BoxRec

I've been watching a lot of Ali fights. I think Ali looks really sharp in the first Quarry fight but stamina was an issue. He looks great in the first round. Punches were hard & crisp. Timing a bit off but he looked good. Second round he slows a bit & a bit more in the 3rd. All in all he was sharp & moved pretty much the way he did in the 60's.

He wasn't sharp against the rugged Bonavena. Oscar would have been a tough opponent against 60's Ali I think. Ali tired badly & fought flat footed. This continued against Frazier although he fought a good fight, particularly early. With the exception of the Ellis fight, Ali was pretty ordinary in his next few fights. He really looked bad against Mac Foster to me. Wins easy but without the style from the 60's. It wasn't until the 2nd Chuvalo fight that Ali really seemed to find his legs. He's quick & shows good stamina. Throughout 72 Ali fought really well. I'm amazed at his schedule that year. This period seemed to be his 2nd prime. Any thoughts?

I first watched Ali on the old espn Super Bouts. Fights with him flatfooted or just backpedling like Norton III. When I finally saw Ali in the 60's it was eye opening. Totally different way of moving. The period from 1972 - 1974 was maybe the last glimpse of anything resembling 60's Ali.

I too thought Ali looked superb against Quarry in June 1972. Pretty much did what he wanted against a top 3 or 4 heavy. It was probably the best Ali looked in the period before regaining the title from Foreman in '74.
Quarry would of course claim that seeing his brother Mike put to sleep by Bob Foster minutes earlier took the fight out of him (The card was billed as the Soul Brothers vs. the Quarry Brothers) and he lost focus. But Ali's timing and speed were uncanny that night, and Quarry was merely alibiing.
The problem with Ali during this period was that he was seemingly bored fighting every 3 months or so, and his conditioning was usually only good enough to just get by. As I recall he was rather heavy for the Foster, Mathis and Ellis fights.
His questionable dedication for training would catch up with him 9 months after Quarry when he fought lethargically against Ken Norton.