Explosive power shots and guys that could be Hurt early. How far does this fight go? I think Morrison may surprise and take Joe in to at least the second half. But once Joe gets into those latter round, he's laying some hurt on to Tommy. Frazier by KO around 8
Frazier probably axes him down, invests in the body and Morrison with that poor gas tank, gasses quite soon, but Morrison has a puncher’s chance.
I'm gonna give Tommy until about the eighth but I'm also giving him the benefit of the big puncher's doubt. If Tommy caught Joe early he could finish him. Maybe the worst kind of puncher for Joe, big, mobile and quick without any discernable brain....but that kinda **** only happens one time out of a hundred. Doesn't it?
Frazier has never beaten a puncher on the level of Morrison in regards to punching power so this would be a dangerous fight for Frazier early considering he's a slow starter. I can see Frazier getting rocked early and possibly dropped but he should weather the storm and stop Morrison between 6-8.
If Frazier and Morrison could fight and I placed a bet on either of them, I'd be concerned. A 6-2, 225 pound, quick, strong, hard punching, quick starting, enhanced fighter with questionable stamina, against a smaller, more disciplined fighter with a lot of determination, toughness, and stamina. It could end before determination/toughness/stamina becomes a factor. After 4 rounds I'd feel fairly confident in Frazier winning, but in the early rounds the question would be whether Frazier can take an attack like Ray Mercer did and not get stopped, and if he did get through it, would he have enough left to mount his own attack later? Of course JF might land something big early and diminish TM's attack, but if he didn't, he'd take a lot of punishment from a bigger, stronger, man. I'd probably bet on Frazier, but if the fight ended early, I'd pick TM, after 4 rounds, I'd pick JF, after 6 I'd start feeling good about my JF pick, especially if he wasn't too badly damaged from the early round TM attack.
Frazier wouldn't necessarily have to weather the same storm Mercer did to beat Morrison. Frazier was MUCH harder to hit cleanly than the face first Mercer. And, in the unlikely event that Morrison catches him with something big early, Joe has the heart and recuperative powers to get back on the attack. The same can not be said for Morrison. Once Joe got cooking, it would just be a countdown until Morrison Folded. Probably in between rounds 4-8.
Morrison is the bigger more powerful puncher ... with a bit of an iffy chin Frazier is tougher with more grit and stamina ... but he's been put away by big punchers before. I usually plump for the bigger guy in these scenarios, except for that I can't get the Bentt fight out of my head. Barring a deeper analysis, 50-50 for me right now.
Who did Morrison ever punch that stayed punched? When Ali punched Foreman, George stayed punched. When Tommy did, George walked through it. Now, if we are talking about the Jumbo Cummings era Frazier, that would be right in Tommy's wheelhouse. But FOTC Frazier would lay waste to Morrison in 4. Levels.
Well to be fair to Morrison some of the notable opposition he had like Mercer, Foreman, had granite chins and aren't exactly the easiest fighters to stop. Whilst Morrison didn't have the best wins regarding the eye test it's quite clear he had serious wallop in his punches see the Ruddock knockdown which was one of the most picture perfect left hook's i've ever seen. Frazier is at a higher level than Morrison yes but Frazier has still never beaten a big punching KO artist who's considerably bigger than him. Whilst logically Frazier is a considerable favourite and far greater that doesn't mean Morrison wouldn't be dangerous to Frazier. Like i said Frazier never beat a KO artist or a big puncher so Frazier is a bit unproven against that stylistic challenge.
I’d favor Joe Frazier to get Morrison out of there at some point but don’t know how long it would take nor how much drama we’d see along the way