Smokin' Joe Frazier passed away this evening after a battle with liver cancer. Born on January 12, 1944, Frazier would win an Olympic gold medal in 1964 and would win the world heavyweight championship during his spectacular professional career. Smokin' Joe is likely best remembered for his trilogy of fights with Muhammad Ali.
Gotta be a record...joke about the dead guy on the second post. Back when heavyweight boxing meant something, those fights with Ali were absolute classics. RIP Joe....
Gotta be a record...joke about the dead guy on the second post. Back when heavyweight boxing meant something, those fights with Ali were absolute classics. RIP Joe....
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
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Frazier, who was known as “Smokin’ Joe,” was the first fighter to defeat Ali, putting the loquacious “Louisville Lip” on the canvas with his signature vicious left hook during their first fight, the so-called “Fight of the Century” in Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971, one of the most epic ring battles of all time. Frazier went on to win by unanimous decision.
Both fighters were paid an unheard of sum of $2.5 million, far more than any boxer had ever been paid for a prize fight.
Frazier and Ali came into the match undefeated. Ali had gotten under Frazier’s skin leading up to the fight, called him such names as “Uncle Tom,” “ugly,” “chump,” “ignorant” and “dumb.”
It was racial taunting at its worst, and it would affect Frazier for the rest of his life. Ali made it worse by continuing to taunt Frazier throughout their careers, calling Frazier a “gorilla” before their final fight in Manila.
In an interview with USA TODAY’s Erik Brady two years ago, Frazier’s bitterness came out in the form of religious bashing. Frazier believed Ali’s Parkinson’s Disease was God’s judgment for Ali’s Muslim beliefs.
“Regardless of who you are, you have to think one way, and the right way, to be accepted by the man above,” Frazier said. “He calls the shots.”
Asked if he could ever forgive Ali for gorilla, Uncle Tom, and the rest, Frazier said, “Sure . . . but the Man above, you’d better ask Him. . . . (Ali) must not pray. If you prayed, you’d have a better life than you have now. I’m 65 and I’m as strong as two bulls. So he must not bend down to the good Man above.”
There was a reason Ali didn't like Frasier. Ali was the undisputed champ when he refused to be inducted into the army. Like most with a bit of intelligence, he didn't see the point of going to Viet Nam. They took his title away and gave it to Frasier. Ali was banned from boxing and when he returned he had work his way to a title shot. Hard to believe now but Ali was maybe the most hated man in America at that time. Ali was still great but not as good as before they took his title.
It wasn't really Frasier's fault he got the title, he was just the victim of circumstances but to Ali he represented the status quo when blacks were fighting for equality.
My dad met Smokin' Joe at a sportsman's dinner back in the late 70s. He really enjoyed that as he was more of a fan of Joe's than any of the other heavyweights at the time.
This link is to a BBC video from the late 80s. Joanna Lumley interviews George Foreman, Smokin' Joe and Ali. It was right at the time when Foreman had staged his first comeback.
Smokin Joe Frazier Passes Away At Age 67
