Joe Frazier's Left Hook

Michael13

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My god. It might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Just incredible.
 
frazier-left-hook-o.gif


Dempsey couldn't throw a prettier punch than that in a video game.
 
Frazier is my all time favourite. His left was a thing of beauty. To the body and head. It was so good in fact that his right hand tends to be forgotten, however he was quite good with that right hand as well. Great right hook to the body and head.
 
I know probably everyone here already knows this, but for those that don't: Frazier broke his left arm as a kid. I used to hear Joe mention his bent left arm, always cocked for the hook, in many interviews.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Frazier

Not long after Frazier started working, his left arm was seriously injured running the family's 300 pound hog. One day Frazier poked the hog with a stick and ran away. However, the gate to the pigpen was open and the hog chased him. Frazier fell and hit his left arm on a brick. His arm was torn badly, but as the family could not afford a doctor, the arm had to heal on its own. Joe was never able to keep it fully straight again

I used to always notice Joe's crooked left arm in his great old beer commercial:



RIP Joe, I love the man!
 
This has to be the hardest single shot anyone has taken without getting knocked out.

Oh, he was knocked out there.

He just recovered quick as shit. Hitting the floor woke him up, you can see he's on autopilot for about 10 seconds there.
 
I can't imagine how Frazier maintained his stamina over 15 rounds with that style. Guys would throw punches at Smokin' Joe but he'd just duck or parry without stopping before just dig a jab to the body before piling left hook on top of left hook. Simply relentless.
 
funny thing was, his punch output wasn't what you would think, if you count a couple rounds for his punches in the first or any of the ali fights, he doesn't throw half as many punches as ali, all that bobbing, weaving, pushing forward makes it look like he's doing more work than he is. Ali threw and landed way more punches in the first fight, he deserved to lose, but just pointing it out. The bobbing and weaving does take a lot of stamina for sure.
 
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Sam Peter showed in the rematch how annyoing and disturbing that style
is for Wladimir, at least in the first two rounds - but he didn't have the consistency of Joe, the foot speed of Joe and the bite Joe had. It takes Wlads rhytm and doesn't allow him to jab and counter.

Stylewise Joe beats Wlad, but I'd be concerned about the size difference. Wlad knocking down Joe severel times wouldn't be a surprise.
 
Wlad and Vitali would have been too much for Frazier. Sorry, I respect Frazier more but he would have been tiny. Look how Foreman ragdolled Frazier.
 
Wlad is no Foreman. He'd have a Hell of a time with Joe because he'd want to keep his distance. Foreman shoved Joe around aggressively, then stood his ground and beat the piss out of him. Vitali has the right disposition as a fighter to do that, but that ain't Wlad's game.
 
Frazier was a relentless beast in the ring, but a great guy outside of it too. Every boxer should aspire to be like smokin Joe.
 
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