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Sparring in the gym and fighting with small gloves under the lights in front of a big crowd are a lifetime apart. Because fighter-A got the better of fighter-B sparring a few times, doesn't mean Fighter-A wins if they fought. Too many variables factor in on fight night, that don't exist in the gym. On top of that, fighters approach sparring differently. It's not the same every time out for a multitude of reasons.
In 1967, Joe Frazier went out to California to fight journeyman George "Scrapiron" Johnson. While out west, Frazier sparred Jerry Quarry. The story that filtered out as to who got the better of it, all had a common theme. Quarry got the best of Frazier. In fact the Quarry camp actually wanted to set up a fight between Jerry and Joe shortly afterward. The Cloverlay Corporation, which managed Frazier from 1965-74 wanted no part of matching Joe with Quarry at that time. Their thought was Joe wasn't quite ready and needed a little more time. And they felt a fight with Quarry would be there down the road, and for much higher stakes and money. And they were exactly right. [details]
In 1967, Joe Frazier went out to California to fight journeyman George "Scrapiron" Johnson. While out west, Frazier sparred Jerry Quarry. The story that filtered out as to who got the better of it, all had a common theme. Quarry got the best of Frazier. In fact the Quarry camp actually wanted to set up a fight between Jerry and Joe shortly afterward. The Cloverlay Corporation, which managed Frazier from 1965-74 wanted no part of matching Joe with Quarry at that time. Their thought was Joe wasn't quite ready and needed a little more time. And they felt a fight with Quarry would be there down the road, and for much higher stakes and money. And they were exactly right. [details]