Why is it tht Frazier is praised so highly???

Frazier was his greatest rival, not Norton. Again, Frazier never struggled with a past prime Ali until he was past prime himself. Ali of 71 was faster and quicker than the one of Norton 2. Norton still had problems with the very faded one of the third fight though we all can agree Norton got robbed that night. I think a prime Ali would dance circles and beat Norton very decisively. Hell the one of Frazier 1 or either of the Quarry fights would've beat Norton in a very wide decision imo.



Are you kidding? Futch stopped the fight sir, look it up. Ali/Frazier 3 took a lot out of BOTH men and if you think Ali won that in a one-sided fashion then you need to rewatch the fight.

 

So was Joe Frazier past his prime when he fought Ali if 1971? Did his prime immediately end after beating the unranked,unproven(as a heavyweight,of course) Bob "don't call me Mac" Foster in a mismatch? Or are you suggesting that Frazier didn't struggle with Ali in that particular fight?



I happen to think that a prime Ali would have beaten Frazier so decisively that no rematch would have ever have been necessary.But the fact is,we have no way of ever knowing whether he would have done so.What we do know is that no fighter that fought him twice or more ever caused Ali the same amount of difficulty that Norton did.Norton was never a fighter that Ali was ever too keen on getting back in the ring with - as shown through Ali blatantly avoiding a fight with the man after he barely scraped through in a highly controversial decision against Norton in Yankee stadium.Frazier was a fighter that Ali was only too keen on fighting,because he had the confidence of knowing that he was capable of beating the man.

I never claimed that it was a one-sided fight.Just like his fight with Alfredo Evangelista,Ali was forced to dig deep after withstanding some tremendous body shots(though Evangelista didn't stray as low as Frazier usually did).It was a tough,gruelling fight in which Frazier performed admirably in,but ultimately suffered more punishment than what his body could take.I'm certainly not criticizing his decision to pack it in,if that's what you're suggesting?

 

So, ladies and gentleman, I guess the upshot of this thread about Joe Frazier, like so many others, is really about how great Muhammad Ali was. APPARENTLY the Ali of the 1960's was ABSOLUTELY INVINCIBLE and he could never, ever have been beaten. And in fact, NONE OF MUHAMMAD ALI's losses -all of which came post-layoff - COUNT! Repeat - Ali's losses DO NOT COUNT! This is because of his exile. He is essentially undefeated despite losses on his record at age 29 and 31. Even though VItali K. took three years off and came back to mop the floor with people, this is different: he hadn't suffer the way THE GREAT ONE did. Any questions? THank you all for your time. May you all bask in the reflected radiance of Muhammed Ali throughout this joyful Wednesday.

 

Thats viable. I rank George a very high 5th, because I think his accomplishments are fairly unique and incredibly impressive-Destroying Frazier and Norton, holding the undisputed title, and winning it back with one punch at 45. I think thats really good stuff on a resume.

I agree with you about the more proven part, but for me, where George edges Joe is in h2h strength.

Semantics, though. I absolutely acknowledge that Frazier COULD be ranked higher in ATG lists than he is, just depending on weight of your criteria.

 

Just at what age were you dropped on the head?

 

Dominant wins over...
Bob Foster
Quarry(x2)
Bonavena(first one was pretty tight)
Ellis(x2)
Chuvalo
Mathis

Foreman has dominant wins over...

Chuvalo
Peralta
Norton
Lyle
Frazier(x2)

 

Frazier was one of the best ever and it's silly to try to deny it. However, two corrections. First, Ali was clearly winning the third fight when it was stopped. He dominated the first half of the fight and had Frazier in all kinds of trouble over the championship rounds. Frazier took a severe beating in that fight. Second the first meeting was not an overwhelming victory for Frazier. That was a close fight in which Frazier was physical beaten up. Ali was in total command through the first half and had his moments throughout the second half.

 

this thread is hilarious. welcome back sirhenry!