Comments on: Why Didn’t Ali Give George Foreman a Rematch?

By: Russ

Russ — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:53:44 +0000

Foreman would have punished Ali if they ever had a rematch.
Ali probably ducked him.

Yes, I know we all love Ali, but I think he may have ducked Foreman.

Apparently Tyosn Ducked Foreman also when he made his comeback.

Wouldnt surprise me that much…
Foreman is a Devastating fighter.

By: Avi

Avi — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:31:53 +0000

Ali had Foreman’s number and would not have lost to him until he got too old. In their fight, Foreman didn’t just get tired all on his own, Ali continuously beat him to the punch and could have taken him out any time after the 6th round. Ali, like Larry Holmes, also practiced what to do if he got hurt (remember the 11th round in Frazier I). He wouldn’t just walk back in to his opponent’s punches. Ali was in there with the greatest punchers of all time and not one came anywhere near taking him out with one punch, which was about all you could connect with at any one time against Ali. Plus, if he had not been banned for 3 1/2 years, nobody would have touched him until he was way past his prime. So, even if Foreman didn’t fall for the rope a dope again, he certainly wouldn’t be able to hurt Ali enough to put him away, and Ali would keep connecting all night until Foreman would either drop or Ali would win by UD. I also believe a prime Holmes vs prime Foreman would be another loss for George.

By: husain

husain — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:18:07 +0000

please…ali was banned for 5 goddamn yrs by stupid Americans. who was going to compensate him for that. ali proved everyone wrong everytime he went in that ring. as far as tactics go. it is only losers who now try to speculate whether ali would have betaen big george.

By: Smart lady

Smart lady — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 06:42:10 +0000

Didn’t you guys read Barry Tesar’s comments above. Go back and reread them and you will know why Foreman and Ali never fought again. Let me repeat: In 75 the fight the public wanted was Frazier, in 76 it was Norton, and when the fall of 77 came around, Foreman had already been beaten by jimmy Young and was retired. Had they fought in 77, I believe Ali — although not at his best– would have found a way to beat Big George again. He had too much heart, took too good a punch, and simply would have outboxed and kayoed him again.

By: Barry Tesar

Barry Tesar — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:08:59 +0000

Yes, I agree that Foreman would have liked a rematch, who wouldn’t. Ali, for example, would have loved a rematch against Frazier after their fight in 71. Even though this was THE FIGHT that the whole world wanted to see, Frazier fought Stander and Daniels instead. But in this case, Ali-Foreman II was never THE FIGHT that the public demanded. In 75, when Foreman was inactive, THE FIGHT the public wanted was a third fight with Joe Frazier. In 76, when Foreman finally was beginning to get his act together, THE FIGHT the public wanted was a third fight with Ken Norton. Then in 77, Foreman was already retired before Ali chose his opponent for his big Fall title defense against Earnie Shavers. Therefore, if you analyze it, there never was a time when a rematch with Foreman was THE FIGHT that the public demanded. It would likely have been the big fight of 77 if Foreman had defeated Young, but he did not. Sure, Ali could have fought Foreman again, but if he had, he wouldn’t have fought a third fight with either Norton or Frazier. If that had been the case, we would be writing here 35 years later that Ali had ducked one of them. It is a no-win situation. The truth is that Foreman never put himself into the position of being the challenger that the public demanded. There are, of course, multitudes of subjects in which I do not shine, but if the subject is Muhammad Ali you can forget consulting Sports Illustrated, just give me a call.

By: gerthie

gerthie — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:01:33 +0000

hi check it out ali wanted to fight but foreman quit he sort found it hard to take stop talking fantasy ali whipped him and thats all you can say.

By: Mr.T

Mr.T — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:39:10 +0000

Well I agree that there should have been a rematch instead of Ali running scared and facing easier opponents,but I agree with Wes S. only with the question wasn’t answered. Patterson II was before Zaire, Frazier II lined him up for Zaire, but he did fight Frazier once again in Manila after Zaire.The WBC should have made a mandatory rematch instead of allowing this injustice to George. Once George beat Ron Lyle and Joe Frazier again, that should have opened the door for a mandatory rematch – or Ali forfeit the belt. In the history of boxing, if the challenger wins he should give the former champion a rematch. Just because Ali was older was no excuse. This is one of many examples of how boxing insulated Ali. One of the many reasons why Ali was NOT “the greatest of all times”. George fought almost twice as many fights, had almost twice as many knockouts, and also lost only 5 times. 61 fights is rather minor to all the fights George had, and not really tested as much as George.

By: Guss H.

Guss H. — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:54:02 +0000

I’ve been a fan of Ali since the start of his “second Carreer. I was a little young to really remember Cassius Clay. But the one disapointement I have with Ali is that he never gave Foreman a rematch. It might be just as well, because I don’t believe he could have beaten Big George again.

By: bmack

bmack — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:24:06 +0000

Boxing is all about tactics both in and out of the ring, dodging Foreman was a good choice, if he lost which he may have the fights and payday would have Bern very small after that, instead he got to prolong his career and get the big pay days.

Don’t forget US politics kept one of the greatest athletes out of the ring for a long time! Ali had to recoup some of those career losses.

Great story, people don’t talk about the greats enough!

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, rumble young man rumble, ahh!

By: Heavy T

Heavy T — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:43:27 +0000

totally agree, foreman would have beaten him silly a year or two later