Jan. 22, 1973 ("The Sundown Showdown.") I watched the fight in Austin on Closed Circuit TV as Big George bounced Frazier off the canvas. This content is protected APJoe Frazier goes down in the first round against George Foreman in their 1973 bout. Foreman won in the second round. more: This content is protected
I was not old enough to watch it live... as I wasn't alive (Sorry if I make you feel old). But it was a terrific shock in the division. That is for sure. "Down Goes Frazier!" [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-WjL8jIyQ[/ame]
,just back from the pub,thought the date must be a mistake ! Frightening to realise it is not ! Carpe diem!
Anyone wants to debate the strength of Frazier's chin has to honestly ask themselves when they have ever seen another fighter get hit so hard and so often and still be back firing. Watch the shots he gets hit with prior to , during and after the knockdowns. Foreman's jab alone was harder than the power shots of most of the divisions best hitters. Watch the right uppercut which causes the second knockdown in round one. It is far more brutal than the shot Walcott flattened Charles with "AND FRAZIER GETS UP AND KEEPS FIGHTING." His heart and chin were enormous. I honestly do not see an Ali or a Holmes or a Marciano or a Dempsey taking those bombs and come back fighting. Again I stress, watch the punches in slow motion so you can appreciate the volume of monster shots he took. Frazier fought Foreman on his absolutely best night and it was terrorifying to watch.
And very educational because it showed Frazier could only fight coming forward. Remember those wind up toys you put on the floor ,they race off ,till they hit the skirting board,then they stop , pick them up, put them down ,they do the same thing again!
Well, I agree that it's quite the punishment he takes. Frazier never really proved he could take a clean power blow without getting wobbled or going down. But he was not someone that was easy to KTFO. Though, Frazier was out of shape here so it's a bit of a testament when his conditioning could have been better. You're wrong on your examples though. Ali took a flush shot from Shavers and didn't even go down. Holmes would go down, and probably get up. Marciano wouldn't go down as much, and would get every time he was floored. And Dempsey probably would get Knocked out.
that foreman woulda destroyed a lot of great heavies. undefeated and knocking all out quickly, his confidence was at his peak and that right uppercut was his main deadly weapon (if it landed you were going down). some fighters lose that confidence completely when they first lose a fight and are never the same after e.g. foreman, tyson etc.. if you're talking about peak foreman using his strengths (he was never a boxer he was a 2 round all out wrecking machine) then this is the fight to watch. the later version still had the punch but this version woulda buried him quick. frazier was undefeated and look what happens........
Princess if you properly read a post rather them sped to another snappy response you'd be know for the quality of your posts rather than the quantity.
Not the FOTC conditioned Frazier, slightly past it here, but the man was still dangerous as the champion going into this fight. I don't know if Foreman was being nice, but on more than one occasion in different interviews, justified Frazier's greatness such that he was the only heavyweight that put fear into him. He was scared to fight Frazier but knew he wasn't close to the fighter that beat Ali 2 years earlier and actually acknowledged that it might have been a different outcome if they fought when Frazier was at his best. Regardless, this version of Foreman was deadly and there aren't many, if at all that I would put my money on to beat him. Maybe 1960's Ali, maybe late 1970's/early 1980's Larry Holmes, maybe 1986-1987 Mike Tyson, maybe late 1960's Frazier, but very few others I'd give a legit shot at beating 1973 George Foreman.
Well, Ali actually beat Foreman by allowing George to have throw everything he had at him. And though Muhammad avoided many of Foreman's punches, he did take a few flush shots.
Nothing like the clean uppercut shot he landed against Frazier in Jamaica, or the straight right hand he landed against a backpedalling Norton. I'd bet on Ali going down against Big George if he landed the same type of punches with devasting effect that he did against Frazier and Norton. George did land a couple of good bombs, but nothing like the clean shots against Futch's men.
