I just finished watching Holyfield-Lewis 2, and it struck me how tired Lewis got; when Evander upped the work rate Lennox couldn't go with him. Holyfield couldn't maintain the pace which enabled Lewis to pot shot to the decision win. Frazier would never let up and would close the distance on Lewis, nullifying his power. Lewis would be gasping for air after 8 rounds. Frazier clear win on points or late stoppage. Lewis can only win early, if this approach fails, Joe triumphs. I know this won't be popular, but I think it is a perfectly valid argument.
Lewis performance was a weird one in this fight. The fight took most of its place on the outside. Holyfield adjusted from the first fit and did a much better job at boxing with Lewis, who it turn didn't handle these adjustments as well as he should have. Seems like the wrong type of fighter for Frazier to overcome, but then again, a come forward fighter with an unmatchable work rate and knockout in his left hook that, isn't going to give Lewis an inch sounds kind of ominous doesn't?
It's in Frazier's comfort zone, a tall guy with a big body to tee off on with his hook. Joe somehow got stuck with a lot of opponents his own height or even shorter, but Lennox isn't the sort to shove him back like the freakishly strong Foreman, lean away from the hook like Ali, or get underneath it like guys Smoke's own height might.
Frazier could get inside and could cause Lewis hell and the same with both Klitschko's. He'd be a major problem for any boxer once he started smokin'.
I once said that Marciano could beat Lewis if Lennox had a bad night and was boo'd out of the house :huh
:rofl See what an idiot you are? "I know this won't be popular..." Eight of your first ten respondents have proved you to be a complete fool. Then there's BE as the lone dissenter, who can't resist any thread which has the word "crazy" in the title. How can you identify BE as the chief second/manager at a tournament of boxing HW ATGs? He's the one with Zelenoff as his entry. How do you tell BE's betting on the outcome? He's the one placing money on Zelenoff instead of Charlie's opponents. How do you know BE's also the behind the scenes promoter of the tournament? Zelenoff WINS!!!
I've never favored Joe Frazier to beat Lennox Lewis in fantasy fights and nor would I give him much of a chance.. Lewis was troubled or beaten primarily by men who's best punch was the right. The left was never a particularly useful weapon against Lennox and most who relied on it were badly beaten.. And using Evander's performance against him doesn't make much of a parallel for predicting how a match with Joe Frazier would play out. Even the chin of an aging Holyfield was still much more durable than Joe's.. That and Holyfield was 6'2", 214.. Not 5'11", 205. Lennox would have about six inches in height, 30 lbs in weight, a sizable reach and loads of power to hit Joe with.. Also contrary to some people's belief, Joe Frazier did not posses "one punch" power. He was a pressure fighter who broke men down over time.. Little bit difficult to do when you're up against a man who you have to work about five times harder than to overcome the size disparity and who in all likelihood is keeping you on the defensive most of the time..... This is a mismatch.
Yes, it is a crazy pick. If you want to pick a match where a lower rated fighter wins, you need historical reasoning, a good understanding of how styles make fights, and how the lesser fighter can exploit the weakness via a favorable match up. I don't think Frazier rates here. Historical reasoning : 1 ) Which quality big man did he defeat? None, he struggled with some not in Lewis class in Buster Mathis. Styles make fights : 2 ) Frazier had to go forward to win. He'd have a hard time getting past Lewis jab and right hand. On the inside, Frazier was easily controlled in clinches, and Lewis has an uppercut option. Ability to exploit a weakness: 3 ) Lewis was hardly hurt or bothered by left hooks. With him, it was always right hands, and Frazier's right hand was rather weak with a limited range. I doubt Frazier could take Lennox's power and he'd have zero chance to outbox him. A long shot...
Lewis was hit by a short left from Shannon Briggs in round 1 that sent him flying. Lewis was hit by left hooks in the Holyfield fight. Mercer had success against Lewis with left hooks. Scored flush with quite a few. Bruno hit Lewis with left hooks to the body and head. These are just a few examples that come to mind and they are vivid in my mind. Check the videos. I've never before heard that Lewis was somehow harder to hit with left hooks. Probably because it's rarely been said, and probably because it isn't true.
Practically everyone of those men you listed hit harder than Frazier, had better range to land on Lewis and NONE were able to land the left with any consistency and certainly not beat him.. Frazier would have to rely almost exclusively on landing that left all night long against an opponent who grossly outreached him and had immense power to make him pay for it. That's because no one said it. Only that it wasn't " a particularly useful weapon against him. " Why don't you ask David Tua, Tommy Morrison or Razor Ruddock how throwing the left worked for them?
Apart from that big dirty uppercut Lewis was known to land. You know the uppercut, the punch Frazier was kind of vulnerable too? He also had a big right hand which he most likely would use, as he did with Tua and Tyson to get Fraziers respect straight away.