foreman, so could Ali still have done it at that point? This isn’t the Spinks version of Ali, it’s the version best version of post thriller in Manila Ali against Foreman at the same time period. Who wins at that point?
It would've been great. Ali was sort of on a victory tour in 1976 ... fighting regularly on national TV, commanding millions to fight nobodies, appearing on nearly every TV show. Even fighting wrestlers. Foreman was beating Lyle and Frazier (again) after a year off, and he was still very much trying to reclaim his "mojo." But everyone was buzzing about talk of a rematch. The gossip was so mainstream that one of the demands John Belushi made to open an episode of Saturday Night Live were "two ringside seats to the next Ali-Foreman fight in Korea." Would've been great. I'd lean toward George physically. But his mental ability to handle a rematch with Ali (coming from Ali and the media) would've been a huge factor in the outcome. This content is protected
Big mistake for the Ali camp. He might never have duplicated Zaire as it was, but after Manila, Foreman was regaining some composure while Ali never looked right to me again. Were Ali to win a return fight, it would have to be pre-Manila for me. Of course, Foreman turning into a basket case blew the whole thing from the minute he was knocked out.
Slightly different answer, but I wonder if/ why not / was there not a rematch clause in the contract for the Zaire fight ? I've never been able to find any info on this .
