Who would take this fight? I have been watching a lot of Larry Holmes's fights, lately and I got to wondering how he might have fared against Smokin' Joe. I personally think that Joe at his best could slip the jab of Holmes and work the body often enough to wear Larry down over the stretch. The Frazier of 1971 was relentless and would be on Larry from the start. Would Holmes be able to hold Frazier at bay? Did he have enough power to discourage him? I have my doubts. What do you think?
frazier hands down.. and i suspect that he could stop holmes late, larry never had to face a guy like frazier with his late ko power, determination and stamina, joe would avoid his jab with the move of head that he had in his prime years, een a shot frazier kicked the ass of larry in sparring sessions, he broke 2 ribs to the peanut and he left.. frazier by clear ud or late tko. larry holmes is one of the most overrated hws h2h here
frazier would be too busy working the body and then left hook to the head, avoiding the jab , bobbing and weaving. frazier had the perfect style to beat holmes, he was aggressive, he had legendary stamina, legendary heart, late ko power, great move of head, great pressure fighter,frazier was sronger than holmes, more robust and compact,despite holmes wa smuch taller, he weighed 209 in his prime and frazier weighed exactly the same vs bob foster (AND NO ****ING BODY CAN SAY THAT HE WAS NOT IN PEAK SHAPE FOR THIS FIGHT, I AM WAITING FOR 4 ******S SAYING THAT FRAZIER ONLY WAS IN HIS PRIME WHEN HE WEIGHED 206) .
The Frazier who beat Ali on March 8, 1971 is the best heavyweight ever. Frazier was never the same fighter after that fight. He had health problems and was about 70 percent of the fighter he used to be, when he decided to resume his boxing career. Foreman did his job on him and Ali gained his revenge. But neither Ali, Holmes or Foreman would have defeated Joe Frazier on Frazier´s best night. Holmes was a great jabber, better than Ali - but Frazier had the style to walk trough, under and around jabs to deliever bodypunches and the wonderful left-hook. It would have been a great fight - as long as it lasted. But Frazier would´ve sent Holmes down for the count.
Its basically anyone's fight and I have no problem with anyone who picks one over the other. I myself might give Holmes the slight edge. The left hook wasn't especially a problem for Larry Holmes where as it was Muhammad Ali's achilles heel. Holmes also had what was arguably the best heavyweight jab of all time coupled with a powerful right uppercut that I can see Frazier getting caught with often. Lastly, Larry had tremendous heart, stamina and a well proven chin. I think he can possibly edge Frazier on a decision or maybe force a stoppage late. Again though, its anyone's fight.
Magoo has summed it up perfectly for me. FOTC Frazier beats most fighters. Holmes couldn' t do much that Ali couldn't...but would IMO deal with the hook better. As genuine a 50-50 fight as it gets, if you take their best v best.
Holmes had an ever better jab that Ali, and a much more diversified offense in hooks, uppercuts and body shots. On defense Holmes was better technically, and he could run if he wanted too for many rounds ( See Shavers fight ). Unlike Ali, Holmes never rested on the ropes ( Which is where Frazier did he best work ), nor did he get caught with hooks ( Frazier's best punch ). I'd pick Holmes via late round TKO.
