been a lot of debate about exactly that since shortly after Muhammad regained the crown.
First, I won't say I'm totally objective. I was in high school. In social studies, the teacher said Foreman would KO Ali. I said, "Put your money where your mouth is." So we bet. Three guys in the class wanted in on it. Now, I was a poor kid. No money. Couldn't have paid if George won. The next day, I brought a brown paper lunch bag to class, and collected on all four bets.
Now, I put Big George only after Ali in "who would beat who" among heavyweight champions -- tied with Liston, just ahead of Louis. But he was mentally damaged -- not physically -- after that loss. Yes, he fought an all-time great war with Ron Lyle. But most of his fights, he was not stable mentally. Remember the gimmick of fighting five guys the same day. Then in what was supposed to be a warm-up for a second Ali fight, Jimmy Young beat him. Then the retirement, before his historic comeback.
Ali was -- in my opinion -- the mentally strongest fighter of the modern era -- maybe ever. So while George was always dangerous, I'd favor Ali. He was physically a lot stronger than people understood --- because the young Ali rarely got hit, and had supreme confidence. In the second half, people came to understand how tough he was. Liston had only really hit him in the 5th round of their first fight, and Dundee later said they really hurt (then) Cassius. But the next round, he knocked the shit out of Liston. With Foreman, Ali did the rope-a-dope. Just as it seemed insane to fight Liston with his hands at his side, imagine letting Big George throw bombs at you, waiting for him to tire. Then knocking the shit out of him! Crazy.
Greatest of respect for both of them!
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