Joe Frazier 1971 v Larry Holmes 1982 ( cooney fight )? Who wins.

Frazier. Horrific stylistic clash.

Also Holmes was fading a tad, by the time he faced Cooney, so we're not even getting the best version of Holmes here, which he'd absolutely need to stand a chance.

 

Please. Frazier? Holmes wouldn’t beat Marvin Hart…I don’t think he’d beat Marvin Gaye.

 

Clearly Frazier, and I dont even discard a late stoppage.

 

What's going on?

 

It would be an excellent fight - Fight of the Hypothetical Year, in fact.
Frazier overhauls any early points deficit and wins a hard fought albeit clear decision. Smokin' Joe's pressure makes all the difference.

 

The above quote nails it! Holmes wouldn't be able to withstand Frazier's constant pressure and work rate throughout the fight, and he eventually goes down. Frazier by late stoppage somewhere around the 12th or 13th round.

 

Frazier, Holmes was nowhere near as mobile as Ali, I’d say he had more power, but not enough to take Frazier out, Frazier would close the ring off and force Holmes to fight in close.
Frazier on points.

 

Holmes wasn't the best version of himself in 1982. If Holmes isn't his best version of himself he loses to the likes of Frazier and Tyson. But the 1980/81 version? Terrible stylistic matchup, but I think he could pull off a close SD win.

 

Styles favor Frazier here. Joe might even get a TKO but his face will be hurting from that jab.

 

That is splitting hairs IMO. It’s near enough that we can infer the OP’s intent was prime Holmes (1982 I would argue was right on the edge of his best). Any version of Holmes is going to lose to a peak Frazier, but the prime version will lose competitively. Holmes may or may not go the distance, but the cards will be fairly close, moreso if he’s stopped inside fifteen.

 

1971 Frazier beats the living hell out of Holmes, and this is coming from a Holmes admirer, but that version of Frazier was all wrong for Holmes.

 

Holmes would be competitive, maybe all the way. If he fell apart dramatically, it would not be until the later rounds. I do have very little doubt Frazier wins, though. There is a small galaxy between 1971 Joe Frazier & Larry Holmes’ best scalp.