Joe Frazier's Chin Against Ali...

Frazier's chin is certainly not average. Ali sat down on his punches a lot more against Frazier and never had him down in their fights. Although Ali stopped many big punchers with the accumulative effects of his punches, he was a harder puncher than most people give him credit for. It's obvious that the essence of Ali's style, dancing, jabbing and mostly winning on points is atypical of a knockout puncher.

I think Frazier's endurance, toughness and heart is what sets him aside from most heavyweights but I believe his chin was better than average.

 

Better than average certainly if you take into account every HW that ever fought including journeymen and tomato cans.

But in terms of elite heavyweights as in top 5 in the world/champs it's probably about average.

 

Who is in your top five in the world, or of all time that has a better chin than Frazier? Tomato cans and Journey don't count because if you're excluding him past the top 5, and rounding him into the top ten, there's no reason why Frazier shouldn't be considered as having one of the best heavyweight chins of all time.

 

Frazier was one of the toughest fighters to ever live and had as much heart as anyone. But him absorbing shots from Ali who wasn't a big puncher just shows his fighting spirit, not his one punch resistance. You asked who has better chins, well here's some off the top of my head

McCall
Max Baer
Tyson
Holyfield
Ali
Holmes
Willard
Tua
Ibeabuchi
Vitali Klitschko
Lennox Lewis
Quarry
Chuvalo
Liston
Marciano
Foreman
Tex Cobb
Bonecrusher Smith
Mercer
Tony Tucker
Valuev
Dempsey
Bonavena

And I could name many more. Frazier was no china chinned punk, but he wasn't an Oliver McCall by any stretch either. Foreman bounced him off the canvas like a basketball and Bonavena decked him twice too. They were by far the best punchers he ever faced, too.

 

Why, do you reckon, did Ali KO Bonavena and have Quarry out on his feet when he never managed that against Frazier?

 

Because they didn't have the stamina, style, and determination that Smokin Joe had. Bonavena could barely stand up he was so exhausted

 

Frazier wanted to go out for the 15th round in Manilla, practically blind and soaking up terrible punishment, for the slim chance to land a big punch on Ali. He would have done, if Futch hadn't stopped him.

Ali would have had to have killed Smokin' Joe to stop him.

 

I second this,

To Joe Frazier, Ali was like an annoying older brother who you refused to just back down against. In fact, he would always feel like he had something to prove against Muhammad, and likely still does today. Joe would rather die than Quit against Ali.

 

Frazier had a good chin.

 

What is the basis of your argument that supports all the above mentioned having a better chin than Frazier? Bonavena had Joe hurt once in their first fight and the second knockdown was more of a push-down.

I'd bet that none of the above mentioned fighters would have gotten up the way a grossly depleted Frazier did after the huge Foreman uppercut in the middle of the first round in 1973. Frazier also took some big shots from Bugner, Quarry, Ellis and Chuvalo, absorbing them all and stopping them, except for Bugner from what I remember.

 

Because they didn't have his determination and toughness. The two hardest punchers he faced and really the only two elite ones in terms of pure power both dropped him. Oscar was one KD away from stopping a very groggy Smokin Joe.

I'm not saying his chin was a huge liability, it just wasn't his strong point. If you compare it to most other top 5 fighters throughout history, it would be in the middle.

 

He also took a lot of shots from Quarry who was a good puncher. But yeah, against Ali he took 3 horrible beatings, all fueled by his hatred of Ali.

 

Frazier was bounced around the ring by a man who's only reputation for power is bouncing frazier around the ring.

 

Frazier didn't have a bad chin at all. No one seems to point out that every time George knocked him down in their first fight, Joe got right back up!!! If Joe would have stayed down and was really hurt, then I'd agree that his chin was weak. But he kept getting right back up, and ready to resume the fight. Foreman did not "knock Joe out" at all. Well, at least not in the first fight. But in the second fight, Joe was not going to get back up after that last knockdown.