What transpires here? Walcott could be dropped and stopped, but he was an excellent boxer with KO power in both hands, tremendous handspeed and combination punching and slick movement. Frazier, though, like Marciano was relentless and would just keep coming and coming. Both guys had good stamina. Good fight here, good fight! Walcott drops Frazier early and builds up an early lead with his movement, fast hands and boxing ability. Frazier starts to come on in the 2nd half of the fight and Walcott begins to slow. Frazier doesn't get to him though, the way Marciano did and Walcott escapes with a close decision victory.
nonsense Walcott gets knocked cold eventually... for all his otherworldly trickery and cuteness and his very respectable punch, Walcott had a shaky jaw and had considerable trouble with Marciano's still-developing attack (Marciano was a better defensive fighter later coming forward) ... Frazier was nowhere near as easy to hit as the Ali fights make him seem and unless your name was George Foreman, there was nothing that could be done to escape those left hooks... Frazier forced you to fight toe-to-toe and he'd do the same to Jersey Joe, easily outmuscling him... Walcott gets knocked the fuck out circa the 10th or so at the latest
Preposterous foolishness! :: Marciano had Frazier left hook power, just in BOTH hands and was just as relentless with a better chin and it took him 13 rounds to do it. Frazier would get bounced by the slick punching Walcott and matched in the in-fighting. He'd be getting to him late, but one left hook after another woont be enough to do it. Walcott aint no Jimmy Ellis or Tiny Bob Foster.
I would give Walcott a chance to escape to a decision defeat hanging on, but I think you're about spot-on here. Walcott had a far more formidable punch & was quite a bit more difficult to nail cleanly than the Ali of 1971, but he plainly lacked Ali's raw durability & wouldn't be in there for the beating Ali absorbed down the stretch of the last three-to-four rounds in '71. From memory (it's been a long time), I had Ali sweeping the first five rounds from Frazier in their first meet. Walcott builds a similar lead, & may be ahead on the cards at the time he is brought down, around the 10th-11th. It would be no surprise, however. Frazier would have all the momentum at the time, his bodyattack a critical weapon against Walcott's evasiveness & reflexes.
Frazier by close decision I think. I think he's ultimately too busy and too strong/big, but the Walcott of the first Louis fight has enough to see the final bell. And maybe even make the decision contentious. 8-6 type decision with Walcott scoring a hard KD early on a hard counter right over a Frazier left.
Walcott might have some early success and perhaps score a KD, but I don't see him holding off Frazier for very long. I think Frazier closes the gap fairly quickly (as he was quite adept at doing) and eventually gets a stoppage win.
