BoxRec

Ali UD Lewis
Foreman KO 3 Charles
Holmes TKO 10 Marciano
Liston TKO 6 Louis

This is a first virtually everybody gives Joe Louis no chance at all in this HW tournament. In my computerised tournament Joe Louis made the top 3 HW's of all time. But I do agree, Louis would lose against Liston.

Seems like, if Louis and Marciano lose, both men would be classed as being in the same group, same level of greatness. 8)

Muhammad Ali VERSUS Lennox Lewis:

I don't see how anyone can give Lewis a chance in this fight. Ali is far quicker with his hands, has better movment around the ring and "Lumbering Lewis" is far too stationary to trouble Ali... Ali will do a real number on Lennox's face...

Ali wins:
Either by KO (if Rahman can put him down, so can Muhammad). OR the referee might be merciful in the early rounds...BUT IT'S MORE THAN LIKELY THAT: Ali will win every round on point decision.


George Foreman VERSUS Ezzard Charles:

I'm very fond of Charles as a fighter, I've got a hell of a lot of respect for him, he's a ture legend of the ring! However, with that said, Ezzard doesn't have the power to stop Foreman so the only vesible option for him woul dbe to stick-and-move...

But this puts him on the backfoot rightaway and I can't see him evading Foreman for the duration of the whole fight....Foreman will catach him, trap him and hit him....

Larry Holmes VERUS Rocky Marciano

Holmes is comfortable. His size and his reach gave him a great adavnatge. He can use the space to carefully land his punches. It looks like an easy win for Larry.

BUT, Marciano is probably the only fighter in history who can take 12 round of heavy punishment and still have the courage in his heart and the power in his gloves to adminsiter a KO to an opponent.

Marciano would take a heavy beating, BUT he CAN take what Holmes' throws, I don't think the same can be said vice-versea.

RESULT;
Marciano wins by late KO. Old Larry is cornered and Rocky clubs him down. Rocky wins by KO.


Sonny Liston VERSUS Joe Louis

Liston is a very good boxer, but Louis is a great boxer. Liston might be slighty stroner, yet Louise is a more complete boxer... Sonny knocks Joe down twice in the first two rounds, but Louis (great athlete that he is) takes it and throws some of his own.

Louis wins by late stoppage/ late KO.

Ali Dec Lewis
Foreman KO 5 Charles
Holmes Dec Marciano
Louis KO 12 Liston

Prediction guys....


Who do you see going into the tournament finals? I bet that the final fight will come down to Muhammad Ali vs Larry Holmes 8)

I don't think that Ali or Holmes are shoe-ins, like...

Holmes might yet lose to Marciano, (and even then he'll probably bump into Louis, I can't see him winning that fight either).

PLUS,

Ali has to fight Foreman.....HMMMMMMM.

Lol, sorry to burst your bubble Crease man but...

with 5-2 on the votes against Rocky, let's face it...nobody gonna have Marciano win over Holmes.

and Liston is up by 3 votes over Louis...same as Rocky...so...might as well say it now:

Louis and Marciano lose this round

I find it funny how in their first fight I was the only one who predicted a Liston win, but now everyone seems to agree with me for their rematch.

Ali wins a wide decision over the bigger yet slower Lewis. Lennox shows true grit as he chases the much faster Ali around the ring, but Ali's lightning jab is the difference as he lands at will while Lewis' longer jab often falls short.

Ali wins UD12.

Foreman makes short work over a very game Ezzard Charles who seemed intent to make Foreman fight on the back foot. The plan backfired as Foreman sent Charles to the canvas numerous times in the 4th round before the referee finally steps in to call a halt to the bout.

Foreman wins TKO 4.

In a very intriguing match up Holmes out boxes the shorter Marciano who has trouble catching up to the faster Holmes. But, in a late round rally Marciano knocks Holmes down twice in the final round. The ever resilient Holmes holds on and is able to hear the final bell. The Judges decisions: 117:111 Holmes, 114:112 Marciano, and 114:112 to the winner by split decision... And still! Undefeated Heavyweight Champion of the World, Rocky Marciano. The judges scorecards are read amidst a crowd of boos who feel the rightful winner was Holmes.

Marciano wins (controversial) 12SD.

In probably the most anticipated match of the evening Liston looks to avenge his loss earlier in the tournament, and Louis looks to move onto the semifinals still undefeated in the tournament. Both men promise sparks and early round knockouts in their pre-fight interviews and the crowd is set for the war to begin. As the opening bell rings the fight turns to a battle of jabs as each man tries to get their left hand to set up the power punches. Louis coming forward allows Liston to fight off his back foot. As Liston seems to be getting the better of the jabbing contest Louis slips in a short right hand a down goes Liston amidst a cheering crowd. Liston seemingly alright gets up at the count of 3. Louis moves in for the finish as the ref restarts the fight, but finds the job harder than advertised as Liston answers back with a few good punches. The bell rings to end the first two rounds and two men have to be physically separated as they fight for an extra few seconds after the bell. As the second round starts both men are back to their jabbing contest. After landing a few good jabs, Louis tries throwing the right hand behind the jab to try and repeat the knockdown in the first. After hitting with a few good right hands, Louis is counted by a good left hook that sends him reeling into the ropes. Liston follows Joe throwing punches wildly and getting in a few rabbit punches and elbows in the process. The bell rings seemingly saving Louis from a knockdown. Both men come out in the third round ready to go to war and prove themselves the better man. Both men forgo the jab in this round and begin to throw bombs. The crowd cheers as the fight seems to be firing up. As the war rages on Louis begins looking worse for wear and after a devastating right hand finally goes down. He gets back up onto unsteady feet only for the ref to wave the fight off. The crowd boos as they feel the fight was stopped short and were yearning for more. In the post fight interview, Liston mentions a possible rubber match after the tournament is completed.

