Frazier, too quick, too busy, slips the jab, and delivers his ferocious left hook. Sonny's not George Foreman.
I give Frazier a slim chance, but as a huge fan of his, I’d be hoping it’s a fight that didn’t come off.
Foreman took away Joe's inside game which is his bread and butter with framing and pushing. I don't see Sonny being able to do that.
From a non-bias perspective, being “quick and busy” doesn’t mean much when the other dudes arms are 11 inches longer… he can safely snipe from a distance while Joe stays “busy” a mile away.
Just like the fastest heavyweight in history in Patterson was to quick for Liston. Lol is Liston just going to stand there and let Frazier unload on him? We've seen how he deals with swarmers. He'll use his jab and power to stop Frazier dead in his tracks. Nobody was better (other than perhaps Louis), at using their opponents forward momentum against them. Liston had one of the greatest jabs of all time. Not only was it extremely powerful, but more importantly it was extremely accurate, versatile, and could be used in a number of ways. He could use it as feint, to obscure the vision of his opponent, or to feign vulnerability by appearing to overlunge and seem off-balance to lure his opponent in while actually maintaining a perfect position. He also shown the ability to jab at his opponent's chest, which was an excellent antidote for the bob and weave style. He used it to great effect against Patterson. Also even IF Frazier slipped his jab, the best punch to nail Liston would be a right hand.... Agreed, Liston was much faster, more versatile, had much better endurance, and ring IQ. Excellent point. How much of Liston have you watched? You don't seem to know much about him, if at all.
I see amped-up FOTC Frazier winning an ugly, viciously fought decision where Joe comes out in worse shape than any other fight, probably swole all to hell. But I see post FOTC Frazier getting knocked all over the ring and stopped early.
Liston would 100% brace and shove like Foreman, the difference is I think Liston would actually try to legitimately box a lot more than Foreman, and Frazier would 100% be able to get inside, Liston never fought anyone that went to the body like Frazier would, nor with the excellence and ferocity of coming up top with it There is one of the boxing channels that has FOTC in high definition and Frazier's speed is actually crazy it looks sped up similar to some of Ali's footage but wasn't, I think FOTC Frazier could take it fairly late but would take some licks along the way
Liston takes him out early, uses the jab to get Frazier bobbing and weaving, then fake the jab and time Frazier’s head movement with the uppercut and hook combinations to take him out, walking forward with a passive defence is a recipe for disaster against someone who can set up devastating punches.
Let's analyze this. (65-70) Liston's good points- Great power, technically skilled, long reach. (65-70) Liston's weaknesses- Questionable stamina, weaker mental resilience, susceptibility to opponent's pressure. (68-71) Frazier good points- Excellent pressure, strong mental toughness, outstanding stamina. (68-71) Frazier's weaknesses: Vulnerability to powerful punchers, relatively short reach (but it helps in close-range fighting). If the FOTC Frazier meets Liston from 1965–1970, it would be evenly matched. If it's prime Liston, I just don't know.