WI Muhammad Ali wasn't drafted

Like it says on the tin. If Ali isn't stripped of his heavyweight champion title, how long does he hold it, before he's defeated or retires? How is boxing subsequently affected?
 
The mythos of Ali is radically changed. Regardless if he can technically have a more successful career than IOTL his cultural impact will be lessened.

He'll still be considered one of the best but his impact as a cultural/political icon will be lessened I believe.
 
The mythos of Ali is radically changed. Regardless if he can technically have a more successful career than IOTL his cultural impact will be lessened.

He'll still be considered one of the best but his impact as a cultural/political icon will be lessened I believe.
That's interesting; might it even be that TTL, Joe Louis is regarded by modern consensus as the greatest boxer ever? (I suppose that would depend on how the numbers at the end of Ali's career TTL stack up. Is it conceivable he doesn't manage 25 title defenses before retiring or losing?)
 
Without Vietnam, Ali has the potential to put together a title reign to rival Joe Louis' in length. He would have gotten Frazier earlier and without 3 years of rust, and probably would have strangled that potential rivalry in the cradle. Norton probably would have given him some problems, since Norton's pressing, unconventional style gave Ali fits in OTL, but perhaps he would have gotten Norton at a younger age as well and may have also killed that potential rivalry.

By 1973, George Foreman would have emerged on the scene, and Ali probably would have lost the crown to him despite beating him in OTL. Without probably having seen Foreman's destruction of Frazier and Norton, Ali ITL would probably not have a good appreciation of Foreman's punching power heading into their bout, resulting in him using his usual stick and move tactics that probably would not have worked (Foreman possessed better ring footwork than people give him credit for), as opposed to the rope-a-dope that he ended up using in OTL. End result, Ali title reign of 1964-1973.
 
But would Ali even stay in boxing that long TTL? If he has an interrupted reign as heavyweight champion, isn't he more likely to decide to retire by 30 (which would mean his last fight wouldn't be after 71)? If he wants to beat Louis' record for most title defenses, that would give him plenty of time.
 
But would Ali even stay in boxing that long TTL? If he has an interrupted reign as heavyweight champion, isn't he more likely to decide to retire by 30 (which would mean his last fight wouldn't be after 71)? If he wants to beat Louis' record for most title defenses, that would give him plenty of time.

Ali loved the limelight. Remember, in OTL he was attempting comebacks into the 1980's when he was pushing 40. Prime, 1960's Ali mowed over the opposition to such an absurd extent that the fights became more like parties for him and his entourage. I definitely see him sticking around for as long as he can, and I don't see him being beaten until he underestimates Foreman (as Frazier did) around 1973. If he gets a rematch by 1976, then he probably regains the heavyweight title by adjusting his strategy to the rope-a-dope and would have a similar boxing legacy (although not cultural legacy) as in OTL, meaning ranked as #1 or #2 among the all-time heavies. If he fights Foreman again after 1976, he's probably too old to pull it off, but still ends up being ranked within the top 5 of all time.

As for how the lineal heavyweight title develops from the POD if no Ali rematch or late Ali rematch with Foreman, I see it developing as follows:

Ali 1964-1973

Foreman 1973-1977 (loses to Jimmy Young, a sneaky good counterpuncher, as in OTL)

Young 1977-1978 (without the prior Rumble in the Jungle defeat against Ali on his psyche, Foreman doesn't go nuts and become a preacher as in OTL after he is defeated by Young, but instead rebounds to beat Young in a rematch)

Foreman 1978-1980 (Defeated by Larry Holmes over 15 rounds in one of the all-time classic matches, a struggle pitting the different respective boxing styles of 2 fighters in their primes. Foreman-Holmes becomes one of the all-time great sports rivalries as these two match up on numerous occasions in the early 1980's, exchanging the belt between them several times. Foreman-Holmes dominates the heavyweight division until 1986 when Mike Tyson emerges. Everything after as in OTL).
 
Ali loved the limelight. Remember, in OTL he was attempting comebacks into the 1980's when he was pushing 40.
That is true; I had thought it had something to do with wanting to prove his greatness without question, but more likely it was just loving the limelight, as you say.
Prime, 1960's Ali mowed over the opposition to such an absurd extent that the fights became more like parties for him and his entourage.
So not even young Frazier will be a match for him?
 
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