Liston wins TKO 3.

Ali TKO RD 12 over Lewis/ Lewis is gassed does not come out for final round
Ezzard 8th Rd TKO over Foreman (Foreman is poisoned before the fight.)
Marciano 11 RD KO over Holmes (Taunts Holmes by carrying one of Larry's smuggled jocks into the ring during rampwalk)
Louis TKO 11 over Liston (Louis down twice, gets annoyed from hitting the deck and sends Sonny down once, Unlike Louis Liston does not bother to get back up)

LMFAO @ Foreman was poisoned b4 the fight


seems like its 5-4 Holmes (against Marciano)
and...5-4 Liston (against Louis)

I find it funny how in their first fight I was the only one who predicted a Liston win, but now everyone seems to agree with me for their rematch.

Sad thing is, I think it would be more likely to go the other way round. Liston would win the first fight, Louis would have his vengence and stop Liston in the second.

Yeah, Louis was death in rematches:

Buddy Baer (2)- KO in the 1st, when the first fight was a DQ in the 7th
Billy Conn (2)- KO in the 8th, when the first fight was a KO in the 8th
Max Schmeling (2)- KO in the 1st, when the first fight was a KO in the 12th
Jersey Joe Walcott (2)- KO in the 11th, when the first fight went the full 15 rounds

that's just a few examples...but it is a true thing, whoever gave Louis trouble the first time around, was annihilated in the rematch.

RESULTS FROM THE QUARTER FINALS
8 SEPTEMBER 2008:

Ali UD12 Lewis
This was a very interesting matchup, although it did not make for the most entertaining of fights. For the majority of the fight it was a battle of jabs, with Ali's fast jab winning over the longer jab of Lewis. Ali used him speed and mobility, rendering Lewis's size and strength advantages redundant. Lewis actually managed to out-jab Ali in a couple of rounds, but apart from this he has little success, unable to land his big right cleanly. By the final round Lewis knows he needs a knockout to win, but it too exhausted to put in the necessary effort. Scorecards read 118:110, 117:111 and 116:112 all to Ali. Lewis's face is badly swollen and he is cut across the bridge of the nose.

Foreman KO6 Charles
Big George performs better than he did in his first fight with Charles, but is still behind on points. Charles is more cautious, and as such is unable to win rounds as clearly as he did in the first fight. In the 6th round Forman lands a right uppercut from in close that has Charles backing into the ropes. Charles covers up and Foreman crashes powerful punches into his arms and body, finally landing a slinging left hook that has Charles staggered. Charles tries to clinch but Foreman is too strong, pushing Charles back and landing a big right uppercut that sends Charles sagging into the ropes and sliding to the canvas, unable to beat the count.

Holmes SD12 Marciano
Some gave Rocky little chance in this matchup, and there was certainly little evidence to counter this early on, as Holmes dominated from the outside, cutting Marciano's face and clearly winning the first five rounds. Round six was more competitive, and in round 7 Marciano landed a hard straight right to Holmes's jaw, knocking him down. Holmes was up on shaky legs at the count of 8, and the bell rang. Marciano won round 8 through aggression, but by round 9 Holmes was back on top, wobbling Rocky near the end of the round. By round 12 it seemed that Marciano would need a KO to win. Holmes looked like he was going to make it through when another big right hand from Marciano had him up against the ropes. Marciano was all over Holmes, sending pulverising blows to the body and head, leaving Holmes all but out on his feet as the final bell rang. The crowded waited for the decision with bated breath. The scorecards were read 114:112 Marciano, 114:112 and 115:112 to the winner by split decision... Larry Holmes!

Liston TKO8 Louis
The first Louis-Liston fight was viewed as one of the best fights of all-time, with Louis coming from behind to win a majority decision. In the rematch Louis started the stronger, winning the first two rounds, hurting Liston with combinations to the head and body. In the third, Louis looked to continue with his success when he walked straight into a Liston right hand and was knocked down. The fourth and fifth rounds are close, neither fighter with the upper-hand, but by the 6th, Louis is back on top. The Liston jab is not landing as regularly as before, and Louis is freqently beating Liston to the punch. In the 8th round, Louis lands a perfect short right hand that has Liston down for the count. Liston seems OK, but isn't on his feet until the count of 9. As Louis goes in for the KO he misses with a right, and Liston counters him with a left hook that lands right on the point of the chin, and Louis is down for the second time in the fight. Louis is up but on unsteady legs as the referee allows the fight to continue. Both men swing wildly and Liston wrestles Louis into a corner where he lands a left hook and a big straight right that snaps Louis's head back, as the referee jumped between the fighters to save Louis from any futher punishment. Surprisingly Louis seems alright and shouts his protest at the referee, but most agree that the right decision was made.


