yeah as far as I know, Bonavena is the only non-conqueror of Joe who decked him in a fight. In all seriousness Frazier needs to be a heavy favorite, and yes I believe he will win. But no way does Cooney get creamed as badly or as early as some of these guys are claiming that he would. Joe's bobbing, weaving, and swarming was the exact kind of approach that made him susceptible to hooks and uppercuts and make no mistake, he's gonna get tagged by his fair share of them against Cooney. And some of Frazier's own left hooks are going to lose power on the way up, as Cooney had so much more height. I think Joe takes some hard shots in this one before wearing down the gentleman, and I wouldn't be surprised if Cooney makes #2 on the list of guys who Smoke had to rise off the canvas to beat.[/quote]Cutman Scabbers wrote:Bonavena...he was down twice.
Far as I know Bonavena is the only guy that ever put Joe down other than Foreman.
And Cooney had a great left uppercut to go with that hook. Did Frazier ever beat anyone that big?[/quote]
Mathis was heavier but not really in great shape and certainly not as tall or hard punching. Incidentally the historical trend of fraziers career shows that the bigger the men got the more trouble he had with them.