Who would you go with? Top 5 notable wins for Smokin' Joe? This one, for me at least, was a little trickier to decide than it was for guys like Ali and Foreman, so I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts. My 2 cents for what it's worth. This content is protected
Opinions on Joe's 5 most notable wins? I know that these days Frazier tends to be remembered for having 5 fights - the Ali trilogy and the losses to Big George. But Joe did manage to basically clean out everyone who was anyone during the late 60s/early 70s. What do you consider the 5 "most notable" (which is a phrase I deem open to interpretation)?
FOTC is a given so I'm not going to include it so.. Quarry 1st Ellis Foster Bonavena 2nd Ramos Throw in 2nd Quarry because I like it. Open for personal opinion but this is how I have it. Not set in stone by any means.
Thing is, Quarry was on a roll going into the second Frazier fight. He'd had a great 1973 and was being considered for a title shot at Foreman (and Foreman may have avoided him, depending on what you believe) and a third fight against Ali in early 1974. So when a motivated Frazier steamrolled him that June it was a bit of a surprise; not that Frazier won but that he looked so good in doing so. Surely Quarry II is one of Frazier's top wins.
I like the 5 you chosen Rummy. Bonavena 2 maybe could be in there as it showed Joe’s improvement from first fight.
Although he lost, for me Joe's most notable performance was the 'Thrilla'. Incredible, superhuman effort of will to overcome his many ailments, the humidity and his opponent and keep on going like he did for as long as he did. Some might not be that impressed by some of the wins listed in his top 5 and, I would have to say, I'd get what they mean. But I will argue the toss against anyone who watches Joe in Manila and says that what he did that morning was anything less than great. There's only one fighter in history who we can categorically state could emulate what Joe did and that's Ali. That's some company Joe's keeping there. Shame he couldn't stand him.
An underrated win for Joe in my eyes was over Buster Mathis. If memory still serves me right, Buster easily outpointed Joe in the am's with a jab-and-run tactic. Over 3 rounds the huge Mathis looked sharp beating Joe. Years later, it was a different story with Joe breaking his man down over a number of rounds, but not before a frustrating first couple of rounds for him.
