The great Ezzard Charles vs Smoking Joe Frazier

Charles took Rocky the full distance and he and Frazier had similar styles. Could Charles last the distance with Frazier or even upset him??

 

I like Frazier here, more intense pressure than Marciano applied,I think he takes a close decision.

 

I love Ezzard Charles' style. I have always thought he was so underrated as a heavy. But in this case he has to take a backseat. He simply doesn't have the frame to ward off anything Frazier is throwing. I see him with his back to the ropes round after round until wilting around the 9th.

 

Love Ez but his best was at lower weights .. Joe too much .. mid round TKO ..

 

Frazier FOTC was a beast who applied pressure very well to the head & body, Charles underated,very skilled & experienced and good at countering & finding punhing angles. Charles vs Louis or Marciano 1 would be a very tough opponent but I see Frazier getting a close decision. A series may interesting

 

I'm also taking Frazier. All the reasons are listed above. Charles is a great fighter we all know that but Joe stops him at some point.

 

I'd favor Joe Frazier myself. Charles may have ended up going the distance but Frazier could have stopped him. But it has the potential for a great fight.

 

Is taking Marciano 15rds an indication of how good Charles was or Marciano having an off night, esp considering Marciano crushed him in 8 rds the very next fight. Charles was a great Lt.heavy. But no version of him defeats prime Frazier. I see Frazier vs Foster all over again. Perhaps a little longer, but the very same results.

 

Horrible styles matchup for Charles


Frazier by knockout in 6-8 rounds

 

Frazier would punish Charles as rock did in their second fight. It wouldn't be all one sided but Frazier is a wrecking ball and Charles to gutsy for his own health. Frazier by 9 round ko .

 

You know, while I'd favor Liston and Foreman over Charles, I'd say that he'd have a better chance at an upset against those two rather than Frazier. It would be hard for Charles to utilize his slickness and counter punching against a non-stop pressure fighter like Frazier. At least he'd get momentary breathers against Foreman or Liston and opportunities for countering. Those things would be exceedingly rare with Frazier.

 

We have to favor Frazier here, because he just has the stylistic hammer.

Could Charles perhaps do better than he did against Marciano?

If he cottoned on to the fact that Frazier was dependent on his left, then I could definitely see him circling round Frazier's right side, and setting up from there.

 

Charles might do a bit better than Ellis, but this is a terrible match up for him.

 

Charles could possibly make a respectable showing based on how great he is, how skilled and how tough but he is a bit undergunned in later era's i think, particularly against stylistically tough matches.

Imo the gap between 180-185'ish to 200'ish+ is very hard to overcome when pitting fighters of similar ability against each other.

 

So true, JT. It's why we have weight classes and yet a lot of people don't get that.