Don't take the skepticism personal. It just that it is commonplace for things like this to pop up in one form or another when a popular fighter has lost (seldom such a clear source, though). Makes people here a little jaded. Understandbly so.
Well I watched the first 6 rounds of the FOTC last night (ill finish it tonight), and I scored it 5 rounds to 1 (so far) for Ali, he started clowning around in the 6th, which was annoying but he is visibly tired, so I guess it was a cover up. Frazier himself was clowning around in the 5th. But the punch output and connection rate of Ali is much higher than Frazier, its just Frazier was scoring with big left hooks and multiple body shots. But one thing I noticed, Ali was in a no win situation in that fight anyway, aswell as many people on this forum, it looked like the entire crowd was against Ali that night. Everytime Frazier scored with any kind of shot, the crowd cheered, yet while Ali pounded Fraziers face with right left or left right combinations, the crowd is as quiet as a ****ing church mouse. I know Ali had a mouth on him, but come on, like Frazier the man was one of the greatest boxers ever to grace the ring, the crowd should of at least appreciated that. I am not a huge Mayweather fan, he runs his mouth off something chronic, but the guy is a genius in the squared circle and I do applaud his skills.
I too believe that New York was more so favorable to Frazier in 1971. Ali was still being grilled as a draft dodger.. Plus, he was a country boy from Kentucky... The south has never sat well with the Yankee's...... Joe Frazier was born in the Carolina's, but he was a Philly fighter with his team..... NYC is just across the street........ MR.BILL
Ok Mr Mr.Foo25... lol. Ali was out shuffled, out muscled and out pointed. The damage done by the 8th round had more than taken its toll.. as I'm sure you'll agree. Obviously affected by the years of inactivity that lost little rust in the matches with Quarry and Bonavena, Ali was not forcing the fight as far as a battle of attrision can be assumed. Flicking jabs behind weary shoulders and legs unsupporting to the right crosses that felled Williams, Mildenberger.. pinched Patterson and Chuvalo like axe wounds.. Fatique cost Ali's bettering of Frazier in all the closing 7 rounds as much as Fraziers incessant intensity. Frazier worked Ali over more than any man had before or after, on that night. Personally, this is one of the great showings in H/W history for a losing man... the same as the Thriller.. Watching both bouts is still incredible. It's hard to make a close comparison to any bouts through history that might see the same toughness in losing. Cheers.
True. Both Ali and Frazier displayed their toughness that night. Frazier was never quite as good again,while Ali went on to make up some lost ground,ability wise.
And that probably helped screw him over too, for Frazier.Shame Belinda didn't take a bat to that ass.
Farzier may have won the fight,in the conventional scoring sense,but he was took far more punishment than Ali did.
it probably took 2 weeks for the swelling on fraziers head to go down.at the end of the fight joes head was like a pumpkin. what a warrior though !!