POLL. In which fight did you feel Frazier was at his optimal peak?

The Chuvalo beating.

 

He looks very good against Foster. But, regarding the opposition, it has to be FOTC.

 

That's hard to top. Just to be dfferent I'll throw out the TKO 5 of Ellis. I could certainly see the argument that taking out Chuvalo in 4 is a feat.

 

i would say frazier hit his prime against ali he fought an amazing fight against the greatest and never seemed to be the same after he beat him he seemed to lack the desire as he had already proved himself but i would still say ali who was his best fight but also his downfall

his tko of ellis was brutal he was good in that as well

 

I think either against Ali or Foster.

 

Yeah, in hindsight, I'm not quite sure why I bypassed the Ali fight. That would be tough to top. I've still always thought that maybe his absolute prime was the late 60's. Sure FOTC was his greatest moment but Ali's exile kept that from happening a few years earlier. I think FOTC in 68-69 against a sharper Ali would have been even better.

But again the question is optimal peak. Best performance? Absolutely FOTC. Optimal peak, I still think late 60's.

 

arguably best performance is his optimal peak because that is when he fought best

 

During FOTC; he had gained experience from the Ellis, Quarry, Chuvalo, Machen and other fights, yet was still at his physical peak and never had more desire to win. He may have been comparably good against Foster, but that destruction lasted too short to see if his conditioning was as good as against Ali the first time.

 

well said chris

 

I would say FOTC as well. He fought with the most intensity ever, while also showing the best defense/boxing skills of his career as well. (Does anyone remember that one round when he actually backed off and boxed Ali from the outside? What a fkking fight that was!)

Still, his wins over Foster, Ellis I, and Quarry I were all fantastic performances as well. Those four fights collectively represented his peak.

 

In the FOTC ,Frazier in that fight would be competitive with any fighter who ever lived.