styles make fights. analyze frazier-ali-foreman.

[man]

what was it that made things turn out as they turned out?

[Ezzard]

For me...

Frazier-Ali

Frazier could keep Ali busy for 15 rounds and make him work for the full 3 mins of every single one of them. He threw a lot of punches so Ali could not avoid them all. Frazier also had a strong body attack and one of the best left hooks in history, and the left hook was the punch that Ali tended to get hit with most throughout his career.

Like Ali, Frazier got stronger as a fight went on but his investment in a body attack paid dividends whilst Ali was mostly a head hunter.

Frazier was a slow starter but Ali put points on the board without causing any excessive damage for it to impede Frazier enough as the fight went on.

Foreman-Frazier

Frazier was a slow starter who bobbed and crouched to take the sting off what was coming in. But Foreman had a great uppercut and was so heavy handed he didn't need to be deadly accurate. The fight was over before Frazier (a notorious slow starter) was even warmed up.

Ali-Foreman

Foreman just expected what he hit to fall.

Ali could fight going forwards, backwards or sideways. He was physically and mentally immense. And Foreman made the mistake of thinkiing he just had to land and it would be over.

Ali barely missed a shot. Smothered most of what Foreman threw and left him doubting his greatest asset: his power. Foreman like Liston couldn't find the punch and at the same time took some pretty sustained beatings as the rounds went on.

In the end, Foreman, like Liston, was looking for a way out.

[Goodnight, Irene]

This is always pointed to as a great example, but it really isnt, because the logic that Mover beats Slugger, Slugger beats Swarmer & Swarmer beats Mover isnt properly presented here when its realised that, though traditionally a Mover, Ali didnt fight that way at all vs Foreman.

[The Great John L]

I think instead of "mover", Ali that night was an excellent defensive fighter and counter-puncher. Besides, he moved plenty against Foreman, it's just that most of the movement was above the waist. Young's movement against George was also not exactly flashy, but was certainly effective.

[Ambling Alp]

I always thought that tyhe point about Frazier being a slow starter was undervalued. If he could have survived against Foreman in the early rounds, he might have had a chance. However, you have to give Foreman a lot of credit for blowing Frazier out when no one else could.