The ultimate big man vs Little Man battle.... Smokin Joe Frazier vs Rid**** "Big Daddy" Bowe... How does this one go down?
Futch always said that Frazier would have won, and he might well be right. Bowe has the right tools on paper, but he deploys them incorrectly. He might just end up trying to out Frazier Frazier.
Bowe would Foreman him pretty convincingly. Horrible style for Frazier. Bowe's hooks and uppercuts would completely outfire Frazier inside.
If Futch said that there should not really be much room for debate, his knowledge of both guys was probably second to none. However, I'm sure that the experts on here who clearly know much more than Futch will undoubtedly say otherwise.
Not sure about this one. If Bowe can hurt Frazier early, like Foreman, then Bowe wins, if not, Bowe is in for a long night. I was watching some of Frazier's fights 69-71. The guy was like a meat grinder. Bowe did not reach his potential in my opinion, he certainly had a lot of tools. To beat a prime Frazier he would need all of them. I would not put Bowe's punch in Foreman's class. I guess I would pick Frazier - late round stoppage.
This is the man who threw the WBC belt in the trash rather than fight Lennox Lewis...Frazier kicks his ass...
Was Bowe a bonafide all time great, or was he just an athletic talent who had the style to beat Holyfield. I have never quite been sure.
I'm always wary when quotes from trainers and so called experts are used in these kind of debates. They could say one thing and then give a completely different answer when asked another time or by a different person. For example, I seem to recall a HBO documentary about the Bowe/Golota fights years back in which Futch apparently is quoted as saying that of all the Heavyweights he trained, Bowe at his best was the best. So which would you take as being the definitive answer or should I say his definitive opinion?
Bowe struggled to hit Buster Mathis Jr. Cleanly with anything and resorted to illegally hitting him on the ground to get him out. (He should of been dq'd) Mathis couldn't crack an egg, Joe would slip and bob and beat Bowe up badly on the inside. Almost like Golota minus the fouls to bail Rid**** out.
Ken, good point and good question, which is why I prefaced my post with the word "If". Another important issue when assessing these quotes is context, which is often lost on a page as opposed to the spoken word. It may be that the answer to your question is "both" - it could be that neither Futch (or any of us possibly) saw the theoretical "best" of Bowe, which may explain why Futch apparently picked Frazier on this match-up.