Elroy..i agree to an extent that you can pick holes in the era if you try...eg..Foreman overwhelmed frazier and norton..but lost the biggest fight of his life with Ali..hindered by dumb tactics..he also lost to Young...his comeback was crowned with his win against moorer which deserved credit..but he didnt beat a long list of top fighters..and as for Frazier..the man made the most of his talent..but wasnt the same after the F.O.C. so given those 2 were the best bar Ali of the era i do have a bit of sympathy with your point..the late 80's early 90's had equal stars and more strength in depth IMO...i am interested in your views on the fighters that you think would beat Ali (say an early seventies version so we are in the middle of his career)..im not on about guys from the black and white film days...i never get how comps can be made with those guys) i'm on about fighters crom 1980 till now that you would pick to beat Ali.
You don´t have to be an all-round atlethe to become a succesful boxer. Determination, will, power. Frazier had it all. And his massive legs - all power comes from the legs. Two great athletes in a boxing ring is a pretty picture. But sit tru 12 rounds of Haye versus Klitscho and You´ll realise that lack of determination, will and power gives no boxing match. Frazier was a boxer.
If your not talkin about Elroys lover Wlad then whoever it is is weak...this guys story is gettin old!
Not every great boxers is naturally born gifted. Being a great athlete is forsure a benefit when it comes to boxing but the most important part of becoming a great boxer is hard work and to have the mentality of a fighter. No matter what though you have to consider Joe Frazier a good athlete because of his success in his sport which is boxing but was he naturally gifted like some, no it doesn't appear so.
Because what he had in spades the elements, tangible and intangible, which constitute a great exponent of the sport. More to the question is who would one rank higher as an athlete, a guy who was a good jack of all trades or one who excelled to the highest level in a single athletic discipline? If you want to cut to the chase and declare the best athlete, just go ahead and pick Ashton Eaton or Roman Sebrle and end the discussion right there. Not too exciting, is it?
Also, footage such as the stuff above always makes me chuckle when people mention that the NFL is stealing the great talent pool of boxing. If that is so, then in one of the heavyweight division's strongest periods, one should be able to spin the argument and say that Frazier was stolen from the NFL. With speed and strength like that, I doubt he would have made a good water boy on the gridiron.
Boxing isn't like other sports that pit man against a time clock or against a weighted barbell etc..It's man against man in a boxing match, a fight with gloves on. Other factors come into play besides athleticism. I'm sure many athletic kids thought they could do well in the ring, went to a gym and said sayonara the first time they got punched in the mouth. Boxing is as much mental as it is physical. I don't ever remember reading about Ali being a great athlete but look what he accomplished. Being strong or fast or able to jump high doesn't mean anything if you can't box, or are willing to take the punishment that goes along with it. Like one trainer said, "You can't compare fighting to other sports" or as Mike Tyson once said, "If boxing was all about being strong then any powerlifter could be heavyweight champion of the world".
You sir, truly are a gentleman and a scholar. being able to swim, run jump etc wont help you when you get punched in the face. Recently Mariusz Pudswanski (or however its spelt) worlds strongest man decided to make a journey into MMA, he didnt last very long at all, i think he was taken down straight away by Tim Sylvia (who himself was KOd by a 50 year old Ray Mercer) Power lifting dont mean ****. In Tysons book by Peter Heller it states Tyson did bench 250+ilbs 10 ten times at the of 15.
He was by no means a great athlete, but many long distance runner/cyclists would be pretty terrible on Superstars, the key is they are great at what they do. In Joe's case this was boxing, although had he not made it I doubt he could have had a fall back career as an Olympic Swimmer.
First of all, thank you dayuum, for posting the videos of these events. I remember when they took place, but until now had never actually seen them. After watching, I don't believe that his performances were as bad as the impression I had formed after reading about them (with the exception of swimming). While certainly not spectacular, it took a lot of guts for Joe to go out there and compete against champions in other professional sports, especially so soon after losing his championship to George Foreman in Kingston. The Superstars competition actually ended up magnifying his devastating fall from the top - from the image of an undisputed, undefeated champion with an aura of invincibility to one of a vulnerable, mortal, struggling human. To give the Superstars competition a little more perspective, I would be interested in knowing if other boxers participated in other years, and how they did. I know that Jerry Quarry took part in one year, but do not recall how successful he was. Does anyone have any information on this?