A fighter like Joe Frazier (32-4-1, 27 KOs) comes around on once in a great while. Though he was undersized as a heavyweight, standing 5’11” and weighing around 205 lbs, he always seemed to fight much bigger than his limited weight would indicate. With classic battles against Muhammed Ali, Jimmy Ellis and Jerry Quarry, to name just a few, he showed that he had incredible power that made up for his lack of size. He did, however, have problems with certain heavyweights, losing four of five matches to George Foreman and Muhammed Ali.
In 1971, though, Frazier was at his peak in his career and that time perhaps one of the best heavyweights that have ever breathed. Unfortunately for Frazier, he wasn’t the same fighter after his initial battle with Ali in March of 1971, a fight in which Frazier defeated Ali in a grueling 15-round decision that sent Frazier to the hospital afterwards. Despite his size, Frazier at that point in his career would be trouble for any heavyweight no matter what the era.
So, how would Frazier do against today’s top heavyweights? Right now, we’re at a point where two of the heavyweights – Ruslan Chagaev and Sultan Ibragimov – aren’t much bigger than Frazier. Both are around 6’0 to 6’2″, and neither have much power to speak of, though Chagaev can punch hard at times, but he’s not a consistently hard puncher like Frazier was. Of the two, neither would match up well with Frazier, as both have poor workrates, prefering to use a hit and run technique. That wouldn’t work against Frazier, as he would cut of the ring on them and force them to fight on the inside where neither of them are particularly strong. I see Frazier knocking both of them out within six rounds are so.
As for Oleg Maskaev, he would even bigger problems with Frazier, because of his lack of a chin. He has power that would be a concern for Frazier, but his inability to deal with Frazier’s big left hook which would be hitting him over and over again, round after round, would soon be too much for him and he’d quickly be mowed down. It would be interesting for a little while but in the end, Frazier would get to Maskaev and take him out with either a hook to the chin or a big body shot, dropping him to the canvas for the 10 count.
In the case of Wladimir Klischko, the International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion, he would give Frazier some problems in the early rounds, as he would use his jab and right hand to keep some distance from Frazier. However, I see Frazier as almost indentical to Lamon Brewster, except that Frazier would have much better stamina and punch output. He would force Wladimir to defend himself in close quarters, something Wladimir isn’t used to experiencing with opponents, and hit him with a sustained volley of shots for a round or two, before finally connecting with Wladimir’s tender chin and taking him out.
I see this fight going possibly to the 5th round, in which case Frazier would catch up to Wladimir and end it. As you can see, Frazier was unbeatable in his prime and would be too much for today’s big but less tough heavyweights.
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