Foreman vs Frazier for The Heavyweight Tile in 1973 (Video)

It was a short fight that lasted only 7 minutes, but it was a classic, because it shocked the world. Frazier was supposed to win. Instead the boxing World finally had to admit that Foreman's punches were devastating.

George Foreman, and Joe Frazier are two world class boxers who's careers extended through the end of the golden age of boxing. They both gave credit to our Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation when they were at the height of their careers, and never wavered from their faith.

So, it's only fitting I share this classic boxing match on my blog for you. Two of God's gladiators going at it in the ring. Anyone remember this January 22, 1973 heavyweight title match between then Champion Joe Frazier and the challenger George Foreman?

I was 16 at the time, and it wasn't covered on the radio, because by that time there was too much money to be made off of the new pay per view thing they called HBO. I remember older boxing fans I knew being angry, because before HBO you could catch the great fights on radio. To them, HBO killed what was great about boxing.

Mind you, this was the early "70"s so the vast majority of Americans still used rabbit ears to get a good picture. Cable was still in it's early stages, and unless you lived in or at least near a bigger city you were out of luck. I grew up In Duluth MN, but not only those in the downtown area had access. So all of a sudden, we had to wait for the paper to to give us all the information on a big fight. It would eventually be televised on The Wide World of Sports.

Well, the fight lasted only two rounds, with George Foreman scoring a technical knockout at 1:35 of the second round. In a huge upset, he become the new Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World. These two men, and a few other boxing greats, of the time, were heroes to me. Two of the greatest, and unlike so many today, or like Ali of their time, these two men were humble and gracious to everyone. I stumbled upon this video looking for something else on an old HD I use for storage. So I decided to share it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

George Foreman and Joe Frazier fought twice, the one George took the belt from Joe in the 1973 fight, and a rematch in 1976 that Frazier lost to George by another TKO. They were opponents twice, but never rivals. They had the utmost respect for each other, and their friendship lasted to the day Frazier died.

Their bond was so close that when Frazier died, Foremen could not bring himself to see his friend buried. George's explanation for not attending the service was, in his words, “I loved this one,” referring to his two-time opponent.

George Foreman is the last surviving boxer from that great era. His respect for Frazier was unrivaled in how he looked at other boxing greats. He stated that Frazier was the only opponent he was ever afraid of, and his praise continued by calling Frazier “a machine, a giant killer.”

Yes he was amazing. Unstoppable actually. Most of his title fights ended early.

Later Ali, who is one of the smartest boxers ever, used the fact George had not been pushed against him. He figured his big body would ware down if one could lay past the fist 5 rounds.

So he used the ropes by leaning into them with the idea that they would create a cushion as George wore himself down. He took punishment hoping the leaning into the belts would lesson Foreman’s hits.

It worked, George punched himself out and could barely lift his arms in the Kate rounds

By then he was a sitting duck fir Ali to take out.

Ellis used the same tactic. In Ellises early years he was Ali’s soaring partner and paid attention to the master in how to take advantage of a boxers weakness

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Why was this era the “Golden Age of Boxing”?

Several factors contribute to this designation.

First, the heavyweight division was red-hot during the decade with a deep pool of talented challengers to go along with four supremely talented champions during the decade: Frazier, Foreman, Ali, and Holmes.

Second, the decade held probably the greatest matchup in boxing history. A "fight of the century" that actually lived up to its billing. How often are you going to have two undefeated heavyweights still in their primes each with a valid claim to THE legitimate heavyweight title? This fight was so big that it drew in millions of non-boxing fans who then continued to follow boxing for several years after that.

Boxing had an identifiable spokesperson during this decade in the charismatic Muhammad Ali who attracted attention in all that he did. Boxing also had other personalities in the decade that had more regionalized but still fanatical followings: Roberto Duran in the Latin World, Carlos Monzon in South American (and later Europe), and Rueben Olivares in Mexico.

Once people were attracted to the sport, the quality of the competition and the performers was outstanding in all the weight classes during the 1970s. These guys are in serious contention for the title of GOAT in their weight classes: heavyweight - Ali and Foreman, light-heavyweight - Bob Foster, middleweight - Carlos Monzon, super welterweight - Antonio Cervantes, lightweight - Roberto Duran, junior lightweight - Alexis Arguello, featherweight - Eder Jofre (although passed his best days), super bantamweight - Wilfredo Gomez, bantamweight - Rueben Olivares and Carlos Zarate.

Is boxing only “golden” when Americans dominate it?

Probably. It is just a fact that boxing needs the American fanbase and media to flourish. Is it wrong for Americans to cheer for Americans when every other country likewise cheers for its local hero? There is a reason that almost all the great fighters come to the U.S. for their big fights.

Why was boxing almost absent from sports coverage throughout the decade of the 00’s when Wladimir and Vassily Klitsco dominated it...The same could be asked bout the 1990s, and Lenox Lewis’s domination of the sport in that decade.

I think all three are underappreciated by American fight fans. I don't think that any of the three would have beaten a primetime Ali or a primetime Tyson, though.

I’m starting to think as Boomers fade from the scene there is going to be a lot of shuffling on the “best heavyweights” list. Who knows, Ali might even end up under Joe Louis.

Best heavyweight list will always be in flux. As time rolls on, more candidates have to be added to the list, necessitating that some get shuffled out. The one "modern" heavyweight that I think time will be favorable to is Evander Holyfield. Ali is probably rated above Joe Louis more often than not but I don't think it is frequent enough to say that it is the consensus. Personally, if the two fought three times, I think Ali wins the first, Louis the second (as he was always better in rematches) and third is truly a tossup (and if you forced me to make a call, I would say Ali by a split decision but I'd say it without much confidence).

Lewis just didn’t face that competition.

Well Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Vitali Klitsco were not tomato cans. Each was a legitimate Heavyweight Champion in their own right in slightly different periods.

Mike Tyson is quoted as saying "I never could have beaten Lennox, not on any day".

Of course Lennox's idol was Ali, that's who he wanted to be like, so even in promoting Lennox as a great you do get back to Ali's legend.

Hasim Rahman, David Tua and Tommy Morrison, all of whom Lewis beat, were the equal of many of Ali's second tier of opponents.

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