Stamina vs Stamina, Marciano vs Frazier

I posted these already, including their comments, starting on page 6.

 

Yes, I posted that on Page 6.

I talked to both Duva and Certo about these lists and they both said that they rated them off the top of their heads. I road Certo home from New York once and I brought it up again and he just laughed and said, what do you want from me, I just gave them the names that first came to my mind, and he laughed again.

 

I watched the complete staged bout between Ali and Marciano three times, actually taking notes during the second viewing. To me, the reality of seeing the two of them share the same ring in boxing gear provided a striking visual. (That this took place when Ali's athletic peak should have been was very much in my mind at the time. What later became also remarkable to me is that Rocky was the same age that Foreman was when George held the title for the second time.)

While Marciano was projected as the knockout winner in this performance, it's very difficult for me to imagine him coming out on top in a peak for peak competition, especially with the toughness and endurance Muhammad had not yet proved in 1969.

This is about comparing stamina between Marciano and Frazier though, and I think Rocky has the edge here.

 

I agree with you that Frazier can get in faster to catch Ali than Marciano. However, I think Marciano can take a little more and I do think that Ali's stamina and tiredness in this fight in the later rounds would give Marciano a chance to TKO/KO him. Most likely he wins a decision, but Frazier tires toward the end... Marciano wouldn't tire that much.

Tony Perez did a bad job on both sides. Ali held slightly too much but he really controlled the fight. A 12 round Ali v Frazier fight is more an advantage toward Ali in my eyes. The point of Ali being better after FOTC was because of his timing and stamina being off. Obviously Frazier was very stellar and making things tough for Ali, however, you can Ali wasn't just quite there. We can't ignore this... why else would Ali be better later on in the early 70's.

 

The computer had Rocky knocking out Ali in the 13th round.

Here's all you need to know about computer fights. In September of 1970, they used the same computer that produced the Marciano-Ali fight to pick the winner of the Joe Frazier vs. Bob Foster heavyweight title fight in November of 1970. The computer picked Foster to stop Frazier in the sixth round. Since Frazier knocked Foster out in the second round, the computer could not have been more wrong. In fact, Frazier hit Foster so hard that he injured his ankle while he was going down.

 

I agree with that sentiment, and I always believe that Frazier had superior stamina to Ali at that time (Through the 70's). I think he may have had superior stamina compared to Ali's prime, but this is definitely debatable as Ali was a very busy fighter on the outside pecking and jabbing a lot. Also, you have to take in the fact that Joe's busting on Ali's body while Ali isn't a body puncher. But I agree that Joe's fresher at the end of FOTC II than Ali. But slightly, and mostly due to getting off at Joe more. It's not too noticable but I'd presume most would agree with us on that.