Absolutely he did. Marvis was trained to Box under George Benton. It wasn't until Joe fired George and tried to mold Marvis after himself which had poor results moving forward
What poor results? He lost only to 2 atgs in Holmes an Tyson an even Joe would have had a whole heap of trouble with those 2
I'm almost positive Frazier wouldn't have went out in 19 seconds against a green Tyson nor been knocked out in the first round against Holmes.
A very high-profile boxing writer of the time (high profile within boxing circles, one of the top guys covering the sport) told me before Holyfield-Cooper that he had been pursuing a rumor for some time that Bert was Joe Frazier’s illegitimate son but had never been able to prove it with a reliable enough source to publish it. Take that for what it’s worth, but that apparently was something that was believed by some at the time.
Might not have been the training that was at fault, but the management. Marvis's dad put him in against Holmes when Marvis was 10-0. I doubt Joe could have done much better at 10-0.
This. Joe meant well, but like most inexperienced managers jumped the gun for a quick payday. It’s never a good idea to match even a decorated amateur with very little pro experience with a seasoned vet like Holmes. Marvis made a rookie mistake early in the fight and Holmes took full advantage. Also, Durham and Futch when they handled Joe never would’ve matched Joe as a 10-0 novice against a vet like Holmes. A young Joe almost got taken out early against Bonavena and Bonavena isn’t close to being the calculating and dangerous fighter that Holmes is. During Joe’s development Futch was heavily criticized for matching a 12-0 Joe with Eddie Machen, but Futch, who had been a trainer/manager, since before Joe was born knew what he was doing and was proven right.
Bert & Smokin Joe look absolutely nothing alike, to me. I know kids sometimes don't look like their parents, but there is zero resemblance. Shame how Marvis' career was handled. I met him once, great guy!
Yes Cooper was basically Joe Frazier without the work ethic and training. That raging drug addiction didn't help either. He was similar to Joe in his mentality. When Bert was sober he loved to fight and loved combat. He had firepower at heavyweight Marvis Frazier really didn't. Cooper never developed Frazier bobbing and weaving or his non stop attack because his dedication was lacking consistency.