This is a very interesting match-up but one I've wondered about for a long time. Joe Frazier was a great pressure-fighter, tougher than Holmes and packed more power in his left hook than Holmes could in his still respectable right hand. Holmes is a very unfairly overlooked heavyweight, he dominated his era, being cheating out of beating Rocky Marciano's 49-0 record and taking on the best contenders his post-Ali pre-Tyson era had to offer. As for the fight it is very much a pick 'em. Frazier had wear-down power in his left hook, Holmes had decent enough power but more importantly prescision in his right hands - though in my opinion both men wouldn't have enough strength to stop the other. Frazier was only stopped twice, both by a prime Foreman, and Larry was only stopped by a prime Tyson and almost by Earnie Shavers - neither hit as hard as these men so for me it's going to the cards. Judging from style, Holmes is more suited to a points match, he has a killer jab, boxing skills, footwork and is very speedy and tough. Joe is a fighter who notoriously loses the early rounds as he wears his man down, but often stages a comeback in the mid and late rounds when he begins to get to his man. The outcome? Hard to tell. Frazier beat a still very sharp Muhammad Ali and fought another two VERY close fights afterwards. How does Holmes compare to Ali? Well he's not as graceful nor as fast - the lacking of both these traits would hinder Larry as both were Ali's saving grace from stoppage in the first fight and brought him to victory in the second and third. Holmes also lacked a chin as good as Ali's - so if Joe could put Muhammad on his backside, he'd do so to a slower, weaker chinned Holmes in my opinion. Holmes < Ali It's true for almost every catagory until punching power and jabbing strength. Both being very important when fighting a brawler like Frazier. As I've said, I doubt Holmes power would be enough to stop Joe as it did his son - Marvis. But his heavy jab and punching power, if used correctly could have been Larry's saving grace at keeping Smokin' Joe from getting close, working the body and wearing him down. All this being said it's a tough fight. Holmes had the toughness, heart and jab to keep Joe away. But a pre-Ali (those fights took a lot out of him) Frazier had endless stamina and a much better chin and KO power and could have gotten to Holmes and taken a decision after a long late-fight beating. W15 Frazier UD
Ever wonder why Frazier was never the same fighter after that fight Claus? And...no one ever sent Larry down for the count, unless you count the over the hill Larry and even then (my memory is weak) wasn't he getting up against Tyson? IMO it could go either way but Larry's jab, not being prone to left hooks, only rights, and his heart might swing it in his favor. My $0.02
As usual it's another thread elevating the great Joe Frazier to a level that he didn't actually possess. It's a pick em fight. Holmes was definitely a better ALL ROUNDER than Ali IMO. He just had the dreadful misfortune to follow probably the greatest ever ENTERTAINER that boxing had EVER seen up until that time. His speech impediment obviously didn't help matters, but for me a fighter who was very good at most aspects of the game, but only excellent at one of them. Jabbing.
Very good matchup here and no clear cut winner as far as I'm concerned. But force me to make a pick and I'll take Frazier by decision. Holmes was fast for a HW but he wasn't as fast as Ali both in hand and foot speed and he didn't throw the fluid combos that Ali did in bouquets of 4 and 5 at a time. Compared to Ali's graceful and speedy footwork, Holmes was more of a step, jab, step, double jab, right hand type of fighter. Fast in his own right but not as fluid and gracefully mobile as Ali was. In other words, Holmes would not be as evasive as Ali was against the relentless Frazier. I can't recall Holmes ever facing that kind of in your face relentless pressure fighter that Frazier was. Plus Joe was good at slipping under and coming up with fast hooks. In the FOTC he certainly took a lot of punches but he avoided a lot with head and upper body movement as well, all the while coming forward and throwing punches in bunches at Ali. That type of fighter is hell for a boxer though not for a slugger. It would be a hell of a fight tho but I think in the end Fraziers hand gets raised.
Frazier was able to exploit the tactical flaws In Alis unorthodox style and land a lot of heavy blows that wouldn't happen with Holmes who I think could outbox Frazier for 15 rounds although Frazier has the power to hurt Holmes at any time.
trust me on this. Larry would smash thru Joe's defense. Larry would hurt Joe with a savage right on the button with such frightening impact you could hear it several rows back. Joe is a one handed fighter who thrived on smaller heavies like Quarry, Ellis, and blown up Bob Foster. Larry would fight smarter than Ali and one other major difference in Larry's favor: he has the power to level Joe with his right cross right crosses over left hooks any day Joe Louis also defeats Frazier by 11th round butchering
This fight is a real 50/50 for me. My head says larry my heart says joe. Joe at his peak would be a nightmare for holmes but that could be fliped around its a hard one. Il go joe because i loved hi style.
