Frazier came from farming stock. His family ,all ten of them were share croppers,and pretty poor,and he came from South Carolina. Firpo was middle class and worked in a drug store.
I read it and Firpo was not born in a slum, he came from a financially comfortable background and was well educated. Frazier came from humble beginnings. As usual you don't know what you are talking about and,as usual ,you can't bring yourself to admit it!
Frazier is a nightmare match up for Tunney he wouldn't give him an inch. Joe Stops Tunney in the mid rounds maybe 9. How this fight got 22 pages of replies when its so clear who would win is beyond me.
Tunney was the best pure boxer ever to hold the hwt title. He was perfectly conditioned, a smart tactician and as tough as nails. Frazier in his prime was no more than a 205 pound hwt and he was a one handed heavyweight so he had an incredibly large hole in his skill set. Great boxers have a way of exploiting major technical flaws. I pick Tunney here by decision. Tunney boxes perfectly at distance moving and turning Frazier so he needs to constantly reset to throw his hook and ties Joe up in close.
The 175 pound tunney is going to succesfully outclinch and outmaneuver the 205-210 relentless frazier and make him reset? Please explain how. Consider that Ali, one of the slickest of all time and a 6'3 natural 210+ fighter couldnt keep frazier at bay for very long and was forced to trade or go to the ropes multiple times throughout each of their 3 bouts. The huge yet slick technically sound 243 Mathis couldn't keep frazier at bay and tried desperately to make it an outside fight. Its not just size, its style. Frazier was like an anti air device, no hit and run slick maneuvering would work against him for long.
Don’t agree with you. Frazier never faced prime Ali. Post prime Ali won 2/3 from Frazier stopping him in fight three. Technically Tunney was a superior boxer to Ali. The punch to hit Ali with was the left hook (which was Frazier’s best/only punch) you can’t say that of Tunney. The Tunney who fought Dempsey was a totally trained down 190 pound hwt not 170 pounds. Prime Frazier was a 202-205 pound hwt. An inconsequential difference even if you heavily(and incorrectly) emphasize weight. Great boxers have a way to capitalize upon glaring holes in an opponents offense or defense. The fact that Tunney would have nothing to worry about from Frazier’s right side dives him an enormous advantage. Tunney would work out a perfect game plan to neutralize one punch.
One left hook over 20 rounds and Tunney had a two fisted puncher in front of him in Dempsey. Joe was landing his hook early and often vs Ali in 71.
Maybe because Frazier was better than Dempsey. Especially the version of Dempsey that Tunney fought. And Ali in '71 was better than any version of Tunney imo.
No. The Ali who fought Frazier in 71 was less than six months removed from a 3-4 year layoff. The Tunney that fought Dempsey was a prime ATG fighter. Understand that going into the ring with only one great punch is a huge hole to climb out of when you are fighting an ATG boxer like Tunney. Tunney would neutralize that one punch and with it win the fight.
Ali came off a long layoff but so did Dempsey. Ali lost to Frazier and then he went 24-1 in his next 25 fights (11-0 in title fights). He beat Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Lyle, Shavers, Young, Quarry, Ellis, Chuvalo, Foster etc. All these men with two arms lost to Ali but there's this one-handed fighter who floored and outclassed Ali. What did Dempsey do in his comeback? Ali is regarded as the greatest heavyweight of the 70s. That's what Ali accomplished in his comeback and that's who Frazier beat. Ali was also much bigger than Tunney. But seriously, how can you consider Tunney the best pure boxer to hold the heavyweight title? I don't think he deserves that kind of recognition. To me, Tunney is about the same level as Spinks in terms of legacy at heavyweight. No one mentions Spinks when we talk about the most skilled pure boxers in heavyweight history. Why does Tunney belong in that conversation? He beat a washed up Dempsey. That's his resume at heavyweight.
It’s a question of skill. Tunney knew technical boxing which is the ability to feint, block, parry, slip and then counter to vital parts of an opponents body. Ali relied more upon speed and toughness in the 70’s. As he moved on later in his career he developed gimmicks like the Mirage and ropeadope which were in part to cover for his lack of exceptional technical skills. We are comparing Tunney and Ali not Ali and Dempsey. Certainly Dempsey’s come from behind one punch KO of No 1 contender prime future hwt champion Jack Sharkey in 1927 was a remarkable feat. Bottom line is Frazier was a very flawed hwt by not having a right side for an opponent to worry about. Verses lesser opponents Joe’s stamina and relentlessness would prevail. Against an ATG boxer like Tunney who could exploit small holes not having a right hand would be a major problem for Frazier.
Perhaps Tunney's footwork looked quick and deft because he only fought a certain 'type' of fighter. #foodforthought
No he honestly doesnt deserve that distinction. Tunney beat a past his orime unmotivated Dempsey. In terms of resume at heavyweight, he cant even be placed above Michael Spinx (who had a similar career). As far as h2h skill, i find it hilarious Houdini thinks tunney is somehow above the likes of Ellis, Mathis, and especially Ali. Even if we say that's true, there is a significant size/strength difference and tunney would need to pull every trick out of his hat just to keep frazier from mowing him over. I dont see how anyone could say otherwise. How many intense 15 round WARS did Tunney win?
