In light of recent events.
Perhaps ABC replayed Frazier-Foreman I so many times that Howard Cosell's call of "Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier" is what most remember when they recall the career of Smokin' Joe. Muhammad Ali's overwhelming presence overshadowed him during the 70's and the emergence of the colorful George Foreman of the 90's, may have led some boxing observers to forget he was the best heavyweight in the world in between 1968 until 1973.
However, there are several things that stand out about Joe Frazier as a fighter that are routinely overlooked. Starting with Frazier was a terrific two handed body puncher, who possed never-ending stamina and actually got stronger as the fight progressed. He was the ultimate catch and kill style fighter, due to him being a master at cutting off the ring and forcing his opponents to fight his fight. His finishing punch was his left hook, which he threw with equal force to the body or head.
Over the years Frazier has been unfairly criticized for not having fought any big punchers with the exception of George Foreman. Next to Foreman, no fighter looks like a big puncher. He did fight Manuel Ramos who stood 6' 3" and weighed over 210 pounds and threw a crushing right uppercut. To which Frazier took flush on the chin on his way to scoring a 2nd Round knockout. Top contender Oscar Bonavena was a 6' 211 pound wall of granite. In their second fight, with Frazier's title on the line, Frazier cruised to a one-sided victory, winning almost all 15 rounds on the judges' cards. Jerry Quarry was a good enough puncher to force the 6'3" 220 lb undefeated contender Ron Lyle, who some think may have defeated Frazier, to back off after being hit with Quarry's bombs. Earnie Shavers, another fighter some believe might've had his way with Frazier, couldn't get out of the 1st Round against Quarry. Conversely, Frazier stood up to the hardest punches Quarry ever landed and kept coming forward and wore Quarry down in two meetings between them.
Joe Frazier sometimes gets lost in the overall picture of history’s greatest heavyweight champions. This is a shame since Joe Frazier can lay claim to something that no other fighter in boxing history can: that is he was the winner of the biggest and most anticipated fight in boxing history. I can't believe anyone would consider it a reach to say that the first fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali was the biggest sporting event of all time.
In what was his career defining fight, Joe Frazier was better prepared mentally, physically and strategically for Ali, more so than any other fighter I have ever seen for their opponent. Only because of the Herculean effort of Frazier was Ali the loser in the most anticipated fight in history. Only Ali could recover from losing such an event and go on to be bigger than he would have been than if he won. However, what continues to mystify me is how Frazier is often overlooked and under appreciated, not to mention underrated. That’s unbelievable in today's sporting world where everything is usually overrated based on one great fight or game. Yet Frazier, who won the fight that mattered most, is overlooked. Talk about being born at the wrong time. I thought that only applied to Jerry Quarry.
Maybe the Frazier who defeated Quarry twice should be linked to him for another reason: being victim to the calendar and having a lifetime to think about it. Many boxing aficionados have remarked that it was Quarry's misfortune to be in his prime at the same time that Ali and Frazier was at or close to theirs. I think it can just as easily be said that Frazier had the misfortune of being champion when Ali was larger than life and George Foreman was at his physical peak. If you compare Frazier and Ali strictly as fighters, there isn't much separating them. All three fights between them were close and went down to the wire with some seeing both of them as being the winner in their first two bouts. In terms of fighting styles, Ali's strengths were Frazier's weakness and vice-versa, which is why their fights were so grueling and took so much out of each man.
When comparing Frazier and Foreman as fighters, Frazier was actually the better fighter. However, he didn't match up with Foreman from a style vantage point. George Foreman and Joe Louis were the two most difficult opponents in heavyweight history to fight while employing a pressure style. Unfortunately, Frazier, just like Dempsey, Marciano, and Tyson, could only fight effectively moving forward forcing the fight. Foreman was the one fighter that when Joe came out "Smokin," it proved hazardous to his health. Frazier's loss to Foreman no doubt damaged his image as a great fighter. I would love to have seen how Dempsey, Marciano, and Tyson, who in their careers combined never fought a fighter anywhere near the puncher that Foreman was, would have done against the one that made Frazier an ex-champ. I have a hard time envisioning the results being any different.
Joe Frazier, as mentioned previously, was the ultimate catch and kill style fighter. What I mean by that is nobody applied more pressure and cut off the ring better than he did. It was Joe Frazier, not Dempsey, Marciano or Tyson, who developed the blueprint on how to force a mover/boxer to fight flatfooted and on the inside because the ring space they needed to move and box evaporated. And Frazier did this successfully versus the best escape artist who has ever lived, Muhammad Ali. And I believe he would've been successful cutting off the ring on any version of Ali.
