How good was Joe Frazier's chin

Jerry Quarry, Bob Foster but he doesn't really count though he hit hard. Bonavena hit fairly hard if I recall correctly.

 

Joe was tough as hell. Plenty of films to prove it. The fights with Bonavena, Machen, Chuvalo, Ramos, Quarry, Ellis, Ali, Bugner, and Foreman. Win or lose, Joe was one tough cookie. A lot of guys on the forum like to say he had no chin though.

 

Also the number of punches, which he took from Ali was tremendous.

 

He had a decent, serviceable chin not made of steel, but certainly not glass either.Quarry and Ellis tagged him and he stayed upright.

 

Many of those who deride Frazier's chin, will also, in other threads, maintain fervently that Ali was a

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better puncher than he's ever been credited with being...quoting chapter and verse to back up and prove that this was true......so basically, they try to have it both ways....saying that their super hero Ali threw knockout drops, and yet, their favorite "chinny" stumblebum, Joe Frazier somehow miraculously went 41 combined rounds with him without hitting the deck even once. Just an observation.

 

6/10. Solid, but not iron.

 

And a good observation to boot, gorgeous.

 

Frazier had a good chin and it never let him down, but I can’t say the same for his conditioning, which really went downhill after the FOTC. When Frazier was in tip top shape he could take a punch and had good recuperative abilities. However, when he started taking short cuts in his training and underestimating his competition he paid the price.

Taking weight off too quickly or trying to rush to get in shape for a fight at the last minute is one of the best ways to mess with your durability come fight time.

 

He couldn't take Foreman's power, kept getting up to be put down again. Not good enough

 

Not good enough for what? Who else takes that many flush shots from foreman and continues to to rise off the canvas?

 

Good points.

 

Showstopper has a short, concise and accurate answer. I would only add that Frazier had a good defense. He held his hands up high in almost a modified peek-a-boo pose to protect his chin, added to this a lot of head movement and at the same time crowded his opponents which kept them on their heels so they couldn't get and obtain the space necessary to leverage their punches. Foreman punched straight and had the perfect jab and the strength to keep Joe at bay and neutralize the most effective aspects of his style. Just a bad match-up for Joe.

 

Thank you EE!!

 

There are 3 categories for a fighter's overall durability: chin, stamina, and recovery.

In terms of chin I would say bare minimum Frazier's chin was a 7/10. No average or glass jawed fighter can get off the canvas 6x and still remain conscious. Like I tell all the critics, point out the fighter who can get brutally dropped that many times without being KO'd, and the person dropping them is one of the heaviest hitters of all time. He took bombs from Quarry in 2 fights who had respectable power, Bonavena in 2 fights that went the distance and Bonavena can crack (I'd say him and Quarry at least had 6-7/10 raw punching power). 3 brutal wars with Ali, walked through blows from Mathis and Bugner as well. He has sheer quantity on his side and really only 1 person stopped him. By no means did he have an average or weak chin. The only reason people try to downplay his chin is to take credit away from Foreman who actually executed a great game plan to fit the narrative that any big puncher can do the same thing to Frazier.

In terms of stamina, Frazier is a 10/10 but nobody really disagrees with that anyway. Stamina affects your overall ability to remain upright and not be stumbling around. Frazier had very strong, stocky, sturdy legs. Strong legs can be "shock-absorbers" that help diffuse some of the power when a punch lands. He was able to keep his hands up for 15 rounds from intense medicine ball drills with Yank and speed ball work. Good stamina also helps you endure blows to the body and I don't think Frazier ever buckled from a body shot.

Then there's recovery and I would have to give Frazier an 7-8/10. This is the ability to shake the cobwebs off and get your mind back on the fight after being badly hurt. This number may seem high, but remember, Bonavena dropped him TWICE in the 2nd round but couldn't keep him down. Frazier not only got off the floor both times, but went right back to attacking Bonavena and went the distance. If that isn't good recovery I don't know what is. The Foreman fight? It was the same thing: Frazier got off the floor each time and went right back to attacking--literally banging his fists together and not being on wobbly legs.

So overall Frazier was a very durable fighter. The idea he had a bad chin or endurance is not based on reality. He was only stopped twice against the same opponent who was a bad matchup stylistically and is considered a top 5 puncher of all time. On both those occasions the ref had to save him from himself, and on the 2nd occasion he was way past his prime.