Frazier wins by the 10th or 11th. As far as the notion that Marciano had the higher workrate, not correct at all.
When two swarming attackers are matched, the one hits harder and owns the better chin is the winner more often than not. I'd go with Marciano, though Frazier's speed could be an X factor. It would have been a great match.
Marciano's speed is underated because he threw every punch with conviction but If you watch the Moore, Walcott and Charles fights even the Matthews fight and Layne...he had good timing and often beat the other fighter to the punch
Somebody call the local hospital. I find it difficult to pick a winner. This matchup was discussed in the December 1990 issue of The Ring, and George Chuvalo, Floyd Patterson and Al Braverman were asked to predict the outcome. I edited a lot of it, but here are their opinions: George Chuvalo "The biggest difference would be size. Frazier went up against bigger men, and the only one that hurt him was George Foreman. Because of that, I think Frazier would be able to stand up againsr Rocky's punches. As good as Rocky was, he never fought anyone who threw the volume of punches that Joe did. But because Rocky is so tough, it would take Joe at least 12 rounds to stop him." Floyd Patterson "As far as avoiding punches, the fact that Frazier bobbed and weaved a lot more than Marciano would be in his favour. Frazier's size and natural strength would be to his advantage. I think Joe would edge out Marciano over 15 rounds." Al Braverman "The fact that Frazier outweighed Marciano by 20 pounds wouldn't be a factor at all. I see a lot of action, with Frazier hitting the deck around the 10th. But he'd get up and take it to Marciano. Frazier would still be coming in, and Marciano would be wearing him down, wearing him down. He'd finally catch Frazier with an overhand right in the 14th or 15th."
I'm really mystified by how people think that Joe had superior stamina and a better workrate. Marciano had more of lesser output around the early 50's but slightly altered his style to become more aggressive, swarming, and a higher ouput. Goldman wanted this after the Walcott bout so there wouldn't be a close scoring squeaker. As for the 3 comments from the 1990 Ring Magazine edition. 2 talk about size and why Joe while the other talks about how Marciano would "wear him down." Doesn't this proven and show his superior stamina/workrate? Sure Joe was a workhouse but no way he's capable of throwing more punches or even having the same conditioning at his all time best. At least never as consistently as Marciano.
I think Frazier would stop him late but this fight would be so close and possibly the most action packed heavyweight fight ever.
Frazier would cut his face to ribbons. Marciano never met a fighter like Frazier in the ring before. He's at a whole other level.
Close decision in a war either way. I usually pick Frazier by SD vs Rocky in previous matches so I`ll stick by that. Anybodies fight tho.
Nice post PetethePrince. I agree with you that Joe got caught up in the glory of being the heavyweight champion and got lazy. The evidence was him getting his butt whupped by Ken Norton in the sparring sessions before his title defense against Foreman, who practically cemented in the actually fight, what was happening in training. For this very reason alone, is why I believe a pre-FOTC to FOTC, 1967 -1970 conditioned Joe Frazier puts on a much better performance against Foreman and increases his chances of winning IF he answers the bell for round 5, of which in his prime is not out of the question. Marciano may look fresher in some of his fights near the final rounds, but his pace is nowhere near that of Frazier. Marciano was much slower and more calculated when it came to his punches, aside from the fact that his right hand was better than Fraziers. Frazier and Marciano both had super stamina, but I'd give the edge to Frazier based on the pace and pressure factor. Marciano's pace and pressure is reflective of Frazier's pace from the opening rounds as a slow starter. Frazier gets faster and busier after round four whereas Marciano's pace stays the same. Frazier caught Ali on the ropes repeatedly in all three fights. I don't believe Marciano would catch Ali as many times as Frazier did if they had fought prime for prime.
