Why did The Greatest lose to basically a one-armed fighter?

I know this sounds a bit bold, but really, pretty much all Frazier landed in FOTC is left hooks, left hooks, left hooks.....

Sure, he mixed in some other punches, a few uppercuts, some right hands, but it was always the left hook that was thrown with power, dedication and precision and it was always the left hook that did the damage.

Considering how great a boxer Ali was, fast hands, incredible fast feet, ring smarts, long punches, great jab, uppercuts, who could imagine him losing to basically a one-armed fighter??

 

Simple really.

The one arm was the right arm to get the job done

Ali's main technical vulnerability was to a left hook which was Fraziers forte.

The other greatest (Louis) lost to a fighter who relied heavily on his overhand right because that was the punch that he was most vulnerable to.

 

If the one-armed fighter has nearly unlimited stamina and a willingness to take any punch in order to land, he'll probably land it with regularity unless you have the power to stop him in his tracks.

You're talking about Joe Frazier here. Give the man his respect.

I personally also think Ali took that fight too soon. He took too big fights too soon without sufficient recovery time. His coordination and ring-comfort were not optimal, and it had to be to beat Joe Frazier.

 

It was the greatest performance by a one-armed man since Spencer Tracy beat up Lee Marvin AND Ernest Borgnine in Bad Day At Black Rock. :good

 

That's nothing compared to this gentleman:

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Swarmers usually have the advantage over pure boxing types....especially if the boxer has less stamina than the swarmer. Frazier simply wore a brash Ali out. When Ali took breaks in the corners and the ropes, Frazier went to work with those hooks. Ali also had a low guard, and had a tendency to be “ nailed " by hooks. Frazier simply matched up well with Ali.

If Ali had learned how to clinch prior to the 1971 fight, the result could have been different. After the first fight, Ali learned how to tie Frazier up, mostly with illegal clinching behind the head.

 

Not that simple why didnt Baer ko Louis ,he had a far harder overhand right than Schmeling,Frazier beat Ali with constant pressure,he was willing as Ali said to"pay any price", both of them left a bit of themselves i n that ring,but Fraziers "bit" was bigger. Jose Torres said in his book Sting Like a Bee,Ali in his comeback had been sparring ,lying constantly on the ropes,it had become a habit,it was the wrong place to be against Frazier
,,Ali was really rocked in the 11th I thought he might go down,and how did he get up from that hook in the 15th? Fraziers shining hour,he was never the same again.Ali said "if he beats me Ill crawl across the ring and kiss his feet ,at the fights close Frazier remembered it and paying respect to Ali said unprompted"aint nobody got to do no crawlin tonight".

 

1 Amazing Arm is better than 2 Average Arms

 

Conteh bringing back memories! Great movie. Robert Ryan plays the best racist ******* in the history of cinema. Have you seen Crossfire? Odds Against Tomorrow? Clash By Night? I know you've seen the Set-Up.

Ryan boxed in college and had a 5-0 record with 3 KOs...

 

Ali had a problem with the left hook, he was dumped by Cooper and Frazier, probery the 2 best lefthookers he fought,Patterson and Moore caught him a few times and Doug Jones also. If you feinted a left vs Ali he leaned his head back and then fired a hook you would catch him, Howard Davis jr got caught the same way

 

One-eyed as well...

That one armed fighter was aslo extremely slick, which Ali didnt seem to like, he didnt like Left hooks either, so mix em up and look what you got.

 

When fighting punchers, boxers tend to favor moving away from the strong hand. A great left hook is a puncher's best friend against a boxer. You get quicker delivery and it's generally easier to land. It makes it difficult for the boxer to move laterally if you can keep the pressure up the way Frazier did because Ali was not as comfortable moving to his left as he was to his right.

Frazier also correctly took advantage of the height disparity between him and by staying low and springing up with left hooks to counter when Ali punched down with his right.

Finally, it was not just Frazier's left hook, but his elusiveness and athleticism that helped him beat Ali. He also had sick conditioning to keep the pressure on for 15 rounds.

 

A somewhat one-armed fighter who had seemingly almost-limitless stamina, an impressive workrate, a non-stop pressure style, fast hands, good head movement, and a thunderously powerful hook? Yes, I can see a guy like that beating a lot of people, particularly ones whose greatest stylistic difficulties are with small, aggressive guys and whose biggest defensive vulnerabilities are to left hooks.

 

Calling Frazier a one armed fight is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

Frazier could throw every text book punch with his right hand and did so.

Frazier neglected the jab BUT he still had a jab.