Frazer Sparring w Norton ..

It was so irrelevant that he was able to outbox frazier with his reach advantage. It's almost like you didn't watch the footage.

 

Ali at times looked truly sensational against Joe, especially in the FOTC. That's why I have a problem when people diminish what Joe did in that fight. Nobody in the world could beat either of those men that evening imo. I think only prime Holmes and Joe Louis could have given that Ali anywhere near as good a fight as Joe did in that epic battle.

The opening rounds of FOTC...to my eyes Ali was on his way to handily beating him. It was only after that that Joe REALLY got in gear, and never got back out.

 

I was actually responding to the guy claiming Norton's height and reach were irrelevant in this sparring footage when it's pretty obvious just watching it that he gave Frazier problems with his movement jab and uppercut.

As for fight of the century Ali, yes that was a formidable heavyweight. He was still a powerful and fast athletic specimen with tons of determination and would have been a handful for any heavyweight before or since. It's just that Frazier wanted it a little bit more.

 

A mini clip of a sparring session proves absolutely nothing. Ali could not outbox prime Frazier so Norton could make crap

 

George Foreman destroys 71 Frazier any time
And honestly 71 Ali was not even close to his prime version

 

That is speculation. You do not know if Norton could or couldn't outbox Frazier in a pro fight. What we do know is that during the short clip he was doing well outboxing Frazier and that his height and reach certainly weren't "irrelevant".

Frazier beat Ali but he had to take serious punishment and chase him down all 15 rounds and did not have an easy time getting past his long snapping jabs and flurries. To use that fight as proof that a height or reach advantage over Frazier is irrelevant is illogical, especially when you factor in that Ali won the next 2 fights.

 

Frazier wasnt throwing punches for Pete's sake he was just putting a little pressure on and working on defense. Do you seriously not see that???

 

Look all i was doing was commenting on Norton's ability to stick and move against Frazier. He never fought that way and it's interesting to look at since for years we had no idea how this matchup would look. I have no idea why people are having a hissy fit every time i make a comment.

 

Norton was clearly there to mimick someone's style ...I commented befor to the fact that Norton could actually move but I see no way he could have stuck to that. Didnt mean to get u frazzled I just picked up on the newer posts as I've been on this one since page 1...to edit in some I know I had some comments when this was just done so maybe I'm overlapping

 

Posted this the other day.

 

If the time period claimed is correct Norton may have been mimicking Jimmy Ellis.

 

Norton is one of my favourite oddball kind of fighters and favourite heavies of any era. I liked him as a man, and as a fighter. And I hate taking the majority opinion against someone I like, but this clip, which is neat to see, is not looking to me like Frazier was even trying to unleash anything on Norton. I have to agree with Robert in at least that. Frazier is faster of hand, head, and feet than Norton (not on a racetrack, no doubt, but in a boxing ring, certainly) and he'd have ripped Norton up and down until it was over, I have little doubt.

Don't get me wrong, nothing is ever 100%, but if Frazier went in there to defend his title against Kenny, Mandingo would not be the alpha male that night. It's not just one of the tired Norton/chin/puncher analyses, even though that'd be relevant, but also the way the attributes and styles clash, and I think people around the sparring at the time-they kind of considered it an open analysis that even if they could work well as spar mates, Frazier would've drank Kenny's milkshake. And that sounds terrible, now that I've just said it, and I instantly regret it, because Frazier would've broken my ribs for saying it, and I do apologise to everyone, in every forum, ever, and to Joe and Kenny. I am sorry, everyone. Goodbye 2 every1 4ever.

 

Ali won the next 2 fights when Frazier was not the same anymore after George.
Foreman made the work for him, your point
" being 6'3 and having long reach" being a relevant factor to outbox Frazier is absurd because he fought tons of HWs with these dimentions and they could not outbox Frazier, Ali could not outbox Frazier, Joe always was over him working inside and Ali took a beating too, plus Ken Norton never fought like a long guy , he fought more like a shorter guy if anything.

 

There is nothing serious to be taken away from this light spar.

Norton was still to lose to Garcia and was a couple of years or more away from really announcing himself on the scene.

Norton was preparing him for Jimmy Ellis.