Is anyone here old enough to remember Frazier losing the title to Foreman?

I was 16 years old in 1973. Before the fight the view was that although Foreman was big and strong, he was raw and in over his head. Frazier was a big favorite. I was stunned when Foreman destroyed him. After Foreman pulverized Norton I was fearful for Ali's safety.

 

likewise

 

If Frazier had stayed down after the 1st knockdown would it be as memorable?
I agree it was devastating to watch. Foreman was a force of nature it seemed in there. At the same time Frazier was equally impressive. He never quit getting up and he literally went down swinging the way a champion is supposed to.
I find it interesting that Arther Mercante never is called into question about letting it go to that extreme. Even Foreman was screaming at him that he is going to kill him.

 

Yes. You should. However it will take research as history most of the time does not jump out at you.

Willard’s victory over Johnson was monumental especially the manner in which Willard did so over a long distance. Willard was the first “White hope” conditioned to fight past 20 rounds and he did so in beating the unbeatable Jack Johnson. All this plus Jess immense size, strength and toughness led the boxing public to the conclusion that he would reign for a long time.

 

I was a teen and just on the fringes of going mad into boxing. We didn't have HBO, which was in its infancy, so couldn't watch it. However, whatever was on the TV that night was actually interrupted with an announcer stating, 'We interrupt this program with a special sports bulletin". Believe me, this kind of interruption usually warranted an attempt on a head of state's life or a major hurricane bombarding the eastern seaboard. And when the announcer said "...George Foreman has knocked out Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight championship of the world. We repeat..." everyone in the room had their mouths open. We all knew who these fighters were. My Pops was at work and the first thing I thought of was, "I gotta call Dad!" Now, can anyone imagine the surprise, dismay, excitement and shock that I just described, happening today? For one, no one would know who Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua were in todays average households. No one would be stunned and no network is going to interrupt 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' to report on that. The heavyweight title used to be a valuable bauble that had the world in awe. Today? It's, 'Meh!'

Before the multiple titles and the greedy, money-churning additional weight classes, this sport had the world hanging on.

 

Yes. I watched it at the Felt Forum at the Garden on the big screen. I was shocked!

 

It would be, if Willard was actually anything special.

 

It was this fight, with my Dad allowing me to stay up to watch it, that got me into boxing. It was not that long after that I started to train - the rest is history.

 

I think it would have been reasonable to stop it after the 1st knockdown in round 2. That was bad enough.

 

While Dempsey-Willard, Liston-Patterson, and Tyson-Spinks were blowouts by a challenger over a champion, they were somewhat expected (maybe not that fast or emphatic); none matched the sheer shock of Foreman-Frazier...

...At least according to what I've read. I'm not old enough to have experienced it at the time (though I was 5 and a half, I wasn't aware of boxing for a few more years).

 

Willard handled Moran with ease.

Suggest you do some homework. Willard was thought of as unbeatable after beating Johnson. Do the work instead of guessing. You can find many references if you get off your ass.

 

Great post my man. I was 12 when it happened and was absolutely shocked.