Rocky Marciano vs Joe Frazier

[HOUDINI563]

Fraziers big Achilles heel was his right hand as well as slow feet. I did an in depth look at Joes pro bouts looking back on fight reports from his very first pro bout. He never koed or knocked down any opponent with his right hand. That's a record IMO for any hwt champion. Frazier also had the technical flaw of bobbing and weaving but not closing distance quickly in process.

[joseph5620]

Fraziers big Achilles heel was his right hand as well as slow feet. I did an in depth look at Joes pro bouts looking back on fight reports from his very first pro bout. He never koed or knocked down any opponent with his right hand. That's a record IMO for any hwt champion. Frazier also had the technical flaw of bobbing and weaving but not closing distance quickly in process.

Are you sure you ever watched Frazier fight? Slow feet? Not closing distance quickly? None of that applies to Frazier.


His right hand described as an "Achilles heel" ia nothing more than hyperbole.

[HOUDINI563]

Joe lacked coordination between his left and right fists. This is why you will see him throw his right to the body but rarely to the head in combination with his left. You can see joe many many times slipping around a jab, a right hand but then get caught with a follow up left hook. All because he is not closing distance while avoiding the first several punches of the combination.

[LITTLE JOE]

Wow ! What a barn burner this fight would be. Both guys brought it with the pressure. Who would take a step back in this fight ? The one that got hurt first but who would that be ?
Probably one of the most appealing fantasy fights I can think of. Joe Frazier was one of my favorites and quite honestly I have a hard time picking a winner here. I think we can agree that Joe would be the best true heavyweight that Marciano would have fought.However Joe did get caught and shaken by guys like Zyglewicz and Stander so.... On the flip side, IMO Marciano wasn't the best that Frazier fought. That being said, styles make fights and this one would be terrific. Absolutely brutal. Just a dream fight. 50/50 I think.

[OctoberRed]

Wow ! What a barn burner this fight would be. Both guys brought it with the pressure. Who would take a step back in this fight ? The one that got hurt first but who would that be ?
Probably one of the most appealing fantasy fights I can think of. Joe Frazier was one of my favorites and quite honestly I have a hard time picking a winner here. I think we can agree that Joe would be the best true heavyweight that Marciano would have fought.However Joe did get caught and shaken by guys like Zyglewicz and Stander so.... On the flip side, IMO Marciano wasn't the best that Frazier fought. That being said, styles make fights and this one would be terrific. Absolutely brutal. Just a dream fight. 50/50 I think.

Pre-Ali, who would rate as better than Marciano that Frazier beat?

[Elroy The Great]

@ the points/draw option

[joseph5620]

Pre-Ali, who would rate as better than Marciano that Frazier beat?

What would be the point of this being pre Ali?

[The Old LefHook]

Frazier weighed about 20 lbs. more. But 20 lbs. is nothing to an old time heavyweight. The smallest heavyweights of old are equal to the largest heavyweights of any era; so I am told, and do in part believe it.

In fact, I've heard tell from aficionados of mythical matchups that weight is of no consequence whatsoever to any old time fighter. Is this true? Does anyone know anything about this? In other words, just as Rocky was able to deal with heavyweights 60 lbs. heavier, flyweights of old could effectively deal with light heavyweights and super middleweights of any other era. A good featherweight or lightweight from the golden era could certainly deal with today's cruiserweights. I do not envision any disagreement on this point, at least. You see, otherwise Marciano couldn't be in the top 5 or even the top 10 of heavyweights, either. And pretty well every reasonable man knows he was, I am told.

I'll tell ya, folks, it about takes a Kovalev or a Calzaghe from today to deal with a Sandy Saddler of yesterday. Does anyone disagree with that? Well, I didn't think so. But just to be complete I must ask the rhetorical question, by God! Otherwise Rocky could not deal with men 60 lbs heavier, either. I keep returning to the same point. It is like the beginning and ending of Finnegan's Wake being circulatory and continuous. Rocky had the pigmentation to read that book, Joe really didn't, by the way, so give him a ton of kudos for finishing it anyway! Both preferred comic books.

It make sense that both men do the very same things remarkably well. The overwhelming difference between the two is pigmentative, (so, guess which one's a black native)... Joe's hyper-pigmentation cannot overcome Rocky's superior pigmentation in the end, as I see it, in a close fought battle of complexions for the ages.

In other complexion news, Jimmy Wilde/Andre Ward has been moved to the Marciano/Joshua card.

[RickLinus]

Rocky by KO

[embryo]

Really tough....I really like Frazier more than Marciano but Marciano beat some of the toughest dudes in the HW division, I honestly think he could handle Frazier and win a decision.