Remember, during the sixties Ali never faced a fighter who could get past his jab and take it to him inside. Had Marvin Hagler been able to cut off the ring against Sugar Ray Leonard half as effectively as Frazier did against Ali, Leonard would have retired forever after their bout.
However, there are several things that stand out about Joe Frazier as a fighter that are routinely overlooked. Starting with Frazier was a terrific two handed body puncher, who possed never-ending stamina and actually got stronger as the fight progressed. He was the ultimate catch and kill style fighter, due to him being a master at cutting off the ring and forcing his opponents to fight his fight. His finishing punch was his left hook, which he threw with equal force to the body or head.
Over the years Frazier has been unfairly criticized for not having fought any big punchers with the exception of George Foreman. Next to Foreman, no fighter looks like a big puncher. He did fight Manuel Ramos who stood 6' 3" and weighed over 210 pounds and threw a crushing right uppercut. To which Frazier took flush on the chin on his way to scoring a 2nd Round knockout. Top contender Oscar Bonavena was a 6' 211 pound wall of granite. In their second fight, with Frazier's title on the line, Frazier cruised to a one-sided victory, winning almost all 15 rounds on the judges' cards. Jerry Quarry was a good enough puncher to force the 6'3" 220 lb undefeated contender Ron Lyle, who some think may have defeated Frazier, to back off after being hit with Quarry's bombs. Earnie Shavers, another fighter some believe might've had his way with Frazier, couldn't get out of the 1st Round against Quarry. Conversely, Frazier stood up to the hardest punches Quarry ever landed and kept coming forward and wore Quarry down in two meetings between them.
Joe Frazier sometimes gets lost in the overall picture of history’s greatest heavyweight champions. This is a shame since Joe Frazier can lay claim to something that no other fighter in boxing history can: that is he was the winner of the biggest and most anticipated fight in boxing history. I can't believe anyone would consider it a reach to say that the first fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali was the biggest sporting event of all time.
In what was his career defining fight, Joe Frazier was better prepared mentally, physically and strategically for Ali, more so than any other fighter I have ever seen for their opponent. Only because of the Herculean effort of Frazier was Ali the loser in the most anticipated fight in history. Only Ali could recover from losing such an event and go on to be bigger than he would have been than if he won. However, what continues to mystify me is how Frazier is often overlooked and under appreciated, not to mention underrated. That’s unbelievable in today's sporting world where everything is usually overrated based on one great fight or game. Yet Frazier, who won the fight that mattered most, is overlooked. Talk about being born at the wrong time. I thought that only applied to Jerry Quarry.
Maybe the Frazier who defeated Quarry twice should be linked to him for another reason: being victim to the calendar and having a lifetime to think about it. Many boxing aficionados have remarked that it was Quarry's misfortune to be in his prime at the same time that Ali and Frazier was at or close to theirs. I think it can just as easily be said that Frazier had the misfortune of being champion when Ali was larger than life and George Foreman was at his physical peak. If you compare Frazier and Ali strictly as fighters, there isn't much separating them. All three fights between them were close and went down to the wire with some seeing both of them as being the winner in their first two bouts. In terms of fighting styles, Ali's strengths were Frazier's weakness and vice-versa, which is why their fights were so grueling and took so much out of each man.
When comparing Frazier and Foreman as fighters, Frazier was actually the better fighter. However, he didn't match up with Foreman from a style vantage point. George Foreman and Joe Louis were the two most difficult opponents in heavyweight history to fight while employing a pressure style. Unfortunately, Frazier, just like Dempsey, Marciano, and Tyson, could only fight effectively moving forward forcing the fight. Foreman was the one fighter that when Joe came out "Smokin," it proved hazardous to his health. Frazier's loss to Foreman no doubt damaged his image as a great fighter. I would love to have seen how Dempsey, Marciano, and Tyson, who in their careers combined never fought a fighter anywhere near the puncher that Foreman was, would have done against the one that made Frazier an ex-champ. I have a hard time envisioning the results being any different.
Joe Frazier, as mentioned previously, was the ultimate catch and kill style fighter. What I mean by that is nobody applied more pressure and cut off the ring better than he did. It was Joe Frazier, not Dempsey, Marciano or Tyson, who developed the blueprint on how to force a mover/boxer to fight flatfooted and on the inside because the ring space they needed to move and box evaporated. And Frazier did this successfully versus the best escape artist who has ever lived, Muhammad Ali. And I believe he would've been successful cutting off the ring on any version of Ali.
Remember, during the sixties Ali never faced a fighter who could get past his jab and take it to him inside. Had Marvin Hagler been able to cut off the ring against Sugar Ray Leonard half as effectively as Frazier did against Ali, Leonard would have retired forever after their bout.
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