I know you may laugh, but hear me out: Ruddock was a very large man who could hit very hard. Just like George Foreman. He was 6'4 about 230-240 pounds. Yes, Frazier has the greater legacy, but how does he cope with the Ruddock smash?
Food for thought,definitely,Jake. The question here is that could Ruddock get off a similar amount of his hardest shots on target that Foreman did? If yes then Joe gets stopped as early as he did in Kingston,JA. But if not then Frazier gets the chance to warm up and pile the pressure on Razor and eventually stop him.
Joe stops Razor in about 7 rnds to much pressure and heat up close ! Unless Rudock catches Joe as he moved in he gets taken apart !!
No doubt this would be a risky fight for Joe.However Razor Ruddock,although formidable,wasn't on Big George's level as a fighter.I would take the peak Smokin' Joe to beat Ruddock,most likely by a late stoppage.
Yep, it does look a bit dodgy for Smokin'Joe but at his peak between 1968-71 Joe had very underrated head movement and,if clipped,could really take a decent punch.
Ruddock has a decent shot his uppercuts and "The Smash" are good weapons vs the bobbing and weaving shorter fighter in Frazier. If Ruddock doesn't get Frazier out of there early though then hes toast and Frazier will grind him down. Yes Frazier is far greater than Ruddock but style wise Ruddock is a dangerous opponent for him.
I could see Joe getting caught by a few of those left smash hooks and uppercuts. If he survives them he eventually takes over and wins
I don't think Ruddock would be able to land consistently enough to stop Joe. He may score a knockdown, but I doubt it. If Razor does manage to drop Frazier, Joe would just bounce right up & get right back in Ruddock's chest and continue to whup dat azz. No one in HW history is one-shotting Joe Frazier, that's for sure.
Razor might, might catch Joe and drop him. But he ain't keeping Joe down and when the smoke begins to roll Razor will be in some deep sh@t.
No its definitely a dangerous one for Frazier. He did walk straight in and Ruddock hit like a SOB. Id put money on Joe surviving the early on slaught and grinding out a decision, but if Ruddock had stopped him, well its not gonna shock me.
It’s funny you bring up this fight because I was contemplating it when the thread a “lesser fighter who could beat an ATG because of styles.” came up. I thought seriously about Ruddock possibly “doing a Foreman” on Frazier…but then I talked myself out of it. But thinking about it again, hmm…it’s a possibility. Probability? Not sure. But a definite possibility.
