I would have Holmes and Frazier as a toss up. I think i would have Holyfield a mild fave. Both would know they'd been in a fight that's for sure.
The Frazier that beat Ali in 71 would chop down Holmes and KO him in 12 to 13. Holyfield not as slick a boxer would have to engage Joe mano a mano and while he'd land some good shots he wouldn't be able to discourage Joe's attack. Smokin Joe by TKO in a violent encounter
I could see the holyfield fight as being a toss up. Holy wouldnt be able to resist going to war, and that would favor Joe who bobbed, weaved, and tore at the body. With penalties for excessive holding he could give wladmir nightmares. However, wlad still had top 10 if not top 5 punching power so hs could close the show sometime in the mid rounds. Hed be competitive with the baer brothers, willard, holmes, witherspoon, many others. Id favor him over tony tucker, norton, tyson fury, ans chris byrd for stylistic reasons. I thinks he busts them up and stops them mid/late rounds.
I dont think he beats tucker, tucker had a great chin himself, punches harder than ali and actually had the legs to move the entire fight unlike ali in 71.
He certainly wasnt passive against tyson. The question in my thread is frazier at his best vs his opponents AT THEIR BEST. Im assuming tucker would really be coming to win.
Tucker was passive against Tyson after something like round four. He was passive against Douglas and Norris too. It's why he wasn't an ATG; the tools were there.
John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, maybe even Lennox Lewis before he got with Stewart. Lewis didn't always use his jab like he should of then. The Frazier before Foreman spanked him like daddy would be favored to beat that version of Lewis. Again if Frazier never fought Foreman I think he would of beat Ali every time they fought because Ali couldn't handle that style. If Frazier would of fought Ali and lets say Norton and retired I think people would favor him over guys like Wladimir Klistchko. Watch how Wlad struggled against Everett Martin. Who was a natural 180 pound fighter while Frazier was a natural 205 to 210 pound guy. The Wlad who runs like a woman would probably be favorite though.
I see Frazier beating most of the big heavys of the last 20-30 yrs. Frazier repeated slipped the jab and right hands of Prime Ali in the FOTC. And most of the fighters at the championship level today basically fight the style of Ali without the athleticism and hand and foot speed. Basically jab,right hand. Reset. Little body attack,few great left hooks. To me his biggest threats would be Tyson, Ike Iabeachi, D.Tua , fighters who could push him off balance, were aggressive, and had great hooks and uppercuts.
If you are going back 30 years (say, since 1987) I would confidently pick Joe over everyone except Tyson, Lewis, Bowe, Holyfield and Vitali K. Frazier against Mercer would be the stand out fight for me though I would still pick Joe to win.
