Who should Ali have fought but didn't?

I don't know that there was any real necessity for him to fight anyone else. Some have suggested in past discussions that he should have given George Foreman a rematch, but I'm not sure I'd agree. There was nothing particularly close or controversial about that fight, and Foreman never did anything to really follow up. Instead he took 15 months off.

 

True, too much gets made of that. Ali fought Young instead who beat Foreman. Had Foreman got his act together we could have seen Ali-George 2.

There was no way Foreman was going to beat Ali in the rematch anyway.

Ali may have physically declined by the time a rematch came along, but Foreman was mentally much worse off than their first meeting.

 

Good point,Mr Magoo ! If Foreman had 'got back on his bike' in early 1975,he may well have been Ali's big fight for that year instead of Joe Frazier.

 

Ali fought the strong fighters in era's where there were only a few strong opponents Liston and Patterson then Frazier,Foreman, Ali made Norton by losing the first fight but I don't think he ducked anyone

 

There was a very small window in which Clay/Ali might of been able to give Doug Jones a rematch, instead of, or indeed just after his 1st Henry cooper fight, but he had bigger fish to fry in Liston and Patterson, Doug fought George Chuvalo and got stopped, so George got a 1965 fight with Ali, perhaps in later day's Doug would of played it safe and stood on the sidelines yelling for the rematch ?

As for Jeff Merritt, there is an interesting little passage about Ali when in exile and not in great shape sparring with this Hotshot Prospect - Jeff Merritt, apparently Merrit blooded his nose so Ali got a bit serious and wobbled Merritt at which point the session was terminated Ali had made his point

As i recall when Ali came back a few names were mooted to ease him back, Memphis Al Jones was one i think, but not knowing how the draft hearing would go, speed was of the essance and a big statement had to be made, and Jerry Quarry was top of the contender tree at the time coming off the Big Mac Foster result .

 

Yep ! Muhammad simply had George's number.

 

I don't think he was ducked because there were others that were seen as good at the time but Ali did not fight Eddie Machen in the 1960s.

Ingo would have been good too. But again the timing was not right and I don't think johansson was ever in shape after the second Patterson fight.

 

Ali should have given Norton a rematch after the Yankee Stadium fight in '76, in the same way Louis gave Walcott a rematch after the controversial outcome of their December '47 fight.

 

The first Louis v Walcott fight was an indoor fight. They only made it a title fight to sell tickets, it was going to be an exhibition. The controversy made it into a bigger fight and that had as much to do with why it happened again as anything else. If the same match is bigger next time then it happens. If its only going to be as big or smaller there is less chance. It is business as well as a sport.


Where as ALi v Norton III already was big. Was a fourth fight going to be bigger? I don't think so. fights that big don't often happen back to back. It was also the third time they fought.

Still, It was close and controversial all the same...

 

Ali would have slaughtered Merritt. Merritt is oddly overrated today. He was a tall, lanky extremely poor mans George Foreman. Merritt's got this reputation as a dangerous guy but his only two big stoppage wins came against a shot Ernie Terrell and a grossly out of shape Ron Stander who showed up to the fight 30 pounds over weight looking morbidly obese. In his very next fight against the only prime contender he ever faced he was blitzed and destroyed by light hitting runner Henry Clark. There was no time ever in his career that it made any sense to match Merritt with Ali.

 

I don't think Ali could be accused of ducking anybody. You can level other criticisms at him, maybe, but not that one.

 

The people where there is a good case, are opponents that he had already beaten, such as Foreman and Norton.

 

Can't argue with you there, after warching that 76 fight at yankee stadium, i believe Norton was screwed big time, they should have fought one more time to settle the score..