Next round of fights:

SEMI FINALS
10 November 2008

Ali vs Foreman
Holmes vs Liston

All fighters fought 9 weeks ago, results as above.

Ali TKO11 Foreman - Foreman will not fall for the rope-a-dope again, but Ali is much too fast for him, winning convincingly.
Holmes TKO8 Liston - The greatest battle of jabs the world has ever seen. Liston has Holmes hurt on a couple of occasions, but Holmes is generally too quick and frustrates Liston. A swollen Liston stays in his corner after the 7th.

ali wins this time by a razor thin decision as dumb george does not fall victim to rope a dope

holmes jabs his way to an 8th round knock out win.liston is left swollen and battered slumped over in his corner.

Muhammad Ali VERSUS George Foreman.

Ali's defeated "Big George" before, and is fairly confident going into this fight...However this confidence get the better of him and Foreman chases him down, tarps him, carefully picks his punches and knocks Aliu over the top rope....Foreman wins KO round 4.


Sonny Liston VERSUS Larry Holmes.

A ture battle of jabs, reaches and distance...However despite a close first 8 rounds, Liston rattles Holmes in round 9.....This is enough for him to take a points victory: RESULT. Liston wins by UD.

Ali beats Foreman, just like it happened.

Holmes defeats Liston on points.

Ali vs Foreman=

Had Ali fought like he was gonna dance for the whole fight, I believe he would have lost by KO---he wasn't the Ali of the past when he fought Foreman and he would have been incapable of winning a fight against Foreman had he just straight up boxed, rather than lean on the ropes.

But if Ali rope a dopes again, might take a gamble and say that Foreman would have been smarter the second time around, paced himself more, and would have backed off every time Ali hit the ropes for the rope a dope.

Either way, I don't see Ali winning. Foreman was usually smart enough to not make the same mistake twice, and with Ali he would have felt that he would have had something to prove. I see Foreman winning by KO in less than 5 rounds.


Larry Holmes wins a controversial razor thin split decision over Sonny Liston, after he managed to get off the canvas twice during the 12 rounds of action. Liston seemed to land the more effect shots, Holmes was the only one hurt in the fight, but it was Holmes volume of punches (landing 2-1) that won him the fight. The crowd boos and Liston demands a rematch.

btw...I guess this should actually be in the "Ali Over-Rated" thread, but one question always boggles my mind: If Ali never existed, who would have been the greatest HW (least in your mind)? Personally I think the list would have been like: Louis, Liston, Foreman and Marciano.

Ali TKO 12... I've stated my reasons in another thread... I agree with decagon that the rope-a-dope wasn't all there was to it, and again, George did not make any changes in his style after he fought Ali... Ali would take him out in the late rounds.

Holmes UD... Holmes uses his jab and movement and hard right to give Liston many of the troubles Ali gave him, though Holmes would have to be cautious of getting nailed.

RESULTS FROM THE SEMI FINALS
10 NOVEMBER 2008:

Ali TKO10 Foreman
George Foreman said before this fight "I aint goin to be a dope this time around" and he proved himself right by fighting a more restrained fight, throwing less punches and pacing himself well. However, Ali is still far too quick for Big George, hardly ever getting hit flush, and landing to the head of Foreman frequently. Foreman probably won 2 or 3 rounds, but was wobbled several times early in the fight, but Ali plays it smart and bides his time. By the beginning of the 10th, Foreman is puffy and tired, and Ali steps up the pace, landing a lighting combination sending Foreman to the canvas. He is up at the count of 7, as the referee allows him to continue, before Ali lands a flurry of punches ending with a right uppercut, sending Foreman staggering backwards, slumping into the ropes as the referee waves off the fight.

Holmes MD12 Liston
In a high quality fight featuring possibly the two best jabbers in the tournament, Larry Holmes earned himself a spot in the final for a rematch against a now prime Muhammad Ali. Holmes led the fight from the outset, outlanding Liston in almost every round of the fight. By the 8th round Holmes had a clear lead, but was then shaken by two straight rights from Liston. Liston had the better of the later rounds, landing the harder blows, although Holmes probably took the 12th, flurrying before the final bell. Scorecards read 114:114, 115:113 and 116:113, both to Holmes.

The final fights of this great tournament:

FINAL
12 January 2009

Ali vs Holmes

FIGHT-OFF FOR 3RD
12 January 2009

Foreman vs Liston

All fighters fought 9 weeks ago, results as above.

what did I tell you fuckers??? I knew it would be Ali and Holmes in the final!

Ali SD12 Holmes
Liston UD12 Foreman

bump

Ali UD 12 Holmes
Liston TKO 7 Foreman