Muhammad Ali
If we were both at our best, Joe Frazier would beat me.
I think he may have stopped me. Not knock me out, but probably
by a late TKO.
I looked at his earlier fights, and he was unstoppable. He walked
through punches like a Knife through Hot Butter.
I think Joe was at his best in 1967 thru 1969, and may have peaked when
he destroyed Jimmy Ellis in early-1970.
I looked at his bout with George Chuvalo {July 19, 1967}. I saw this little
23 1/2 year-old guy {5' 11" and 204 lbs.} fight with such ferocity. He looked
like a combination of Rocky Marciano/Henry Armstrong/Jack Dempsey.
There was no fear in him, and he threw punches with 'bad intentions'. It was
frightening.
The first time I saw Joe was up in Massachusetts back in November 1964. He
just came back from the Olympics in Japan. He looked like a little man, and I
swear he looked short {5' 9"} and couldn't have weighed much more than 190 lbs.
I told him to drop down to Light-Heavyweight, and that he'd get destroyed in
the Heavyweight Division in the Pro Ranks.
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