For what its worth I saw Frazier who was then in his mid to late 40's go up to a 250lb heavybag while in a suite and tie and with one cold left hook ,lift and bend this bag to a 45 degree angle. My Jaw dropped & I remember it like it was yesterday.
I think he had very good power but not the kind that will get you out with one punch. His power would wear on a fighter until he couldn't take it anymore. I wouldn't rate him in the top 5 but he sure could bang.
Frazier's left-hook power was good but not truly great....... Frazier could stop smaller heavies like "Ellis and Quarry," but he struggled big time against "Ali & Foreman." Despite dropping a rusty Ali in '71, Frazier was not really a big hitter amongst "A" grade opponents..... Yes, again, against a small guy like Bobby Foster, Joe Frazier looked awesome; but Foster was only a 183 pounds against the 200+ pound Joe Frazier...... Joe Frazier also struggled against Oscar Bonavena big time in the 60s...... I'd have popped a woody had Frazier displayed his left-hook upside the heads of "Lyle & Norton." Then we'd good a damn good measurement of Joe's true power..... Peace.... MR.BILL:bbb:deal
It's probably not in the top 30 as far as all heavyweights go. He didn't have one-punch power, he was just so damn relentless and accurate that you would fold after 7-8 rounds trading with him. I think it's a testament to Frazier's aggression and heart that he's regarded as a fearsome power puncher when he really only had good power.
ill put it this way...george chuvalo when he fought foreman was taking some punches and when he was stopped he was clear eyed and arguing with the ref....however when he fought frazier he was thoroughly beaten up amd turned himself away after a left hook nearly knocked his eye out and no type of arguing whatsoever...frazier definitely had some pop
Good observation!! I've also always wondered how Ali withstood all of those crushing body shots from George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle, but Joe Frazier managed to severely hurt Ali with his body punches in their first and third fights. I've never quite figured that one out. :? The popular (and rather obvious) opinion is that George hit much harder than Frazier, but it seems that sometimes Frazier could hurt people when Foreman couldn't.
Don't forget that guys like Louis, Dempsey, Marciano, etc., fought in eras when referees tended not to stop fights early to save fighters from cold knockout losses. By Frazier's time, officials were stopping fights earlier than in previous decades. As for Joe's power, his left hook was a brutally powerful punch. Overall I'd say that Frazier's left hook was probably more powerful than either of Marciano's hands.
So did Lamar Clark. Apart from 188lb Bob Foster ,who lost to every rated heavy he fought,[being kod by the likes of Earnie Terrell],and Doug Jones,another 188 pounder,which rated heavyweight did Frazier ko,as in put down for the count?
A while back some excerpts of an old timer speaking about boxing were published here on the board. This guy (don't remember his name right now) had fought Greb, Dempsey and Tunney among others, and had some interesting things to say. Among them was that a well trained fighter could always take a shot to the stomach, no matter how hard, if he had time to set himself. Ali had one of the most punchresistant bodies of all time and he had ample time to set himself before Foreman's wide, telegraphed shots reached him. Frazier, on the other hand, did most of his work in close, pounding Ali's ribs and hips with blows that he didn't have as much time to set himself for. Ali himself said that Frazier's style, with short left hooks to the ribs, was much more difficult for him to cope with than Foreman's.