I can already hear most people saying "this is a bad match up for Frazier" Lewis knocks him out. I believe the opposite Frazier KO's Lewis. What do you think who wins?
This same thread was started a couple months back, or so it seems. I'm going to go ahead and be one of those people whom you predicted would choose Lewis to beat Smokin' Joe. I say this with no conviction, however but frankly, Lewis seemed a bit too big, strong and multi-dimensional for Frazier, in my opinion. In addition, Lewis didn't really struggle much with left hookers. He demolished Morrison and Ruddock who both had tremendous power in their lefts. Frazier would always stand a chance though.
Sorry I didn't realise. I should really check previous threads before I create one, but when a match up comes to mind I just end up posting it. Can you remember what the consensus was on the original thread?
But it wouldn't simply be the left hook Lewis would have to contend with. The constant pressure would worry Lewis and break him down and when the final punch from Frazier lands it would be crushing.
To make this implication is to say that Lewis couldn't deal with pressure. That's a rather bold statement to make about a man who defeated some 25 ranked fighters in his career.
I'm not saying he can't deal with pressure, I'm just saying Joe wasn't just a man with a great left hook he was much more than that. Lewis could deal with pressure but not like the relentless pressure he'd face from a possessed Frazier. The 25 ranked fighters Lewis faced were not of the same calibre or intensity as '71 Frazier.
Frazier did an excellent job of breaking down boxer type fighters like Ali, Quarry and Ellis. He had a tremendous amount of upper body movement and handspeed for a heavyweight, as well as devastating power in both hands ( but particularly the left ). A 1969-1973 Frazier would have stood a chance against any all time great. The primary difference between Lewis and some of the boxers that Frazier actually faced, is that unlike Quarry, Ali and Ellis, Lewis had the power to make Frazier respect him, and even knock him out. There is an old boxing adage that a smaller fighter always needs to work harder than the bigger guy to win. Frazier would have to work very hard to beat Lennox Lewis, and I'm not sure if he would last as many rounds as it would take to wear Lennox down. IF he were to land the right punch flush at the right time, he might pull off a surprise knockout, but we can't make fantasy fight predictions on the assumption of a timely punch.
It's not that big an if. After all, fantasy fight predictions are ultimatley all about the "if's". The punch that ended it would be very real for Lewis: Think of a round, hard baseball connecting with the fibrous heart of an ash bat. Think of the ball’s flesh sinking into itself for the barest instant, the bat yielding, the fibers in the wood, the same fibers that kept the tree erect in winds for twenty or thirty seasons, pulling apart and then returning the force of the ball. Think of the solid sweetness, the ultimate surprise of the forces exchanging and releasing, the simplicity of it after all, and the long arc of the ball speeding away. Think of Frazier's left fist, 13 inches around, and the force traveling up his arm, the shoulder spreading and gaping with muscle, the twist of his torso as the power and energy transferred itself to his body, and the thrust of Lewis’s head going away from the fist as fast as his muscles allowed. Think of a strand of saliva escaping from Lewis's mouth, the silver glimmer of it as it reflected cigarette smoke and lights and camera flashes, its liquid pull falling to the canvas, his mouthpiece, for the period of one breath, coming loose in his mouth and readjusting to his bite as the pain and surprise of the punch registered in his brain. Then think of Lewis picking himself up from the canvas, wondering what all those people are doing in the ring with him. Why Larry merchant is talking to Joe Frazier who is flanked by numerous well wishers along with a smiling Don King hovering in the background. It's all very possible. Would it really be so much of a surprise? People underestimate Frazier these days.
Quite the vivid imagination, and yes, it would be a surprise given how Tyson was manhandled in the first round. Tyson may have been shot but it seems to me the strategy that Lewis inacted where he very much used his size, strength and reach advantages along with his superior power (at least relative to Frazier, not necessary Tyson) would be successful the vast majority of the time.
Good first round?? He went back to the corner complaining about being hurt as he ate a couple of upper cuts and it set the tone for the entire fight.
Tyson won the 1st round he was agressive, came forward & caught Lewis with a couple of strong left hooks. Tyson did enough to win the 1st round but lost the rest. You need to watch the 1st round again.
You need to understand the difference between winning a battle and winning a war. Tyson may have won the first round, but he was hurt and Lewis set the tone for the fight..that much surely must be obvious. And it wasn't Lewis complaining that he was hurt in between rounds, it was Tyson.