A time warp has occurred, It's March 22 1967, Zora Folley has been injured.

Frazier puts on a great display of heart and skill, shocking many observers who gave him no chance, pushing Ali for 15 rounds, but is edged out by a prime Ali who is too elusive and skilful for a young Smokin Joe.

 

I agree Frazier probably takes the rematch, Frazier improved significantly after his first Bonavena fight, the trouble with assessing Frazier's performance against Ali in the FOTC and using it to extrapolate how he would do against '67 Ali is that Ali was a better and more agile fighter in his prime, while Frazier was a worse fighter in '67 and needed a lot of refinement to diversify his skillset and hone his craft.

 

Ali clearly outpoints the gutsy Frazier by approx 10 - 5 in rounds. Frazier's face is swollen at the end and both eyes are nearly closed.

 

Right there with you--Ali dispatches 1967 Frazier fairly easily and Joe takes a lot of punishment.

 

Ali beats him decisively and a stoppage is not out of the question.

 

Ali gives Joe a good going over for the first 4-5 rounds but unlike the FOTC, - it doesn’t stop there - Ali doesn’t tire within himself and keeps going on with the job with loads of stamina to go.

I also see Frazier’s face being badly damaged, and that much worse than it was in the FOTC, and that ultimately sees Joe being stopped sometime between rounds 10 and 15.

 

I am of the opinion that there was a huge difference between Muhammad Ali in 1967 and Muhammad Ali in 1971, after the layoff. And I would say that 1967 Joe Frazier is not quite at the level of 1971 Joe Frazier.

I believe Ali gets off to commanding lead in the first 4 rounds in this hypothetical match up. I think Ali would be up 4 rounds to 0. I could see somewhat punished Frazier, with a puffed up face, coming on strong in the 5th and 6th rounds, but taking a a real beating in round 7. By the 8th round, with vision becoming a problem for Joe, I see most referees stepping in and halting the contest at that point.

So I am going with Muhammad Ali by TKO in 8 rounds over Joe Frazier.

I am going to say I still think Joe Frazier beats James Ellis and grabs the Heavyweight belt. When Muhammad Ali comes back, still undefeated, the idea of an Ali - Frazier rematch is not billed as "The Fight of the Century" any more, so Muhammad might even have a couple more tune up fights before the rematch with Frazier. Frankly, I do not think Joe Frazier ever beats Muhammad Ali under those circumstances, but the second fight is a tougher win for him than the first fight was.

Another interesting problem this presents is what happens with George Foreman? Does he ever become Heavyweight Champion? If not, with no belt to lose, does he ever mount a comeback to try to win the belt? Does Ken Norton manage to get the belt away from Muhammad Ali? Could George then get it from Norton before facing Ali down the road, getting history more or less back on track but with Norton in place of Frazier?

 

The Frazier of 71 was better than the Frazier of 67. Ali wins this in dominant fashion.