January 2002 - July 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

fought like a nut ( good slang or not ?)!|
|8/4/04 05:29:47 PM|Frank|Ireland||irrelevent||||10|Judges vote for who they
want and the fighter can't control that. The old boxing maxim applied....if you
want to beat the champion, then you have to knock him out. For time immemorial,
challengers rarely won titles on points, but people only complain when this
maxim advantaged Ali.People don't give Ali credit for being so busy in
the ring. After Frazier 1, Ali didn't hide. He kept fighting the best, one after
the other. And if that guy gave him trouble, like Norton, then he wasn't scared
to come back and fight him again and again. Ali avoided no one.Ali knew
that fans love controversy and he gave it to them in spades, whether it be his
outrageous behaviour, his predictions, mocking opponents, or his self-
aggrandizement. This attracted fans, non-fans, and enemies. Many paid their
money to see him lose, but Ali usually finished on top. Ali made fools of his
enemies and many are yet to forgive him, not having the good sense to realize
that it was all a well rehearsed game to swell the gate.A lot of you on
this site are into comparisons, yet while the careers of Ali and Frazier were so
intertwined, none of you appear to have compared Ali to Frazier AFTER fight
one.While Ali kept fighting regularly, Frazier went missing. He didn't
fight for a year, then fought two exhibitions against nobodies, avoided fighting
Norton, and then got his ass whuped by the emerging George Foreman. Even
though Frazier was two years younger than Ali - and far younger in boxing years
given he had had fewer fights - he really had nothing left. Sure, he could bring
himself up for the biggest occasions (v Ali 2 and 3), but apart from adrenaline
and hatred, he had never else to fight on.The pity of Frazier was that
instead of fighting the next best and then the next best as Ali did time and
time again, Frazier recycled his opponents. He fought the ones he had already
beaten, like Bonavena and Ellis, rather than try to climb new mountains in
Shavers and Lyle. Frazier wasn't a risk taker and the only reason he fought
Foreman the first time was because he was convinced he'd win easily.I
look at Frazier's career before Ali 1 and there is something missing. He didn't
fight Henry Cooper. There's no Sonny Liston on his resume. And there's no
Patterson, Terrell or Folley (although I am sure his fans will find excuses).
And I wonder how he would have gone in the first fight against Ali had the older
Ali not had the three years inactivity.Many in boxing have been all too
eager to overlook these deficiencies in Frazier's career. Those who dislike Ali
more than just a little, needed someone to take up their fight against the
braggart, and Frazier was it. If not for Ali's unpopularity, Frazier's surly
manner and unattractive personality would have left him bereft of fans.
The more unpopular Ali became, the more popular Frazier became. It was a
perfect counterweight. Nowadays, well into his disease, Ali still retains his
fans. The non-fans from his fighting days now have an affection for Ali,
attracted to the dignity and courage he has shown in the twilight of his life.
But the sworn enemies remain. Ali could find the cure for cancer and bring peace
to the Middele East, but his enemies - the ones who paid good money but didn't
get to see the braggart's big mouth shut - will hate him forever and then
some.I know that I am repeating the words of many others who usually
don't find their way to this site, but to me Frazier's legend is underpinned
only by his fights against Ali. Take Ali out of that equation and there would
have been no Frazier legend (or at least a very diminished one). Take the three
years inactivity out of Ali's resume, and it is probable that Frazier would not
have won the first fight. In that case, he would never have had a victory over
Ali and history would have consigned him to the same waste basket as Jimmy
Ellis. On the other hand, Ali's career stood alone; having Frazier
around was good for him but, ultimately, his legend was there anyway, right from
the moment he beat Liston.And that brings me to this: Joe Krause - the
Ali v Liston first fight should have made your list, in my opinion. Also, given
the moment of the Holmes v Spinks (first fight - when Holmes was fighting to