Joe Frazier vs Max Baer, primes

[yancey]

Who you got?

[Goodnight, Irene]

Frazier in eleven, but hes gonna need some time off. A switched-on Baer would get his licks in prior to being overwhelmed.

Would love to hear the great Dempsey's advice to Baer from round-to-round.

[raylawpc]

Which Baer shows up? The focused Baer who fought Schmeling, or the clown who fought Braddock?

[yancey]

Which Baer shows up? The focused Baer who fought Schmeling, or the clown who fought Braddock?

Focused and wanting it real, real bad.

At least until his guts start pouring out.

[BoxBuzz]

This would be somewhat like Baer Carnera, but instead of watching a shorter man causing a taller man to topple over a lot, we would see a shorter man causing a taller man to cave in a lot.

Max's ribs would be tender and ready for the barbecue.

[dempseyfire]

Peak for peak Frazier by late corner-induced stoppage but Baer would have his moments early and possibly get a KD or two.

[elmersalsa]

Complete mismatch. I don't think that Max Baer beats a Jerry Quarry. That is a much fair fight, right folks?

[Crease]

Baer can be as focused as he likes, Frazier is going to overwhelm him.
And I can't see it going the distance.

[gilgamesh]

I agree I could see Baer having his moments early in the fight, but by about Round 6 he'd be taking an ass whooping and I don't think he'd make it too much further from there. Maybe KO 8 or 9

[Goodnight, Irene]

Baer would probably be worth betting on here. The odds would be good, and if he wants a win as badly as Yance is suggesting, things could turn interesting.

Ive always had this theory that Baer's power gets forgotten or under-estimated because he wasnt a great, like Foreman, Dempsey, Liston, Tyson and co.

[BoxBuzz]

Baer would probably be worth betting on here. The odds would be good, and if he wants a win as badly as Yance is suggesting, things could turn interesting.

Ive always had this theory that Baer's power gets forgotten or under-estimated because he wasnt a great, like Foreman, Dempsey, Liston, Tyson and co.

You make a good point. Next to Foreman he may be the man. However, I don't see him as able to guide his nukes to their target in the same manner as George.

Your odds statement is spot on though.

[The Great John L]

Baer would probably be worth betting on here. The odds would be good, and if he wants a win as badly as Yance is suggesting, things could turn interesting.

Ive always had this theory that Baer's power gets forgotten or under-estimated because he wasnt a great, like Foreman, Dempsey, Liston, Tyson and co.

Baer probably punched just about as hard as anybody, and was quicker than most of the other great punchers, but he lacked the discipline and desire. I'd say Maxie would have had an excellent shot at stopping Frazier.

[yancey]

Baer would probably be worth betting on here. The odds would be good, and if he wants a win as badly as Yance is suggesting, things could turn interesting.

Ive always had this theory that Baer's power gets forgotten or under-estimated because he wasnt a great, like Foreman, Dempsey, Liston, Tyson and co.

Baer probably punched just about as hard as anybody, and was quicker than most of the other great punchers, but he lacked the discipline and desire. I'd say Maxie would have had an excellent shot at stopping Frazier.

"Kill the body and the head will die"

An excellent old saying and very applicable in this one.

Unless Maxie lands a hellacious bomb early, I think Frazier breaks his will and ultimately overwhelms him.

p.s. Any guess on what the betting odds would have been on Baer-Frazier?

My guess would be pretty close to 3-1 Frazier, maybe a little under that.

[The Great John L]

"Kill the body and the head will die"

An excellent old saying and very applicable in this one.

Unless Maxie lands a hellacious bomb early, I think Frazier breaks his will and ultimately overwhelms him.

p.s. Any guess on what the betting odds would have been on Baer-Frazier?

My guess would be pretty close to 3-1 Frazier, maybe a little under that.

On his good nights, Maxie carried his hellacious power into the later rounds, so I think Joe would have had his hands full. As I noted, Max had good hand speed for someone with that much power, so I think if George could have caught Joe with his ponderous swings, it's hardly a stretch to think that Maxie would have been able to tag him as well. Of course it's probably also fair to consider that Joe was not at his best against Foreman, so a prime Frazier might have been able to avoid a solid shot with his constant head movement.

I think the odds for Frazier-Foreman were something like 3-1 and George wasn't really that highly regarded until after he squashed Joe, so if we're talking Maxie after he trashed Schmeling, then I would think the odds would have been much closer.

[Badhusker]

Easy one to pick for me. Baer with a KO inside of 5 rounds, based on his thunderous shots and Frazier being a slow starter. (Remember Frazier vs Foreman) If it goes the distance, however, Frazier wins easily. Early KO is my guess though.

By the way, I guess no one ever told Ali about killing the body and the head will die saying.

Frazier not in his prime vs Foreman? Maybe not the second time he was KO'd by Foreman but was 29 or 30 the first time they fought, and definitely in his prime.

[yancey]

[BoxBuzz]

Now that's some pretty bad husking. IMHO.

As far as Max taking his power into later rounds, that's true to some extent. But that's against more headhunters. I don't think that works in a scenario with a body snatcher like Smokin' J.

[Syntax Error]

Baer definitely had the power to hurt Frazier, but I think he would have succumbed to Frazier's constant pressure & body attack.

The early part of the fight would have been very interesting, as Joe often started slowly & Baer's power might have been a telling factor early on, but I think Joe would eventually smoked him out & won on points & some anxious early moments.