When was Ali in his post-exile Peak?

His 70's peak came a bit after FOTC. Once he had a couple more bouts under his belt it was as good as it got with the proviso that he had a guy in front of him that would inspire him to train hard. His last great performance was against Foreman and after that he just fudged his way along both in training and the ring. Even in sparring he got worse and worse going through the motions and letting guys pound on him.

 

Ali was nowhere near as good in TFOTC as he was v Foreman and he was in bad condition for that Frazier fight, he was in much better condition for the rematch and threw hooks to stop Frazier working inside, Cus D`Amato was in Dundee`s gym in the lead up to TFOTC and noticed how much Ali was getting caught in sparring but Dundee said it was fine, Ali said on the vid "champions forever" that he was rusty in the prep for that fight, he looked bad in that fight.

 

Good post Marky. Agreed Ali looked horrible in the FOTC (relatively) with some work and time he dominated Frazier in the second fight.

 

After RIJ he was old and shot in 7 months according to you so it’s all the more impressive that he defeated ATG Jimmy Young.

 

I think as John said after the FOTC. Quarry 2 is best guess.

 

Ali was sharp in FOTC. He came out peppering Frazier with speed and accuracy. Ali could have beaten almost any heavyweight that nite. It was Frazier's pressure and power that ground him down. In the rematch Ali just discovered a way to hold Joe and blunt his offense. Because of a weak referee he got away with it all nite.

 

He was out of shape for FOTC and it was apparent. He beat Frazier in the second one because he was better.

 

He was out of shape at 215. A lb more than he was for Foreman. Ali was in great condition. He lost to the better man.

He beat Frazier in fight 2 by holding him behind his head 113 times in 12 rounds. Thats your version of better its rather odd.

 

Out of shape is more then weight don’t be daft- Your conditioning does not reflect diet. He beat Frazier because he was better, you win, you win.

In another world the ref may have DQd Ali but in this one he didn’t, he spoiled and boxed Frazier to arguably his best win.

 

Your not make any sense. You freely make a baseless excuse that Ali wasn't in shape. Somehow you have knowledge of his diet but in the rematch something we could all see Ali's holding "you win you win."

What universe are you in? One where if Ali loses his excuses are legit but if he wins "you win you win". By the way out of shape boxers don't go 15 rounds at that pace. They certainly don't fight that well. Sure as hell don't get up from knockdowns in round 15.

I'll give a chance to delete this. Your just having a bad day. I'll let it go.

 

Ali was rusty for FOTC, in the 2nd fight he beat Frazier fair and square this is a fact.
What I meant was Ali's weight has nothing to do with his conditioning in FOTC. You have some valid points though I think his difficulty had much more to do with the lay off then his conditioning.

I am in the universe where I have seen film of FOTC and SF2 and you can see the difference not just the holding ya sulk. Ya win ya win.

 

He dominated Frazier cause he kept fouling - excessive clinching and holding/pushing on Frazier's head.

 

Like an absolute champion

 

I would have to say that Muhammad Ali's post exile peak would have to be prior to his title winning win over heavily favored champion George Foreman in 1974. Ali was active in 1973, a loss and a win over Ken Norton, a decision over an obscure fighter named Rudi Lubbers in Oct 1973. The fight against Joe Frazier on Jan 28 1974 demonstrated Ali's talent, for that fight he returned to Nostalgic form, he weighed 212 lbs, glided around the ring, almost decked Joe in round 2, but there was a controversial moment, Ali went on to win. I think after the Foreman fight he began to struggle, his peak 1967 stamina was gone, he resorted more to his newly found invention, Rope A Dope. When he returned to the ring in Oct 1970 against Jerry Quarry and in Dec 1970, against Oscar Bonavena prior to The Fight Of The Century on March 8 1971 against champion Joe Frazier. Ali still had quickness, but his timing and stamina was gone, remember he was gone from boxing for 43 months. Sparring is not the same as actual combat in the ring. The year 1967 appeared to fans, a long time ago.