I believe Smoke was the greatest infighter of all heavyweight champions, and Harry stood at a height Joe would have been comfortable punching at. Work rate and hustle are in Frazier's favor here, and I definitely prefer a great hook to an outstanding right on the inside, as it requires less room to unload, and can be delivered in multiples with far less risk. Wills would meet Joe at close quarters, and come out second best. Harry did a lot of clinching and mauling, while Frazier punched and punched, while maintaining clean tactics for his style of infighting. Any rounds or points deducted would be at the expense of Wills, and Harry would be far more likely to get himself disqualified, if these scenarios came to pass. There's no heavyweight I'd clearly favor over Smoke at close quarters over an extended bout, although I believe the Langford of Jeannette X was extremely proficient with his own hook inside.
Ya ever hear of a chap named Jack Dempsey ? Dempsey almost in a clinch did severe damage, and as Jack Sharkey wrote, "wherever Dempsey hit you he could break bones ". Frazier was more frenetic , but needed more punching space. Saw Frazier up close, and he reminded me of a bigger Henry Armstrong...
Wills had a way of winning ugly, and he could pose a serious challenge for Frazier. He would probably try to force him back as Foreman did, and would atempt to time him coming in. Don't know how he would like Fraziers speed though.
No way to say since I don't think there is any film of prime Wills. Joe had that hook...great left hook....but no right hand. Now when I say no right hand I'm talking about poor coordination between the left and right so you don't really see Joe easily punch in combination. Joe in close could punch with both fists to the body. Wills clutched in close so that plus he was a big strong fighter tells me he would tie Joe up in close. I think you would see Wills punching from long range, Joe moving in close but being tied up. Wills was a health freak so I don't see him having issues going the distance. Tough to call but either Wills follows the above game plan to pull out a W15 or Joe at mid range with that quick hook is able to end things.
A totaly unwaranted prediction. When did anybody come close to doing that to Wills? Come to think of it, when did Frazier do that to anybody?
Ive heard of him, he didn't fight Wills though. Or Joe Frazier come to that. It's all fantasy on here with absolutely no way of knowing. ****, if everyone on classic can pick the winner in the next big current fight it would be a miracle. Simply put boxing is a great sport because when two well trained men fight the result is unpredictable. It is impossible to say who would win when neither man has fought. It becomes even harder to predict when they lived 70 years apart.
I'm quite familiar with Jack's books and films, and don't have any great quarrel with anybody placing him over Frazier as an infighter, but I do think Joe's lower center of gravity [with 27 inch thighs] would give him an edge over the more torso heavy Dempsey at close quarters. As you say, Frazier was more frenetic, but also sustainably so at his best. I don't see Jack outworking him inside for 15 rounds. The thing with Dempsey was that Tommy Gibbons was able to survive in part by smothering away Jack's punching room [as Charles did against Marciano in their first bout, by Rocky's own admission]. Meehan was also able to have some success doing this to Jack in their four rounders. I have a bit of a harder time envisioning somebody doing that against Frazier as a survival tactic. During his title loss to Tunney, Graham MacNamee intoned to the radio audience that Gene was "out-Dempseying Dempsey." I just can't imagine anybody out-Fraziering Frazier on the inside over an extended distance, no matter how old or rusty Joe got. Burt, head to head, I do have Jack beating Joe peak to peak, but this is an instance where I believe Dempsey would do it at longer range by keying his straight left jolt and "Iron Mike" right to the head more, rather than swapping hooks to the body in close. Neither particularly liked taking on shorter opponents, and a side by side photograph of Dempsey standing beside Frazier at Jack's 75th birthday bash in 1970 shows pretty clearly why I believe the significantly shorter Joe would have the edge in close. Jack was capable of fighting as the taller man, and I think that's what would best serve him here. Among HW infighters, I generally rate them [with occasional revisions]: 1] Frazier [Nobody ever really smothered his punches inside, unless you can cite an exception who punched shorter against him for an extended interval. His overshadowed right was quick and very short, as an uppercut or a cross. A rare exception was the long right he tore open Jerry Quarry's face with to win their rematch. Because he was an orthodox fighter who, like Uzcudun, couldn't extend his left arm fully due to an early injury, long range boxing simply wasn't an option often available to him.] 2] Tommy Burns [typically bereft of other options at 5'7"]. 3] Langford [although Fireman Flynn did indeed survive a few times by smothering away Sam's punching room]. 4] Dempsey 5] Jack Johnson [lethal with ripping uppercuts at close quarters]. 6] Bowe [by far the best tall infighter of the heavyweights]. 7] Jerry Quarry [Short arms, quick fists and a solid chin made for a fine infighter against anybody not named Frazier, who he actually did outfight for a couple rounds in 1969, but had no hope of sustaining for very long. He was versatile enough that he often opted to counter, stick and move, or simply clinch at close quarters as he did with Patterson, but he certainly had the template for proficient infighting, aside from the necessary stamina required for consistent attrition based success].
Frazier had a poor right hand in his prime. Joe himself admitted it during that time. It as only later that he developed a semblance of a right first seen in the second Quarry bout. The main issue was coordination between his left and right so he had a tough time putting combination together mid range. look at all three bouts with Ali you can count on one hand rights to the head he landed mid range. He would chop away in close with both hands where his lack of coordination was not an issue. Dempsey was afar greater infighter...he had great mobility shifting to his left and right to gain leverage and threw his shots very short. He would set himself in-between his opponents guard pumping both hands into the pit of the stomach, liver, heart. Joe would more loop his hook to the outside and would generally be right in front of his opponent. Dempsey also seemed to be quicker with both fists than Joe. I've watched all 15 rounds of Dempseys bout with Gibbons and I don't see him smothering Dempsey at all....covering up yes...smothering no. Frazier was a converted southpaw.
