I voted for Louis by stoppage, but this is one that's really hard for me to calculate stylistically and I'd just have to see it play out. There's no substitute for empirical results. I could see Louis picking Frazier apart and putting him away in the mid rounds, or I could see Frazier in his face weaning him down all night, stopping him in the later rounds or winning a grueling but clear cut decision. This and Louis vs Al would be among my top 5 fantasy fights, because they're the ones I'd be most curious about how the would actually go in the real world (or parallel universe, I guess).
I guess the bottom line is that Louis is always going to outlast Frazier, whether he beats him or not. If they share an era then Louis is going to have a much longer prime, and it is always going to end up as the era of Louis.
I have a feeling that Louis does about as well as Frazier in the 70s, except I don't think he beats Ali but I'd pick him to beat Holmes almost every one who wasn't Foreman, Ali or Fraizer
He would be more successful than Frazier, even on a pessimistic assessment. He was beating guys like Max Baer in 1935, and guys like Jersey Joe Walcott in 1948! Any plane of weakness in the era, would have been brutally prosecuted!
I think Frazier would present a problem by perhaps taking Louis's leverage away putting him back on his heels. That doesn't mean the Brown Bomber couldn't catch him coming in. Frazier would have to negotiate some treacherous territory early when he isnt totally warm. Could go either way but If I have to bet. It's gonna be Joe Louis.
Let's see Louis's strengths was that he was a fast, accurate, hard hitting and deadly combination puncher, had beauitful leverage in every punch but threw the most bad@ss right cross of all time. His flaws was he had slow feet, not a great chin, and was somewhat easy to hit. Frazier's strengths is he was very hard to hit and hit like a mule kick, best left hook of all time, great body puncher. Frazier's weakness was huge hitters the opposite of the type of men Louis had trouble with. He was hard to hit with a jab, cross or hook but was easier to catch with a uppercut. He also had slow feet and not a great chin like louis. I'd be tempted to lean toward Frazier in this one, if he caught Louis like galento did Louis might not make the count. Not solid on it tho cause I could also see Louis catching and jarring Frazier like foreman did except with a killer combination instead of one huge uppercut
Frazier did not have slow feet. They were faster than Louis. And both had imperfect chins. Louis greater overall, Frazier ha the stylistic advantage. I have a different opinion: the Louis of the Schmelling fight would lose. Why? While it was the most historic performance, but he had MUCH less experience-including againt swarmers-than when he said he felt the best & recovered from too many fights the year before: when he fought Baer in 1942. I could ee either man winning peak vs. peak. But while Louis was so motivated & prepared in '38, he was absolutely not as good against all comers, or Frazier's style, as he was after fighting Godoy X 2 & Galento & many others ..................Baer was fight number sixteen in the three and a half years since schmelling ll. He was heavier and still prime.........................................kkrime.. Who else agrees he was then best?
I can’t see Louis beating Joe, horrible style match up for him, same with Dempsey but at least Dempsey is Louis’s size, joe is bigger, stronger, fought better competition and harder punchers,
Outside of Foreman (who destroyed Frazier) what punchers he faced are better than: Max Baer Max Schmeling Buddy Baer Lou Nova Joe Walcott Rocky Marciano Also, Louis was taller and rangier than Frazier and he weighed around the same. How is he smaller?
Dempsey was consistently 10+ pounds lighter than Louis. Frazier in his greatest ever performance was less than 5 pounds, or thereabouts, heavier than peak Louis.
I love Frazier more than Louis, but imo Louis had too much steady, heavy firepower. One of the things that made him so great was his ring mastery, in his prime he'd mastered his approach. Pre-FOTC Frazier falls in 6, though he would more than possibly knocked down Louis on the way. Frazier couldn't take the combinations (though Louis, like practically every other heavyweight, was slower than Ali he was a significantly heavier puncher, even in combination). Now it we're talking FOTC Joe, Frazier scores a knockdown or two and wins the decision (and gets floored along the way).
Tough fight to call. Really tough. Frazier has the stylistic advantage, and I think a clear one. The man himself admitted he didn't like fighting fighters with Frazier's style, and he only faced pale comparisons to the man himself, so that doesn't bode well for him. Louis is simply greater overall and more technically sound. He wouldn't have to go looking for Frazier, and that plays into Louis hand some with his brutal combos at mid range and close range. For me, in a fight like this that is razor close and tough to call, I end up going with aggression carrying the day, but just barely.
