Frank Bruno vs. Joe Frazier

Good post.

 

i cant see bruno making it at best past the 5th

 

me neither.not the joe who beat ali

 

In reality,such a fight would never happen.Bruno,for all his faults,was a good puncher - and Frazier never wanted any part of them.


In fantasy land,well,I'd favour Bruno to knock him out early.It's a difficult matchup to call,really.Bruno can punch,but his chin was also poor,too.

 

When I first saw the title of this thread I thought it must be someone having a laugh...Bruno v Frazier? Then I realised it was a serious thread.

Honestly...Bruno v Frazier...you must be joking...I've nothing against big Frank, he always tried his best, but come on, this is all about levels...Frazier would have annihalated Bruno. Frank was too slow of foot and of thought to cope with Joe - I wouldn't even give Frank much of a puncher's chance...he might, if he landed his absolute best shot, dip Frazier's knees, even make him touch down, but he doesn't have the composure or natural fighting instincts to follow up in top class - the top class guys he fought and tagged - Lewis, Witherspoon & Tyson were too clever to get caught with follow up shots. Look at left hook Frank landed on Tyson - good shot - but no composure from Frank following up.

Frank's dined out on that shot almost as 'Enery has on his left hook v Clay/Ali in '63. Before anyone asks, I greatly respect both Cooper and Bruno.

So, removing the "puncher's chance" for Bruno, what other course of victory does Bruno have? He can't keep Joe off for 12/15 rounds with the jab, he can't outlast him, he can't fight with him because he couldn't maintain the pace Joe sets. He can't take Joe's best shots...Frank didn't have a glass jaw, but any man who can floor Ali in the 15th round hits hard enough to floor, stop or even KO Frank.

Frazier in about 6 extremely painful rounds for Bruno, who is outclassed, but gets props for taking his lumps manfully.

IMO.

 

Can't agree with this " and Frazier never wanted any part of them".

Frazier was about as brave as any man who ever stepped into a ring, and who went into the ring with Foreman, not once, but twice after being crushed the first time...and you think he never wanted any part of punchers?

How have you come to this conclusion?

 

:bart:bart:bart:bart:bart:bart:bart

Well said mate:good, my sentiments exactly

 

From the amount of punchers,who existed within his era,who were ranked in the top ten,whom he didn't fight.He avoided them on his way up,he avoided them while champion and even after he lost his title.


Frazier was forced into a fight with Foreman.Foreman had been the number one rated contender for quite a while before Frazier did eventually sign to meet him.It took the threat of losing his title to sign up.The rematch was nothing more than cashing-in time for Frazier.He wanted to leave the sport with a decent size purse - and only a fight with Foreman could bring him this.

 

This is a classic forum and if this is what you genuinely think then this aint the place for you mate, no disrespect but some of the guys on here will tear you apart with quotes like the above

 

No you are quite right and if Bruno cannot control his nerves then there is only one winner.

But physically Frazier is an excellent match up for Bruno, Frazier hated fighting on the back foot, and a peak Bruno (probably the one who beat Aussie Joe), could dominate with the jab and bust up Frazier inside four/five rounds.

Of course there is the issue of Bruno's stamina, which makes this match very hard for Bruno to win in the second half of a fight.

 

Re your first paragraph...I just can't agree with you...a man of Frazier's bravery, who stated he would have come out for the 15th in Manila even at the risk of his life (see Thrilla in Manila DVD), a man who fought his whole career with sight in only one eye...avoided punchers on the way up, during and after his reign? I'm not convinced. Which punchers did he avoid? And please, don't just name names...anyone can just name names...please come up with names and the evidence that he avoided those individuals.

Re your second paragraph...so, Joe Frazier avoided punchers after he lost his title, but CHOSE to fight the puncher George Foreman a second time, after being smashed the first time..for the money? Surely if Frazier was avoiding punchers, he wouldn't have fought Foreman in any circumstances? Can you provide proof/evidence that he took the Foreman rematch as the "rematch was nothing more than cashing-in time for Frazier" ? I have never heard this before.

Many people make a case that Norton avoided punchers...I have never heard this accusation thrown at Frazier before.

 

And Foreman didn't fight the same conditioned champion from 68-70.

As for Joe vs Bruno? I'd say Bruno makes it a contest for about 4 or 5 rounds before Joe stops in around 7 or 8.

 

And obviously he wasn't trying to make himself look good by saying that,huh?


And no,Frazier did not fight his whole career with sight in only one eye.This has never been anything more than a claim Frazier made well after his career ended - which again,obviously wasn't said to make himself look good. :roll:




The evidence is that he didn't fight them when it was his duty,as a top rated heavyweight to do so.These were not merely punchers,they were top ranked contenders.As a fighter in the same division,also rated in the top ten.....he had an obligation to fight them.

Yes,for the money.Frazier had absolutely no intentions of rebuilding his career and working his way up to another title shot.He retired immediately after the Foreman fight - that's enough to tell us of what his intentions were.


If Frazier had refused to fight Foreman,and was stripped of his title for not fighting Foreman,his reputation would have suffered.No different to Patterson avoiding Liston until he could do so no longer.



Ken Norton fought more punchers than Frazier ever did,I know that much.

 

People say it all the time .

And it's true. Even if he faced some guys like Shavers, Mac Foster, Lyle, any of these guys, there would be a better case for Frazier.
Regardless he still fought some good fighters outside of Ali. He faced Chuvalo, Ellis, Machen, Bonavena, Bugner, and Quarry. Not bad opposition at all imo

 

We'll have to agree to disagree.

I take Frazier's word over yours about his comment about the 15th round in Manila, and his eyesight - how do you KNOW either of these as fact? Yet you state these things as if you know them to be cast iron fact.

Perhaps Frazier thought by fighting and beating Foreman in their second fight, he WOULD work himself back into title contention. The fact that he retired immediately after the fight may be because the loss proved to him that he could not get back into contention. The very fact Frazier took the second Foreman fight is proof that he didn't avoid the huge punching Foreman. Let's not forget, he went out on his sheild in his last fight against Foreman.

You still haven't come up with any names of punchers he avoided - or proof - you've just stated your opinion, as I've stated mine.