Zaire, who else could have beat Foreman that night ?

Unlike Young and Holmes 2 fighters were there!Ellis and Quarry!Quarry for sure!

 

At the time? No-one. Ever? Maybe 7/8?

 

Foreman was better against Norton and Joe Frazier than he was against Ali.

Maybe we should credit Ali for making George fight so stupidly.. but I don’t think George ever fought so bad. He was very young back then. And he probably had the wrong attitude too.

“I regretted not being in Jamaica to see George Foremans stunning upset of Joe Frazier, slightly less that I wasn't in Zaire to see Muhammad Ali regain the title from Foreman- less because, even through the medium of television, it seemed almost unbelievable that a world class heavyweight champion could fight as brainlessly as Foreman did" - Peter Wilson 1977.

 

We are talking about 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, Africa. A fighter that was mentioned for George Foreman was Jerry Quarry. There was a mock fight poster featuring the two of them featured on the front of Ring magazine. It would be interesting because Jerry was a counter puncher and he was about a year away from being stopped in round 5 by Ken Norton, in Madison Square Garden. Most of the fighters today did not exist in 1974, it would have been to see Big George against Ron Lyle, in Zaire, even though they would meet in 1976, with no title on the line.

 

I was at work and this made me laugh out loud

 

Foreman was the same fighter but Ali simply didn't wilt and was infinitely more capable of matching up against a Foreman than those two. Ali took punches that were the beginning of the end for Frazier and Norton. He also hit him with some sizzling right crosses right from round one.

Most of these dullards would have been chastising Ali for laying on the ropes and letting Foreman pound away.

 

No. Young gets stopped against an undefeated aggressive Foreman, not the paused boxer-puncher that he fought

 

I disagree this was the same Foreman. He didn't use the jab nearly as much (or effectively) as he did against Frazier. Ali also didn't really take the punches Foreman and Norton did as he was able to block and/or deflect many shots. When he didn't, the ropes absorbed most of the damage. Even so the shots he was hit with would've felled most.

 

Yes Ali wasn't going to crouch or bend in front of Foreman. He was a straight puncher which also helped his cause. Foreman seemed to have a great defense against left hooks. He had some techniques that Archie Moore had instilled.
Ali's strength that night was something that stands out to me. Ofcourse mentally but his ability to hold his own against IMO the strongest champion we have had.

 

Fury, Vitali, Wlad, Lewis, Bowe, McCall, Mercer, Ibeabuchi, Tucker, Thomas. Tall fine rangy boxers or the durable ones who moved. Keep in mind this was 15 rounds and Foreman eventually gassing.

 

While I agree with your overall point about the taller rangy boxers giving him more difficulty. Most of those guys you listed wouldnt have to worry about gassing or stamina in the later rounds after Foreman was done with them.

 

I don't think around in '74 is beating George in Zaire except for Ali and it was hard even for Ali to take the punishment necessary to pull it off.

Maybe a smart boxer like Young would have the next best chance.