Good post. Frazier isn't overrated at all. If anything, folks who don't know much the Heavyweight division in the 70's tend to underrate him. Does he deserve consideration to be among the very top of the list of All time Heavies? Nope. But he is still one of the best heavyweights ever. And he was certainly a better fighter than David Tua. Only someone with an axe to grind against Frazier would think so. Tua only has a puncher's chance. But since Frazier is nowhere as "chinny" as certain folks would like us to believe, that chance is very small.
because of how he fought them... and I'd say Quarry and Bonavena both were outlanded about 3-to-1 by him Frazier was a great fighter and nobody had more courage or desire, except perhaps Ali
I don't even think Ali made Frazier look easy to hit. Yeah at times he did, and over the course of the fights he took two beatings, but I remember reading a quote where Ali remarked on how far it was to catch Frazier clean. I still love the 3rd round of the fight in Manila where Frazier makes Ali miss about two dozen straight shots. It's hard to measure, but I might give that title to Diego Corrales. Fighters often say they're willing to fight to the death, and I don't believe it. I actually believe Chico was crazy enough to have fought to the death.
Nah...Gatti wins that honour. Both Mayweather and De La Hoya wuld have surely killed him had the fights continued and Gatti had no intention of quitting.
Nope. Corrales didn't even take a backward step. He never quit mentally, or physically, he's the bravest fighter in boxing history.
Corrales is nothing special in terms of all-time heart. He would not have stood out as being, "extra courageous" in the 40's, 50's etc.
Or perhaps the dumbest?opcorn: IMO the most gutsy fighter of recent history was Sugar Ray Leonard. Not only did he not quit, he always tried to find a new way to win
Nonsense. he spat out his mouthpiece twice to bide time. Gatti would get up instantly even if he were half dead.
That was a clever tactic, not getting discouraged or quitting. Gatti quit mentally against Oscar, Floyd and Gomez. Chico didn't quit mentally against anyone, even when he was a beaten man, he didn't stop coming forward and trying, he was furious when his stepdad stopped the Floyd fight, even though he was getting his arse kicked.
I don't see how spitting out your mouthpiece makes Corrales's heart any worse, especially in comparison to Gatti. It's a cheap tactic to buy time, but Gatti hit repeatedly hit guys low in tough fights. Several times he was hurt against Wilson Rodriguez and he hit him in the groin, hip, leg, whatever.
Jess Willard deserves a mention. That dude was literally, LITERALLY on the bring of death against Dempsey and kept getting up and up and up. Carried out at the end not knowing where he was, half the bones in his face and abdomen broken he just kept mumbling 'I've got a farm out of this, I've got a farm'. Yeash.
According to some sources the injuries Willard received were greatly exaggerated to boost Dempsey's reputation. Impossible to tell now for sure of course
for example our very own levitation man Monte Cox. I disagree with lot he thinks about boxing historics, but he seems to have done pretty much background checking for this article http://coxscorner.tripod.com/dempsey_gloves.html
Really hard to pick against Frazier, especially by KO. The man didn't have a granite chin, but his ability to absorb punishment was obscene. The near death battle with Ali that he went the distance despite being hospitalized for weeks, the fact that Foreman had to knock him down what was it, 6 or 7 times and still Frazier probably could've kept going. I just can't see Tua of all people stopping him.
This really is silly Frazier would win this one 10 out of 10 times Tua would only have a punchers chance but it really wouldn't be a chance
Frazier beats the hell outta Tua. And Sly is retarded for questioning the heart of Corrales. Chico had as much heart as any fighter in history. Fuck that bum Gatti!
