Who picked who to win! Ali vs Frazier, March 8, 1971!

I saw that great event at MSG. A night I will NEVER forget. I picked Frazier to win as I thought Ali didn't hit hard enough to keep the Henry Armstrong like Frazier off of him through15 rounds. I was right in my prediction. I have posted this before but I believe Frazier was NEVER the same after this bout...It took all the energy out of Joe Frazier who I first saw as an Olympic boxer losing a close decision to the rotund Buster Mathis in 1964...Joe was one of my very favorite fighters in the ring and out of the ring...

 

Burt, did you ever meet him?

 

Good post :good


Form wise that fight may have been one of Ali's best of the seventies. Not quite as good as he was in the second fight against Joe,though. Or second Norton and Foreman fights. In these bouts he had the speed,in my opinion,of the FOTC and was even sharper and in better condition. Plus he had more confidence in his legs.

 

Plus he got to hold and grab and wrestle to his heart's content in the second Frazier fight.

 

So for those of you who think Ali was still in his prime for FOTC - how many other fighters do you think were still in their prime after a 3+ year lay-off?

 

a prime ali 67 would have schooled frazier easily

 

:rofl


You just don't know, bud.

 

What other fighters took a 3 year layoff at that age?

 

The post exile was stronger and better equipped for Frazier.

 

Agree!

 

Tyson and Leonard were about the same age for their comebacks.

 

Tyson was an unstable addict who had been in prison and had been for a longer period of tme.

Leonard did pretty well besides being over 30, being out for 5 years except for a fight in which he looked past prme,and struggling with drugs.

 

Tyson wasn't an addict. That's making up after the fact.

And if you can't see Leonard wasn't the same... Well.

 

Read Mike Tyson's book Undisputed Truth. Tyson acknowledges how out of control his party and had become even prior to the Frank Bruno fight in 1989 before he went to prison. Tyson says that based on his condition he should not have won that fight.

Do acknowledge that Tyson was in prison right? Not really a comparable situation.

 

Leonard wasn't the same? I would say that Leonard was actually better against Hagler then he was in his fight against Kevin Howard which was prior to his lengthier layoff.

It seems like you are trying to Prevail in an argument as opposed to looking at the facts.