IS JOE FRAZIER UNDERRATED?
BY DARIUS DENZEL WESLEY
I HAVE A GREAT REASON FOR THIS BECAUSE BEFORE I EVEN FOLLOWED BOXING ALL I WOULD HEAR IS ALI THIS AND ALI THAT, BEFORE I EVEN SEEN HIM IN PICTURE, OR ON A FIGHT VIDEO I ONLY HEARD HE WAS THE GREATEST. IF YOU EVEN ASK SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER WATCHED ALI OR NEVER EVEN WATCHED A BOXING MATCH IF YOU GO UP TO THEM WITH A CAMERA WITH 50 DOLLARS AND SAY WHO IS THE GREATEST BOXER OF ALL TIME THEY WITH SAY MUHAMMAD ALI. BUT ITS A FUNNY THING BECAUSE IT JUST IS AND I ASK PEOPLE WHO SAY THAT WHAT THEIR FAVORITE FIGHT OF ALI'S IS THEY STAY IN SILENCE. AS IF THEY HAD SEEN A GHOST OR SOMETHING OR AS IF I HAVE 1 EYE, IT IS A RARITY FOR THEM TO NAME A FAVORITE FIGHT AND THEY WILL SAY ALI/FRAZIER OR ALI/FOREMAN I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY SOMEONE WOULD LIKE THE FOREMAN FIGHT.(proved how genius Ali was) BUT NOT ALI/FRAZIER BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL THEY FOUGHT THREE TIMES. SO WHICH OF THE 3 FIGHTS IS YOU FAVORITE THE FIRST FIGHT IS FOR ALL OF THEM, BUT WHY THAT WAS ALI'S FIRST LOST, HE WAS DROPPED IN THE 15TH, FRAZIER MADE HIM LOOK TERRIBLE WHILE BEING SICK, THEIR WAS A JUDGE AT THE FIGHT THAT EVEN SCORED IT 11 ROUNDS FOR FRAZIER 4 ROUNDS FOR ALI(even though I write in caps I am yelling right now) I SCORED THE FIGHT A LITTLE CLOSER THAN THAT MY REVIEW STILL HAS FRAZIER WINNING COMFORTABLY.( 9 rounds for Frazier, with Frazier having 2 rounds of his winning 10/8 in my opinion 3 even and 3 rounds for Ali) THIS IS WHY I SAID HE WAS SO AHEAD OF MUHAMMAD.
I WILL ADMIT IT IS A DIFFERENT STORY WHEN YOU TALK TO THE BOXING HISTORIANS THOUGH, THE PEOPLE OF BOXING WHO SPEAK THERE ANSWERS LOGICALLY WITH REASONINGS AND KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. THEY CAN NAME TONS OF FIGHTS OF ALI, ALI/COOPER(both fights) ALI/FOREMAN,(like I said before proved Ali was pure genius) ALI/FRAZIER 1,2,AND 3(3 wars and 3 super-fights) THEIR MAIN KEY TO EXPLAIN WHY JOE FRAZIER IS IN HISTORY A LITTLE BEHIND IS, WELL, YOU KNOW THEIR WHOLE GOAL IS TO RUB THE EMBARRASSING 2ND ROUND KNOCKOUT JOE FRAZIER SUFFERED TO GEORGE FOREMAN(I can explain why Frazier was at his worst that day)I DISAGREE THAT IT WAS A LOSS, YES IT WAS FRAZIER'S FIRST LOSS OKAY, BUT NOW IT PROVED SOMETHING ELSE FRAZIER WAS A SURVIVOR BUT AFTER THIS YOU COULDN'T CALL HIM ANYTHING LESS THAN A WARRIOR AND A MAN. YES JOE FRAZIER WAS KNOCKED DOWN 6 TIMES AND GOT UP ALL 6 TIMES. IT SHOWS THE KIND OF MAN SMOKIN JOE REALLY IS COMING FROM GEORGE FOREMAN HIMSELF IN HIS LATER YEARS.
