BoxRec

raylawpc wrote:

SenorPipino wrote:"George Foreman is doing to Joe Frazier what he did as a 19-year-old to a veteran Russian...a fellow named Ionis Chapulis in October 1968 at the Mexico City Olympic Games!"

Howard Cosell, broadcasting from ringside

That was bullsh*t. Frazier is my favorite heavyweight champion, but Foreman gave Joe a worse beating than he gave to Chapulis . . .

I believe Cosell was opining that Foreman, a relative amateur novice when he faced Chapulis, dominated and outclassed the favored, veteran Russian.
Although he had 37 pro fights when he met Frazier, Foreman was again considered untested and unproven, simply because he fought few talented opponents on the way to his title bout with the favored Frazier.
In both cases, there were plenty of question marks surrounding George, but he dismantled both Frazier and Chapulis despite those doubts.
No, he didn't knock the Russian down 6 times, but he stunningly dominated him in a precursor to Foreman's dramatic destruction of Frazier just 4 1/2 years later.

It was a tremendous performance by Foreman. There really is not a comparable situation where a fighter this great got dominated quite like this.

George Foreman was the only 1970s heavyweight that Joe Frazier didn't match up well with.

- Chuck Johnston

Ambling Alp II wrote:It was a tremendous performance by Foreman. There really is not a comparable situation where a fighter this great got dominated quite like this.

I have seen other greater performances of that criteria.