By Joel Seeman: Hey there boxing fan, I am here today to write an article about the biggest possible fight in boxing today.
About 40 years ago two of the best fighters of their generation stepped into the ring to prove something—that he was the best fighter in the world. Any team in any sport in the world could have been playing that day it wouldn’t have mattered; all people wanted to see was Muhammad Ali and Smokin’ Joe Frazier clash in the ring.
Now I know it might seem as though I am trailing off but I assure you I am not. What I am here to show you are the striking similarities between these two bouts. Now I know what you’re thinking right? What similarities?
Let me enlighten you.
Floyd Mayweather and Muhammad Ali may seem at first glance like two completely different fighters. But it’s really not the case.
In fact they couldn’t be more alike.
When Ali was getting ready to step in the ring with Frazier, he had been away from boxing for some time due to the fact that he refused to serve his country in the Vietnam war. Now Floyd has never been drafted. But, he too spent some time away from the ring.
When Ali returned from his time away, he found there was a new kid in town a new champion if you will. Ali didn’t like this one bit. He was the undefeated former world champion. How could people tout Frazier as the best fighter in the world? He hasn’t beat me, so he can’t be the best.
Well Ali was right for the most part: Frazier had not beat Ali. But, he had won the title while Ali was away. The exciting thing about Frazier was he didn’t need to use his legs to get out of trouble like Ali—he didn’t need to use a good jab to keep his opponents at bay while dancing around the ring making it hard for his opponents to find him. No, this kid just needed to plant his feet and his power as well as speed would more than overwhelm his opponents.
Now again I know what you’re thinking: Manny Pacquiao is nothing like Joe Frazier. But again I assure you.
They couldn’t be more alike. Pacquiao is an aggressive fast power punching machine like Frazier. Manny is trained by Freddie Roach, who in the eyes of many is the greatest trainer alive. Now some time ago Roach himself was a boxer, and a good one due to the fact that he had a great trainer. That trainer’s name was Eddie Futch. Now why do I bring Futch’s name up?
Because Futch just happened to be Smokin’ Joe Frazier’s trainer.
Roach was a better student than fighter. He took everything Futch taught him and installed it in his powerhouse prize fighter Manny Pacquiao.
Frazier, like Pacquiao, was a soft-spoken gentleman and didn’t need to bother his opponents with slander or trash talking. On the other hand, Joe’s opponent was a trashing-talking machine who claimed he was the greatest and said Joe could never beat him. in fact, before the two met in the ring, Ali claimed that if Frazier beat him he would crawl across the ring and state that Frazier was the greatest. that’s just the kind of man Ali was. Much like Mayweather—Floyd uses insults and mind games to get inside his opponent’s head.
Ali was the favorite heading into the first fight with Joe Frazier, and Joe pulled off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Everybody knew Joe was good, but could he really beat this Olympic medalist and undefeated former champion who seemed to always get out of trouble and make his opponents look bad doing so?
The answer was yes.
People often say history repeats itself, and that is more true than ever when you really look at these two fights. It’s all in the making for Pacquiao to pull off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
The question is, can Manny do it? And if so, will Manny Pacquiao leave behind the role of the Joe Frazier and take on the role of the greatest of all time?
Only time will tell.
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