Well everyone has their excuses.Sweet Scientist wrote:Joe Frazier absolutely, positively was in the hospital because of Ali after their 1st fight...I vividly remember that...there were rumors about a retached retina (which proved untrue), dizzy spells, etc. Have you seen pictures of Fraziers' face after that 1st fight? (see Sports Illustrated the week after the fight...Frazier was very camera shy after that fight, but the SI pictures were shot before he left the ring.) You're going to tell me he didn't get 'messed up'? Frazier took a lot of punishment in that fight...and never fought at the same level again the rest of his career...you'll notice who won both rematches...you'll notice that Frazier ducked the rematch for years...ultimately taking on a young underdog he thought he would easily beat (Foreman)...Frazier peaked on 3/8/71...I'll give him tons of credit for that fight...but he did get 'messed up' and wound up in the hospital, in and out for a while...the blood pressure thing could have been an excuse because he was in denial...didn't want to admit that Ali was responsible...they weren't exactly buddies back then...Grimm wrote:Joe Frazier was not in and out of the hospital because of Ali, Joe Frazier was in and out of the hospital before and after he fought Ali because he had high blood pressure.Sweet Scientist wrote: Joe Frazier got 'messed up' too...see the pictures in Sports Illustrated the week after the 3/8/71 fight...and that was after a 3 1/2 year layoff with Ali's diminished reflexes and legs...Joe Frazier, though, was at his absolute peak...and he never reached that peak again after that fight...Frazier was 'softened up' a little after that fight, which is why he ducked Ali for over 2 years after it...Joe Frazier was no fool...he knew there was pain involved when you fought Ali...even after his prime...Joe Frazier was in and out of the Hospital after that 1st fight too..I remember rumors about Frazier retiring after that 1st fight...Frazier took a beating the same as Ali, he just managed to win 3 more rounds and the fight...![]()
But you say that Ali and Frazier weren't friends back then, Joe Frazier still hates Ali to this day.