Ali-Foreman II...in 1975 before Frazier

[Heckler]

A fully trained and prepared Ali? If he managed to get into the same shape as he was months earlier then i would definately give the nod to Ali. Im not sure if a rematch was possible in 1975? I thought it was 76?

Anyway, if the fight happened at that time i would give it to Ali. Reasons being... George Foreman was never the same after that fight with Ali, he was tentative and didn't really go after his man in the same fashion he did Pre-Ali. This is shown in the fight against Jimmy Young, Foreman was very tentative and was not ontop of his man the same way he was against Ali who even in 74' was just as slick as Jimmy. Foreman was a more conservative, measured fighter and it didn't work for him as he didn't have the skills to facilitate such a style. Ali with superior speed and technical prowess picks him apart as evidenced in the first round of the Rumble in the Jungle. Mentally i don't know how George would handle a rematch, the previous fight would be playing on his mind and i don't think the effect of this would be positive whatsoever.

I Don't think this plays out like the previous match. I think George this time around would apply less pressure, be more conservative and as a result Ali the superior ring general would outpoint him over 15 rounds.

[Southpaw Stinger]

A fully trained and prepared Ali? If he managed to get into the same shape as he was months earlier then i would definately give the nod to Ali. Im not sure if a rematch was possible in 1975? I thought it was 76?

Anyway, if the fight happened at that time i would give it to Ali. Reasons being... George Foreman was never the same after that fight with Ali, he was tentative and didn't really go after his man in the same fashion he did Pre-Ali. This is shown in the fight against Jimmy Young, Foreman was very tentative and was not ontop of his man the same way he was against Ali who even in 74' was just as slick as Jimmy. Foreman was a more conservative, measured fighter and it didn't work for him as he didn't have the skills to facilitate such a style. Ali with superior speed and technical prowess picks him apart as evidenced in the first round of the Rumble in the Jungle. Mentally i don't know how George would handle a rematch, the previous fight would be playing on his mind and i don't think the effect of this would be positive whatsoever.

I Don't think this plays out like the previous match. I think George this time around would apply less pressure, be more conservative and as a result Ali the superior ring general would outpoint him over 15 rounds.

I disagree. I think that because Foreman was unable to get that rematch with Ali was the reason he became less of a fighter in the latter half of the 70's. He was still beating fighters but was still unable to get another title shot and the first Ali fight was playing on his mind.

If he was given the chance to prove himself against Ali in a rematch I'm sure we would see a different side to Foreman. He would train harder than ever before and be focussed on his goal - only this time Foreman won't fall for the rope a dope and Ali will be forced to traded more with Foreman.

If you look at Ali after the rumble in the jungle he wasn't nearly as impressive either. Guys like Wepner lasting in there with him and Ali spending more times on the ropes.

So I can see that in a rematch Foreman will be the more prepared physically and mentally and more detirmined to win.

[Cockyb]

im surprised so many ppl think foreman wud win, i think it makes more sense dat ali wud win by a decision, cos foreman wud be hesitant to throw incase he gets tired etc, which wil give ali more confidence to throw more shots and nick rounds! and foreman as he takes more n more shots as rounds go by get even more tentaive and becaose of alis chin he wont b able to knok out ali with a single shot like he did with moorer!

dats just my opinion tho!

im not rulin out a foreman win, as he was younger and cud impose his strenth on ali etc!

but stil ALI UD!!

safe

[K-DOGG]

I must say there are some very well thought out responses on both sides of the coin. Thank all of you for your input so far. The reason I said "1975-before Frazier" is quite simply because that fight essentially finished Ali and Frazier. Muhammad showed flashes of his former prowess after the Thrilla; but only flashes. Maybe it would have been better for me to propose that Ali and Foreman rematched in the "Thrilla in Manilla" instead of Ali meeting Frazier for the rubber match.

Anyway, I wanted to pose the question because so many posters have such a variety of responses to Ali-Foreman I and it's affects; and I just got to thinking, okay...what if they did rematch in 1975 about a year after the original. Foreman didn't fight at all in 1975....except for that abhortive thing in Toronto, to quote Howard Cosell....and Ali took what was supposed to be an easy fight againt Wepner, which wasn't, legitimate contender who rocked George the next year, Ron Lyle, and perenial contender Joe Bugner before squaring off against Frazier for a third time....a fight, incidentally, that Ali thought would be easy, cause he felt Joe was shot by then.

I'll hold off on sharing my synopsis for now; but wanted to better clarify why 1975 for those who were questioning. Please, keep it up, all of you are offering a little something different than I've thought about....and a few of you are thinking along the same lines as myself.

Thank you very much and continue.....Who Wins?......And Why?

[JerryJigsaw]

Foreman's power is completely overrated, he could never KO Ali cos' all his KOs were against weak chinned fighters lie Norton and Frazier.

[Southpaw Stinger]

Foreman's power is completely overrated, he could never KO Ali cos' all his KOs were against weak chinned fighters lie Norton and Frazier.

Since when did Frazier have a weak chin?

[Brockton Lip]

Frazier has more of a heart than a chin. His chin is possibly overrated. Its his heart thats great.

[hemichromis]

judging by the jimmy young fight foreman would have lost on points, he was so scared of getting out of breath he would never open up.

but if foreman had got his act together and sorted out his head he could have beaten ali, the problem is he didn't do this till his second career

[Abe Attell]

Foreman needed a better trainer...a trainer that could not only show him how to be a better boxer, but prepare him mentally...the problem is, even though there are so many trainers, there are only a few that are actually really good.

[rocco1252]

It doesnt matter that it was 100 + degree's, it doesnt matter that Ali put off the fight and it was postponed due to a foreman cut. Ali was so mentally strong he could have beaten anyone provided he trained for it and wasnt too old hence the Holmes fight. If they both fought again Ali in my eyes would do 10 times better than he did when they fought the first time. Ali was in great shape and knew from the start if he got under Foremans skin he could win and thats just what he did, and you actually think Foreman was mentally prepared after their first fight? No way thats why he had to take 10 years off, Ali injured him inside ever since that loss and if they fought again he would fight out of despiration and end up the same way.