Part 1: FOREMAN – FRAZIER: This is a series on fights where one fighter seemed to ” own ” the opponent.
What better series to start with then George Foreman and Joe Frazier. If there was ever a better example of styles make fights, I missed it. As great as Joe was and believe me he was great…He could have fought George a hundred times and never beat him. Joe was able to bull and back up the likes of good fighters like Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis Sr., Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Ellis and a great one named Ali but he could not budge Big George. Against Foreman he ran into a brick wall. He could not move George but boy could George move him! It was simple arithmetic…Power versus power divided by size equals KO to the Big Guy. A case of pure and simple OUCH! In their dramatic first fight in Kingston, Jamaica in 1973 the astute, revered and sometimes hated Howard Cosell added to boxing lore with his famous ” Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier ” call on the fight. Truth is told George bounced a game but over matched Frazier around the ring like a rubber ball. It was a shocking sight for those of us growing up at that time.
Well as history shows us George lost the title to Muhammad Ali. As he attempted to come back he met Frazier again. Joe looked different (Shaved head) and he fought different (he tried to box and move). It did not help. It only prolonged the inevitable. George caught up to Joe in round five and destroyed him.
George proved then and forever that he was the superior fighter when facing Frazier.