That doesn't really make any sense. Barney Ross was a lightweight/welterweight and should be compared to the all-time greats around his division, not to heavyweights. How can we possibly tell if a heavyweight Barney Ross could or could not compete with Floyd Patterson?
Why does it get overrated? If anything, I believe the 70's golden era of heavyweights gets overrated. The late part of the 1970's post-Manila was dreadful with an aging Ali clinging onto his title for as long as he could. The late 60's and early 70's were good but the likes of Quarry, Lyle, Shavers are only as highly rated as they are due to their association with Ali.
Foreman got the 5 million anyway so why would he care about the money whether he won or lost? He was going to get the money either way but in losing he lost his sense of pride. If Barney Ross lost, he's not going to make a living, and thus won't be able to feed his family and himself. The same for many of his opponents.
George: "Can you imagine walkin' around with a five million dollars…more money at that time than anybody had ever seen, and all I could enjoy was the hate. Couldn't even count the money and buy cheeseburgers; Just wanted to get even.
doesnt sound like he was going to get the money anyway
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