Joe Frazier vs Ron Lyle

Frazier wouldn’t land a punch on forum Lyle unless he was in for a laugh.

 

This. Joe at his peak was for sure defensively superior to Foreman. Ultimately, Lyle would get hit too much.

 

There’s a lot more unknown about this matchup than we realise, Frazier had a passive defence, he didn’t put defence first and didn’t use his offence off the back of his defence, he was offensive minded and would force engages and just roll with the punches, which means opponents can set him up for big punches, which Lyle was great at doing.
My prediction is that Frazier gets up off of the floor early on to either stop Lyle late or outwork him for a decision.

 

I pick Frazier but I would be nervous betting a lot of money on this fight. The sight of Joe getting floored repeatedly in his two losses to Foreman is difficult for me to forget. I think it does raise questions about Joe's ability to withstand the blows of a real puncher. Frazier was certainly a great heavyweight but when I peruse Joe's record, I see that other than Foreman he didn't face a lot of knockout artists. Quarry was probably the hardest puncher of his remaining opponents but Jerry's first match with Frazier was a body-punching affair and in their second match Jerry abandoned his toe-to-toe strategy in favor of movement. He never really tested Joe's chin. Bonavena and Chuvalo were strong and rough but neither was an elite puncher. Bob Foster could bang but he was overmatched against top heavyweights. Jimmy Ellis had a sneaky right hand but you wouldn't call him overpowering. During Frazier's buildup phase, the hardest puncher he faced might have been Mel Turnbow. Joe withstood a beating by Ali and remained on his feet, but that says little about how he would fare against a fighter like Ron Lyle. I think Gerry Cooney would have a chance against Frazier, too.

 

I get you but Joes whole game was to slip and rip

 

Ron would do what Big George did, might take another couple rounds though.

 

I’d be stunned if Lyle won, frankly.