Exactly..I also remember reading Ali rating Frazier as the hardest puncher he ever fought. Now I know Ali faced harder punchers per say like Shavers and George BUT besides the kinfolk comment about Shavers he did always say Frazier was the hardest hitter he faced.
Hey RG, Its funny mate, Ali actually never rated Foreman as a puncher. He always called George " a push puncher " compared to Frazier. George never managed to hit Ali with anything resembling the kind of shots Joe did so I imagine thats where some of Ali's opinion comes from. Styles make fights ....
This. If Dundee wasn’t such a clever cornerman Ali would’ve took a loss against Cooper. Also reminds me of when Jumbo Cummings hurt Bruno right at the end of the round and Bruno’s corner immediately used smelling salts to revive him.
I would not rate Frazier as a devastating puncher. A very good attrition puncher yes. He rarely knocked opponents OUT. He never knocked an opponent down with his right hand. My vote goes for Shavers. THe punch was in the closing seconds of either round 13 or 14. Ali was hit by a right hand as he was against the ropes. He was badly hurt perhaps out on his feet from this one blow.
Ali said in the programme What's My Name Muhammad Ali .Shavers hit him the hardest, and Larry Holmes said the same thing.
Ali said he was more hurt from the punch in the 11th rd because he never saw it coming,he saw the left hook in the 15th rd but couldn't get out of the way of it. Frazier is overated as a puncher imo ,he was an attrition puncher who wore you down with constant hooks, thrown non stop.Who are the best men he actually ko'd, Doug Jones and Bob Foster both light heavies.
Please show us the application of smelling salts between the 1 st and 2nd rds of the Bruno vCummings fight,here it is. This content is protected
Wrong clip. It doesn't have the round in question. Not that you could see the smelling salts being administered anyway. The footage from the corner cut away to a replay of Bruno being tagged and staggered pretty quickly. This content is protected
Bruno was caught in the first round right at the end of the round in fact,his manager and trainer Terry Lawless leapt into the ring and guided him to his stool. When else was he in danger of being ko'd during the fight?
He was badly shook up, that's for sure. In fact it's a good effort from Bruno to come back from being so hurt. It could've been a disaster for him at such an embryonic stage of his career
Its the only time he managed it and the main factor to his survival was it was at the end of the round.
I know I read the Frazier bit in I think SI. Maybe he meant overall who knows. Rd 11 of FOTC still looks the hardest to me. Knowing how spiteful Ali was maybe he didnt want to say it happened in a fight he lost. Especially to Joe.