Not sure Foreman blowing Fraizer out of the water, was playing with him. IT was more lets get him out as fast as I can. Johnson vs Burns or Ketchal, that was playing with them. But just going over and take em out like Foreman did was not.
Foreman was in no playful mood against Frazier in 1973. In fact, Foreman said Frazier was the only fighter he was ever scared of in his career. He also reiterated his fear of Frazier in subsequent interviews well into his second reign as heavyweight champion. He jokingly feared for Frazier's life after the 4th knockdown, saying in an interview that he was going to kill him if Futch and Durham didn't stop the fight. However, Foreman also mentioned that he was scared for himself after seeing Joe repeatedly get up, knowing that Frazier is most dangerous after the early rounds. I'd vote for Patterson and Frazier as two fighters that are virtually impossible to keep down, but easy to knock down.
I was suprised when I saw the actual stats with Trinidad... Knocked down 10 times over the course of his career I believe.
All true. Foreman said Frazier was like Marciano and Dempsey in the sense that you could knock them down, but they would keep coming at you. He called the ref's bluff by saying 'stop the fight or I'm going to kill him', when fact is, George knew Frazier wouldnt quit until he was killed or knocked out cold, and that he would be dangerous no matter what Foreman did to him.
Michael Grant. I brook no argument! Has hit the deck 12 times in his career but the only time he didn't beat the count was due to a hand-assisted uppercut from Lewis after getting beaten about for two rounds. 12 knockdowns yet 11 rises deserves credit. Twice he's recovered from knockdown(s) to win a fight. How he beat the count from the final knockdown against Guinn I will never know, but the ref was totally right to stop it anyway. If you haven't seen that one check it out, devastating face-plant. I wouldn't say 'impossible' to knock out but he almost always got back up.