The Best Of Larry Holmes Versus The Best Of Joe Frazier For $1,000,000,000.00

Lol, that’s what drew me most to the thread - all those zeros following the 1. Nice prize money. That’s the good news.

The bad news is: Promoter Don King holds the prize money and is in charge of paying out same.

We might want to see more zeros on there but the winner could be looking at a whole lot less in the hand.

Maybe a briefcase with a “tax dodging” 10K cash is the best they could hope for. Haha.

 

I would give this to Joe if it were over 15 rounds. His pressure would just about overhaul Larry's early lead and would take something like 9 - 6 verdict in rounds.

 

Ali is great enough that even with the stylistic disadvantage he could be favored vs. Frazier.
Holmes was not quite at that level of transcendent skills & tricks.
Over 3 Holmes takes no more than 1.
The opposite of Ali, even in the 1970's.

 

Frazier-Marciano-Tyson -all wrong for Holmes- Pressure inside fighters with power. Larry gets stopped thinking 9-15...Larry was tough and could do things they couldn't but styles just wrong for Larry - one punch like Snipes and Shavers wouldn't work against Larry but pressure and power breaks him.

 

I volunteer to be manager of both fighters as Don King has retired to his holiday home in Bermuda.

It goes to the judges but I obviously don’t care who wins as I’m taking my 33% regardless…!

 

I don't see Larry getting stopped, due to Joe not having his kryptonitic overhand right (though Joe had a dumbly underrated right hand). However, I see Larry knocking the crap out of him the first four or five rounds, then losing the next seven, getting staggered several times along the way.

It would be clear UD, despite Larry's dominance early on and champion's Heart. Joe would be plenty swole up at the end.

 

Hmmm surprised by the support for a Frazier win. Not sure but doesn't Holmes have some significant physical advantages over Joe? Larry could take a good punch and if he boxes cautiously couldn't he prod his way to a point victory? Also it is not like Larry couldn't hit, I don't see Joe just walking through Larry's jabs and crosses. Gerry Cooney was a big bloke and his face looked like a plate of mince after their fight. Joe had a relatively brief spell at the top while Larry was champ for 7 (?) years and faced (and mastered) a wide range of styles so I feel he is more versatile. Don't get me wrong Renaldo Snipes and Ernie Shavers are not in anyway comparable to Frazier but I think Larry showed he could switch it up and showed a ton of heart. After Foreman fight I would not be surprised to see Joe bounced off the canvas as well by the punches Larry took from Snipes and Shavers, these punches could have done in anyone, for example Lennox Lewis, but Larry got up and won.

I don't feel Joe has many dimensions, Joe is Joe, and if you had a good game plan you could work out a strategy. I am not saying it is going to be easy but I think Larry can out box Joe.

I feel Joe had a special thing with Ali, both as far as their styles and his intense competitiveness (hatred?) of Ali that pushed him to almost super human efforts. I am not sure he would generate this level against Larry. I don't take the Tyson fight as in anyway indicative of what may happen, Larry did not fight well and was pretty much doing it for the paycheck so to think this is how a Frazier fight would go is misleading IMO.

I think a lot depends on how much better you think Ali is over Larry. If you think beating Ali shows a template to how to beat Larry then I can see your point. But while not some crazy Larry fanatic I see Holmes and Ali as not being a million miles apart P4P and H2H so Joe beating Ali doesn't equate such a huge possible superiority IMO.

Not in anyway knocking Frazier, just my thoughts and happy to be schooled by those more knowledgeable.

 

Take this as you will, but I just fought this bout with my old Title Bout android computer simulation game and Frazier won 8-3-1, 8-3-1 and 6-2-4 (weird score), knocked Holmes down in the 1st and 11th rounds and had one of his eyes practically closed at the end. All within the realm of possibility.

 

There's just no such thing against peak Frazier. He's simply relentless and you aren't surviving prodding and boxing cautiously. He's bad news for a pure boxer type, horrific news really.

 

Out of interest apart from Ali did Joe beat anyone as good as Holmes? I am not massively familiar with his record beyondthe Ali and Foreman fights. I know Holmes probably never beat anyone as good as Joe, apart from Norton (I don't count a shot Ali) I am just more familiar with Holmes' overall record.

Also I would be interested if Holmes fought (and beat) generally bigger opponents during this reign than Frazier, I thought this maybe a factor if Larry is more used to hitting larger fighters? Of course when Joe fought a behemoth in Foreman he was destroyed.

 

Norton was not as good as Frazier.... not by a long shot.

 

Frazier by a wide decision possible late stoppage

 

I’ll pick Holmes by a narrow decision but I know it’s not a given

 

Aside from Ali, I think Frazier's best wins were over Ellis x 2, Machen, Quarry, Bugner, Bonavena x 2 and Foster. None as good HWs as Holmes.

I think Holmes has a deeper resume, but doesnt have an Ali calibre win. Norton and Witherspoon were the best he beat, neither as good as Frazier, imo. In addition to Norton and Witherspoon, Shaves x 2, Cooney, Mercer, Weaver, Berbick, Smith, Snipes, Williams, a shot Ali, Jones and Cobb, is a more impressive win resume than Holmes is sometimes credited with, imo.