Their fight in 1971 was the best of the three in my opinion. In terms of skills and both fighters being close to their peak. I think this Frazier wins against Ali at any time during the 70s. Was Ali at his best in the fight of the century? He appears to show poor movement after the first 5 rounds and although it was a brilliant fight for the full 15 rounds Ali is not used to fighting without good movement. By the Thrilla in 1975 his movement is no better but he is able to pace himself better and has developed a style to win without movement throughout the fight. Frazier was in brilliant shape for the Thrilla but he is not the same as he was in 1971. Yet Ali seems to get more praise for this win than Frazier gets for their better fight. If Ali did so well in 1974-75 when he probably was at his best after his layoff then does this Ali do any better against a peak Frazier in 1971?
The Frazier of 1971 stops Ali in Manilla, Ali lost the first fight because he'd never seen that kind of pressure and will
IMO Frazier even beats the Ali that fought Foreman, laying on the ropes and playing punch bag would be a bad idea against that Frazier. It was being on the ropes that nearly caused Ali to get stopped in the 11th round in the FOTC.
I think the Ali of the rematch was the best version Frazier fought. If he could beat Frazier of 1971... Hard to say. Ali clearly adapted from the first fight. Frazier didn't, since he fought the perfect fight as it was the first fight around. If the changes Ali made would have been enough is another question. But I feel pretty certain that FOTC came to soon. He probably needed another year and 3-4 more fights both to regain as much as possible and also to get a clear picture of how he should fight with what he had left. The time around the Quarry rematch would probably have been the best for Ali in the 70's.
74 Ali beats frazier, by a whisker SD. But perhaps Ali needed getting beat to adopt humility and become that better fighter. It was touch too much arrogance that led him to perhaps face frazier too early from his layoff. any cunies mention 6 round fat sam peter and vitali need shooting at this point (not including me obv, I am not one of them)
FOTC Joe Frazier would be tough for any fighter. Joe was not going to be beaten on March 8, 1971...he left everything he had in the ring that night at MSG...
In their fights with each other Frazier was at his best in the first fight while Ali was in their second. In the 1974 bout Ali had n't lost any more speed since 1971 and was sharper plus had better conditioning. He'd trained his backside off just as he did for George Foreman and the second fight with Ken Norton. Would the 1974 Ali have beaten the 1971 Frazier ? Extremely hard one to call. Would have been as close as close could be. And let's not forget how close their real three fights were.
At one time I believed Ali from Manila would be stopped by 71 Frazier. I certainly do not believe that now. Ali of Manila was one seriously well trained fighter. Ali had learned how to fight Joe by Manila constantly catching him with his hook as he bobbed up out from his crouch. Just like in all three bouts by the last round Frazier can barely see through swollen features. Frazier lasts 15 but loses the decision 9-6 in rounds.
A rusty Ali with 3 1/2 years lay off ? Ali who had stamina issues with Quarry I and struggled against the rugged awkward Bonavena (actually being the first man to knock him out) in 15 rounds. Ali bare in mind took the fight with Frazier asap giving his problems with the supreme court. His Ellis bout could have been his last but things worked out for him when his case was overruled. 1972-1974 and Pre Exile Ali UD15 FOTC Frazier. Don't get me started on Frazier pathetic title defences of Daniels and Stander while Ali was busy cleaning up the division on ranked contenders all over the world.
