Hey ETM! IMO yes he did jump in too quickly. Was it even 3 months after a fifteen round rough go (after exile) against Ringo? IMO had he waited until early summer of 71 we might have seen, perhaps, a far different fight.
I scored it 9-5-1 for Frazier. Frazier was a man on fire that night. Ali's greatest mistake was calling Joe Frazier an Uncle Tom, and not just once. Frazier was the guy who used all his influence to get Ali's license back, and the same guy who handed Ali $10,000 US dollars when Ali was broke and no one else would lend him any money. Frazier was also the same guy who grew up dirt-poor in South Carolina, and took on the Klan when he was 12 years old. No way that any black man who stands up against the Klan can ever be called an Uncle Tom. Frazier got payback on March 8, 1971 for Ali calling him an Uncle Tom--got serious payback. Strangest thing about the fight is that Frazier did not use his right hardly at all, unlike his fights in 1968 and 1969--see the Quarry fight, for instance. Frazier rarely threw his right hand against Ali. Yes, it was the "Night of the Left Hook," and Frazier's strategy was brilliant--land left hooks before Ali could throw a right uppercut lead--but Frazier had a good right hand and rarely used it against Ali. If Frazier had used his right against Ali the way that Frazier used his right against Quarry, Frazier would've KO'ed Ali by the 8th. The ropes held Ali up in the 11th, when Frazier hurt Ali like no other fighter ever hurt Ali. Mercante did not take points away from Ali, for repeatedly clinching and also, grabbing behind the neck, but I did. March 8, 1971 was Joe Frazier's finest hour and as has been noted, he trained harder for that fight than any of his other fights.
Well something was hitting him back in there, as he was never the same again after that fight. It must have been the referee.
winning by UD 15, Frazier was the wall that Ali could not conquer but he put up a fight and didnt Frazier spend time in ICU for a couple of fights. he didnt seem to be quite the same after
I dont fully blame Ali for his ignorance and some of his less damning bigotry. He was after all a poorly educated guy with dyslexia. And to some degree a product of his time. His deliberate cruelty towards Frazier though is almost unforgivable. You dont have to be smart to not be a flaming jackass. Ali was not just a jerk, but an absolute trash human being. From the accounts we have of him there is little to dispute that.
Howard Cosell didn't call Ali-Frazier I. Cosell was sitting in the audience. You can literally see Cosell in the crowd stand up and put his coat over his arm after Ali rises from the knockdown in round 15.
Well Frazier beat an Ali with ring rust who went 15 rounds with Bonavena (top 5 ranked opponent) and Quarry (no1 ranked opponent) after 3 1/2 years lay off. Ali had to take the fight for financial reasons giving supreme court ruling which still was in effect around the Ellis fight (which could've been his last). Frazier wound up in hospital and fought two unranked opponents as undisputed nationally recognised Champ whereas Ali went on a ranked opponent crusade with a little hiccup with Norton until he got his 2nd title shot, 3 years later. Look at Ali with Mac Foster (ranked no9.) press conference, they both ask why Frazier is sitting out and not defending his titles. This content is protected Frazier got the win with a caveat at the end of the day 1972-1974 would beat FOTC Frazier convincingly , let along pre layoff 1960's Ali.. Even Larry Merchant who is from Philly question the dubious scoring, relating to Ali's political stance and the hostilities they had against him. This content is protected
Frazier fans ara a bit all over the place on this one. He beat a rusty Ali so convincingly that it's clear he'd beat even the best version of Ali, but in doing so he took such a brutal beating that he never was the same again (hence his two subsequent losses to Ali don't really count). Not overly consistent imo, but it seems to take them where they want to go.
He had something like 7-8 weeks to get ready for a world class fighter in Quarry after being out for 3,5 years, then he had bout 6 weeks to get ready for another top contender and then another 3 months to prepare for Frazier. That's a very intense schedule.
To the contrary. Check out round 9 again. Ali took a beating most of the round. He was perhaps closer to being stopped in the 9th than the 11th. Don Dunphy says "Ali is in Real trouble here". Frazier had landed a perfect hook on the point of Ali's chin. How Ali cameback and rallied the last 15 seconds still amazes me. 1 good flurry though isn't enough. That should have been Frazier's round.
They both had damage. Joe's eyes were swollen and his lips as well. Ali's jaw was the size of a softball. Later Ferdie Pacheco said Ali's hips were swollen and locked up from the body hooks. They both took damage.
Honestly I think Ali underestimated Joe Frazier. He had said before the fight that Quarry was be a tougher opponent. Ali wasn't impressed by Frazier. IMO he thought he was gonna come out and pepper Joe for 4 or 5 rounds and Joe would start to Wilt from it as most mere mortals would. He had no idea how great Frazier was. He paid to learn though.