What's the most untarnished victory in heavyweight history?

Ali vs Foreman

 

Ali-Foreman

Bowe-Holyfield 1

Louis-Schmeling 2

 

Probably Ali Vs Foreman. People will find ways to discredit ANY win based on whatever their agenda is, but I've never really seen anybody able to do this effectively for Ali - Foreman. Can't say Big George was pre prime or past prime, can't say Ali cheated, can't say George didn't train hard enough, can't say he was too small. This was a young prime Foreman coming off of two immensely one sided wins over Ali's only conquerors, and a faded Ali stopped him.

 

The FOTC.

The Rumble in the Jungle is an acceptable alternative answer.

 

Yeah but just one small thing though. Foreman didn’t even look that hurt at the end. Sure he was dog tired from flailing away unsuccessfully at Ali on the ropes round after round an I’m not saying he definitely quit but he could have made more of an effort to get up.

 

This is a great question. I immediately thought of Louis-Schmeling 2 but when I read the criteria of no excuses, well one could say Max was past his prime despite Joe being pure dynamite that night. Secondly, I thought of Ali-Foreman with at brilliant plan that Ali devised on the moment but that’s not without its own set of excuses. All from Foreman. A few days after the figh he claimed, the canvas was too soft, the ropes were too loose and that the count was too fast. And then about a month later he claimed he was drugged.. What can you do?

 

Bowe V Holyfield 1 and Ali V Foreman.

 

Unquestionably, Frazier-Ali in 1971!! The perfect fight at the perfect time, both in top form and at the peak of their careers. Experienced but still hungry, young, and undefeated!!!

Then maybe Bowe-Ali in 1992.

Foreman-Ali... Really? Foreman had several quick, one-sided fights before Ali. He was the clear favorite and wanted another easy fight. Kinshasa with a crowd wanting him to lose, and a crowd in that wild country screaming for Ali to kill him... The pressure was immense, beyond our imagination, so let's not expect him to be a character from a video game. Foreman remained locked in his hotel room the entire time, while Ali recharged his energy and motivation day after day.

The extreme heat, which Ali, who was excellent at distributing his strength, endured, and Foreman, who had an absolutely energy-hungry style, tried, like a green fighter, to simply overwhelm his opponent with force.

The loose ropes were a scandal. The ring was soft and slippery; no one would have allowed it anywhere else.

This fight is the most unreliable of all the great fights in boxing.

 

Liston-Patterson I+II

No question that Patterson was past his best as he way younger and arguably had a better career after these defeats with victories over Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Machen, draw with Quarry, arguably robbed against Ellis and doing better than expected twice with Ali.

Liston was probably past his peak with all the waiting around but totally destroyed Floyd with ease in both matches

 

Nah. These are just Foreman excuses.

Pressure? Ali was told by his own supporters like Cossell that he was going to fail. Imagine the pressure you feel when your own fans are questioning you. Ali had the pressure on him and he handled it with grace.

 

Duran vs Leonard 1. Both in their absolute prime, Duran as the smaller guy, arguably the best win in the sport.

Edit: Im dumb, at HW it probably was Rumble in the Jungle. Might be the most epic moment of the division.

 

Louis v Schmeling 2
Lewis v Rahman 2

 

Got to be FOTC