BUT LETS MAKE THIS CLEAR I AM NOT GOING TO BRAG TO MUCH ABOUT THIS LOSS BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU MUST REMEMBER WITH THE REST OF US THAT IT IS STILL A LOSS, MONUMENTAL YES, BUT STILL A LOSS. BUT AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT REALIZES THIS. ANYONE WHO KNOW'S BOXING LIKE ME KNOW'S FRAZIER/FOREMAN WAS PRETTY CLOSE TO FRAZIERS FIRST CLASH WITH MUHAMMAD ALI.LET ME ALSO ADD HOW FRAZIER WAS SICK WHEN HIS FIRST FIGHT WITH ALI CAME AROUND.FRAZIER WAS AWARE OF THIS THE DOCTOR EVEN INFORMED HIM NOT TO FIGHT, BUT FRAZIER BEING FRAZIER HE WANTED THE SUPER-FIGHT SO BADLY THE DESIRE OF HAVING ALI'S NAME ON HIS WINNING RECORD HAD TO MUCH DESIRE, THIS WAS THE MOST ANTICIPATED FIGHT UP TO DATE. JOE COULD NOT PASS DOWN THIS CHALLENGE, EVEN IF IT DID COMES AT A COST. HE WANTED TO HURT ALI FOR CALLING HIM NAMES LIKE UGLY, STUPID, AND APE WHO COULDN'T FIGHT, AND THE EASIEST BOXER TO HIT.(because he always comes forward but Ali took it to far this time)FRAZIER GAVE ALI THE WORSE BEATEN HE HAD EVER HAD UP TO DATE. BUT FRAZIER PAID FOR IT SINCE FRAZIER WAS SICK HIS BODY LOST 15 POUNDS BY THE 15TH ROUND, FRAZIER WAS ONLY 195 AT THE FIGHT EXAGGERATED IN THE WEIGH IN'S AND TOLD HEAVIER THAN HE REALLY WAS. (Joe Frazier was really 195 at most of his fights not 203-208 those are lies he even said it) SO FRAZIER LOST 15 POUNDS LET DO THE MATH IT EASY MATH, SO TAKE 15 AWAY FROM 195 AND YOU HAVE JOE FRAZIER, HE WAS NOW ONLY 180 AND COULDN'T EVEN MOVE HIS BODY AND FRAZIER CAME IN THE FOREMAN FIGHT AT 215 NOW LETS DO SOME MORE MATH 180 TAKE AWAY FROM 215 SO HE REALLY CAME TO FIGHT GEORGE FOREMAN 35 MORE POUNDS THAN WHEN HE FOUGHT ALI PLUS FRAZIER HAD 2 MORE FIGHT BEFORE HE FOUGHT FRAZIER SO WITHIN THE PAST YEAR. WE CAN SAY FRAZIER COULDN'T TRAIN AS HARD, FOUGHT 2 MORE TIMES INSTEAD OF AT LEASE TAKING A BRIEF REPRIEVE, WENT THROUGH A WAR WITH MUHAMMAD ALI, AND DIDN'T EVEN TRAIN SERIOUS FOR THE FOREMAN FIGHT BECAUSE HE HAS TO REST. EVEN THOUGH FRAZIER HAD THE ODDS ON HIM 3 TO 1 PEOPLE THOUGHT FRAZIER WAS GOING TO WIN.(meaning for every 3 people who though Frazier was going to win 1 person didn't so 75% of people thought Frazier would win) FRAZIER IS NOT AN IDIOT, BUT NEITHER ARE THE PEOPLE THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT FRAZIER HAD ENDURED THOUGH. IT WAS A DIFFERENT FRAZIER A UNPREPARED AND OVERWEIGHT FRAZIER HE CAME INTO THE FIGHT NERVOUS NOT RUSHING FORWARD USING THE LEFT HOOK LIKE IT WAS A JAB BEFORE. SO LET ME SAY THIS, THE REASON I FEEL FRAZIER/FOREMAN #2 WAS MORE COMPETITIVE IS BECAUSE THEY WERE BOTH RESTED NOW, YES IT WAS NOT THE SAME FOREMAN BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT THE SAME FRAZIER FOR SURE. MY ANSWER FOR FRAZIER LOST TO FOREMAN.
SO HOW ABOUT FRAZIER/ALI THRILLA IN MANILA (very brutal fight)(wait I take that back the most brutal fight in history) FRAZIER WOULD HAVE WON THAT FIGHT, IF IT WASN'T FOR EDDIE FUTCH, IF THE CORNER MAN WOULD HAVE LET IT CONTINUE FRAZIER WOULD HAVE WON BUT IT WAS STOPPED BECAUSE HIS EYE WAS TO BAD. WHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RING ALI SAYS HE CANT FIGHT ANYMORE AND CAN'T GO THE LAST ROUND A SECOND BEFORE ALI QUIT, FRAZIER'S CORNER MAN COST HIM THE GAME BECAUSE FRAZIER WAS BEGGING TO CONTINUE.
SO MAYBE FRAZIER SHOULD BE JUDGED MORE BY THE MAN HE WAS BECAUSE A NOBLE MAN INDEED ONLY HAD 4 LOSSES AND FOUGHT THE BEST COMPETITION OF BOXING IN THE GOLDEN ERA. DEFINITELY GREAT AND ONE OF THE GREATEST BUT THAN WHY DO ALL WE HEAR IS MUHAMMAD ALI?
I THINK JOE FRAZIER SUCCEEDED ON BEATING MUHAMMAD ALI THOSE 3 WARS THEY HAD SINGLE HANDEDLY PUT ALI IN THE STATE OF MIND HE IS IN TODAY.
SO IS JOE FRAZIER UNDERRATED?
BY DARIUS DENZEL WESLEY
