Joe Frazier in some interviews

I feel bad beyond words for the guy. Ali's holding behind the head potentially DID stop him from winning at least one of their fights.

Ali shouldn't of been allowed to get away with that...

 

i feel frazier had ali's number in a way. i know he lost the second two but when they fought as undefeated fighters he won, then ali resorted to a lot of holding to help him in the second two fights.

and i was even more impressed and amazed to find out frazier had one bad eye, and a stunted left? arm. absolutely amazing.


i mean ali is a legend and rightly so, but frazier i feel is better than him when they were foes.

 

He thinks Eddie Futch shouldn't have stopped the 3rd fight, he wanted to come out for the 15th and argued with Eddie to allow him to.
Ali was in the opposite corner telling Angelo Dundee to cut his gloves off, that he couldn't go out for the 15th.

Of course, both trainers ignored their fighters. And the rest is history.

There were no losers in Manila. Both men won by battling harder than men should be expected to. Great fighters, both of them.

 

Ah... wow...

You're serious?

 

I think he meant he was (or should have been) ahead on points at the time of the stoppage. Either that or the punches he's taken have made him insane.

 

Yep. That's what happened.

 

True. Apart from the bit about both actually winning.

 

Of course. That part was not to be taken too literally. Ali won.

 

I didn't take it literally, but your 'that's what happened' post was a tad exagerrated.

 

Didn't you know that both men won that night? And both men won when they fought in 1974...but only Frazier won when they met in the Fight of the Century.

 

Do you really beleive ,if Frazier had answered the bell for the last round ,Ali wouldnt have got off his stool?

 

Angelo Dundee and Bundini Brown would have made sure of it.

 

No i don't think Ali would stay on his stool just because of his own pride. In a way dundee didn't really show a lot of compassion for Ali, he was in a bad state after the 14th and he didnt even think of stopping it. Its like Ali-Holmes, it could have been stopped in the 4th, but he kept letting him go out and get busted up.

I'd like to have seen a 15th in the Thrilla. I think there would be a stoppage. The first heavy shot to land would probably have took either man out.