Who should Joe have fought post Manilla? IMO it was a big mistake to fight Foreman a second time. Joe took horrendous punches in their second fight despite showing a lot of guts. The best version of Foreman showed up instead of the sloppy rusty one vs Lyle. IMO Joe should have fought someone like Norton, maybe a young Holmes, or even Lyle. Or perhaps he should have retired without fighting George a second time.
Personally, there were almost no A level contenders that Joe could have fought without getting hurt really bad and probably stopped. Lyle and Shavers were equally likely to destroy Frazier who had little left in the tank, and Norton would probably destroy him as well, except that both were friends and it would probably be a miserable contest since Norton doesn't want to hurt him. Holmes might not be too bad since Holmes is inexperienced. Jimmy Young is the only A level contender I would suggest Frazier taking on. He's probably going to lose, but wouldn't get hurt any at least.
Joe Frazier should have retired after Manila. But whether taking on Foreman a second time was a mistake is more apparent in hindsight. In BoxRec's details about the fight, there's a note that Frazier was favored 7-5 by one Las Vegas oddsmaker (and no other odds listed). When I first read that, I was surprised. But then I started thinking about it. In his previous three fights, since the summer of 1974 two years before, Frazier stopped the resurgent Jerry Quarry impressively, "whipped" Jimmy Ellis (who, admittedly, was 1-4-1 in his last six bouts), and had gone life and death with Muhammad Ali. Conversely, in that time Foreman had been knocked out by Ali, pulled out of a fight with Oscar Bonavena in the spring of 1975, done the Toronto Five exhibition and had not come off well, and had gone life and death with Ron Lyle, who'd lost to Jimmy Young and Ali within the last year. So in that context, in the context of boxing's "you're only as good as you looked in your last fight," I can see why the oddsmaker favored Frazier. In today's instant news society, I suspect odds would've tilted toward Foreman after seeing Joe come in nearly 15 pounds overweight. In that light I wonder how seriously Frazier took the second Foreman fight, though I recall reading that Joe stated at the time that he came in heavier in order to have "more strength" against George.
Both Ali and Frazier should've retired after Manila. Ali had a little more in the tank, but they both should've quit.
More strength? Seriously? Guess Joe was not the greatest strategist. Frazier's extra weight hurt him in this fight, not that if would have mattered anyway.
This. As WW posted, maybe he looks decent in a loss vs a fighter like Young. At that stage Joe might have beaten a fringe contender, if that.
Definitely ! The only time Muhammad and Joe should have been in a ring post-Manila was in a suit being introduced to admiring crowds.
It was supposed to be on the closed-circuit undercard of Ali-Wepner. After a few shifts, Norton-Quarry was the substitute bout.
