Quote Originally Posted by Bill Paxtom View Post
At the end of 1971

The rumblings were,

That Smokin' Joe was looking to defend in early-1972 against;

* Former 2-Time Champion - Floyd Patterson
* Spaniard - Jose Manuel Urtain
* 'comebacking' - Oscar Bonavena.
Those fights may have been too early and too hard after the fight with Ali. That was the biggest fight ever. Joe could have lost to any of them at that time.