BoxRec

I'm surprised that this fight was never made. But, surely, had Martin not suffered the career-ending detached retina in his war with Sonny Liston in 1969 the match-up would have taken place. How would the fight have gone?
I'm not as familiar with Martin as I am other heavies of the era but he seemed to have been just reaching his peak at the time of the Liston bout riding a five-fight winning streak over decent opposition & six of eight with his losses being to Oscar Bonavena in Buenas Aries & a split decision to the highly skilled, contender/spoiler Henry Clark. So, could he have stood with Frazier & was he enough of a puncher to keep Frazier honest & not be overwhelmed by him like Jimmy Ellis was?

I don't see any way that Leotis Martin could beat Joe Frazier.

BTW, Jimmy Ellis beat Martin as an amateur and as a pro (WBA heavyweight elimination fight).

Of course, I knew about their pro fight in the WBA tourney in '67 but I wasn't aware of their meeting as amateurs as well. Thanks for that tidbit of info.

sweetviolenturge wrote: ↑21 May 2018, 02:45 Of course, I knew about their pro fight in the WBA tourney in '67 but I wasn't aware of their meeting as amateurs as well. Thanks for that tidbit of info.

You are welcome. Actually, Martin and Ellis split wins against each other as amateurs.

Leotis Martin also was National AAU Middleweight Champion in 1960 and 1961.

In my opinion, Smokin Joe Frazier KO 3 Leotis Martin after wearing him down with body punches before setting him up with his devastating left hook

I don't see Martin keeping Frazier off him, good as he was. Frazier, especially in a local derby I would suspect, would have worn him down in around 9 rounds.

They never met because both were managed by Yank Durham. Leotis left Durham along with another fighter or two as Joe rose to prominence (A common theme among Durham’s fighters was that he spent too much time with Frazier and neglected them, but who can blame him). Yank was furious at their departure and swore they’d never make another nickel with him. True to his word when Martin gained a high ranking after beating Liston and begged a fight with Frazier Durham repeated his promise, “you won’t make any money with me.” The matter became moot within weeks when Martin’s injured eye didn’t heal and the commission revoked his license ending his career. Regardless, Martin would have gotten a payday and loss fighting Frazier, nothing more. Beating a 40 plus year old Liston whose best win in years was the light hitting spoiler Henry Clark, is a far cry from beating a prime Joe Frazier.