FOTC..fantastic fight! but did Joe Really win?

I havent read the other posts, only the thread starters round by round analysis.

I too have always felt that this was super close & even Ali perhaps deserved the nod.

The commentators even said it was very close going into rd 15 & just because Joe wins that rd big, all of a sudden its a landslide victory, I dont think so.

Ali landed more punches & IMO won more rds. He may not have won any rd as big as Frazier did in the 11th & 15th but Joe just took so long to start getting to Ali while the rds were going in the bank... Ali`s bank.

For every 1 good body shot dealt out by Joe, Ali would land about 3 to the face & those punches were not pitty patty shots, Ali really hit Joe with great force in this fight throughout.

Im not 1 of those idiots that think marks on a face win fights BUT.... Joe`s face was very bad indeed,you could see it clearly, Ali was hurting Joe in that fight, dont kid yourselves.

I thought Ali deserved the verdict more than Joe based on clean punching & the sheer amount of blows landed but a draw would be the fairest result as both guys were soldiers that night.

2nd best HWT fight Ive ever seen after the thrilla in Manila.

Cheers !

:thumbsup

 

Man, how I wish that a fight like FOTC with fighters like Frazier and Ali would be made today. Everything about the fight and those fighters were remarkable.

I saw someone write in an earlier thread that you either like Ali or Frazier. I personally like both, even if Ali's my favourite. But I think Frazier was such an exciting fighter and always showed such immense courage in the ring. To have two fighters like this in the same era... Will it ever happen again?

 

Yes... and one of those idiotic ****head judges had Joe an eventual 11-4 winner.

If you want to use the word disgrace then use it wisely & direct it at that ****ing loose cannon mad ******* judge. He should have been executed right on the spot after that scorecard.

:fire

 

I think I had it 8-6-1 for Frazier. Keep in mind Frazier scored a knockdown in round 15, and could very well have won round 11 by a 10-8 margin.

Ali was close to going down in round 11, and hurt. In fact the ropes saved him.

 

I think I scored it 9-6 in favor for Frazier with no rounds even.

 

No man, watch it agian because I didn't see Jow wobbled much at all in that fight. If anyone was hurt it was Muhammad Ali and then he finally wen down. Joe had better ring generalship and that fight and commanded th action. Frazier was breaking down Ali and Ali wasn't landing as clean as you think. With Joe's bobbing and weaving style, Ali was forced to punch down and couldn't hit Joe, then Frazier would come over the top with a few Left Hooks.

 

Watch the end of the fight Frazier hands in the air in triumph, Ali shoulders slumped trudges back to his corner, he got a whooping.

 

Competitive fight with Frazier the undoubted winner.

 

Amazing fight but Frazier clearly won. He hurt Ali more and landed the more effective blows.

 

Close but clear win for Frazier.

 

Well, i have nearly every time a different score but always between 10-5 and 7-6-2. Frazier won, no doubt.

 

First of all let me say that to be fair, IMO, Frazier closely won a very competitive fight.

Now here is something to think about. All of Frazier's supporters like to shout themselves hoarse how Frazier gave a real beating to Ali in this fight. But the next moment, they put forward the theory that Frazier was so affected by this fight that he was never the same again and that his subsequent losses to Foreman and Ali were actually a result of this fight. If you talk further with them they will also tell you how this fight had less of an effect on Ali who went on to chalk up many a great victory.

Go figure.

 

Good point.

 

Yeah, I've always found that kind of funny as well.

A question for those of you who was around during thsi time. How much did it affect people's view of Ali as a fighter? How many thought that Ali was finished, and how many thought Frazier exposed him?

Personally, I don't see this as a black mark on Ali's record at all. He was just two fights out of a 3,5 year lay-off and give a great fighter that was at his absolute peak and Ali's stylistical nightmare, his toughest win ever. Ali also showed that he had tremendous heart in that fight, a side of him he never had had to show before.

But he fought like he still had the legs he had in the 60's, and was made to pay for it. He wised up after that fight, though. In Manilla his guard is much better, he protects himself better and doesn't get hit with so many counter left hooks to the head.

 

Respect to you for your opinion Abraq. This was a tough, hard fight in which both fighters landed solid punches with back and forth action. Frazier won the fight clearly but, there's no denying the beating that both men inflicted upon each other in this fight.

Frazier set a wicked pace, comparable to that of a middleweight fight and his medical problems were documented before this fight. Diabetes, hypertension and vision problems were paramount in his later career and he delayed cataract surgery from 1968. In fact, Futch and Durham wanted him to retire after the FOTC.

One can say Ali is partly responsible for Joe's decline after the FOTC because Frazier never displayed the same determination in training for any other opponent. To make matters worse, Frazier spent extended time in the hospital for his condition which grossly affected his subsequent performances. I don't think he could have ever fought again at his prime weight, 205.5 lbs after the FOTC which is precisely why I believe Frazier was at his best from 1967 to 1970.