Muhammad Ali's most difficult opponent, Frazier or Norton?

I don't know if we can really differentiate between the two. Sure, its possible that Norton may have given Ali two additional tougher fights than Frazier, and may even have been robbed in one of them, but its still very close. Also, I would argue that the fight of the century Ali was a tad better conditioned in 1971, than the one who entered the ring at 220 Lbs against Norton in 1973 ( no excuses though ).

 

I feel that Norton was the somewhat tougher opponent. IMO no one gave as good a version of Ali as the one in Ali-Norton II as tough a fight as Norton did. I believe that that Ali was a bit better than the one in FOTC.

I can't of course say for sure exactly how the Ali of the Norton rematch would have fared in FOTC, but I think he would have done somewhat better than he did in reality.

 

I agree. Probably more than a tad, even,

 

Intriguing question.
Ali was in better shape for Frazier I than Norton I and and less washed-up for Frazier III than Norton III, so they're hard to compare.
But the second fights against the two were only months apart with Ali in comparable conditions and I'd say Norton did marginally better in his fight.

Frazier was the better fighter overall but Nortons style was more bothersome.

Smokin Joe with his constant aggression mainly tested alis defense and resilience.
Norton while an aggressive fighter with his awkward crablike style first and foremost nullified Alis offense and tested his patience.

Frazier made Ali look good even in losing, Norton made Ali look bad even in winning.

Frazier hurt him more while Norton bored him and as I believe that Ali would r choose pain over boredom he probably prefered to fight Frazier.

 

Frazier if you ask me. He fought a much better version of Ali than Norton. Ali was 10 lbs overweight for the first fight with Norton and clearly underestimated him. When he was in-shape in the rematch, Ali beat him. In 1976, Ali had little left while Norton was at his peak, having recovered from the Foreman beating and posting impressive wins.

To summarize, Norton had the advantage of being at or near his peak for all three Ali fights, while Ali was out of shape for the first, in good condition for the second (which he won), and far past his best for the third.

Frazier on the other hand, was at his peak for the first fight (which Frazier won clearly), but declining heavily during the second two fights, as did Ali of course. And both were pretty damn close.


Frazier won his fight more decisive against a better version of Ali. Something else to note is that the Frazier fights took something out of Ali. Ali went from a capable fighter who handled Foreman to a nearly a shot fighter in Manilla.

 

Well, it's a chess match with Norton. Life or death with Frazier.

 

Very good post, as usual. It should be pointed out that Norton was at his peak in the rematch with Ali while Frazier probably was slightly past his in 1974, though.

But I think that Ali won with a considerably more comfortable margin in the rematch with Frazier than in the one with Norton. In the rematch with Frazier he looked to have quite a lot of gas left in the last round, while he needed to squeeze every last drop to beat Norton.

 

Norton beat Ali 2-1 in my book, and hurt Ali more than Frazier did. I think Norton was tougher for Ali than Frazier by a small but noticeable margin.

 

While I think Norton would've likely always been a tough fight for Ali, the mileage that had built up on Ali had more to do with the styles matchup IMO, and I see Ali winning a clear UD prime for prime. Frazier would've always been very tough for Ali the way I see it.

 

Ken Norton, due to his style, was tougher than that of Joe Frazier for the great Muhammad Ali. :deal

MR.BILL

Extra:

However, the fights with Joe Frazier were more exciting... Cheerio...:hi:

 

Norton.

However, that's only because of the stage of his career. A peak Ali would've handled Norton much easier than a peak Ali would've handled Frazier. I thought it was pretty evident that when Ali was up on his toes, he was giving Norton fits. He couldn't sustain the dancing for the distance in the 70s though, not to mention the reflexes were nowhere near what they were.