By Geraci: Much of what has been written and said about Joe Frazier in the hours and days following his death has focused on his negative view of Muhammad Ali and his role in the greatest sports rivalry of our time: The trilogy between him and Ali. While many of those pieces accurately highlight Frazier’s importance to boxing and the trilogy’s impact on race relations in American society, what most pieces have failed to touch upon, is what Frazier symbolized for many of us.
Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier – The real Rocky
By John F. McKenna (McKjack): If you are a boxing fan and live in Philadelphia … read more
Smokin’ Joe Frazier R.I.P.
By John F. McKenna (McJack): When the news broke over the weekend that boxing great former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier was gravely ill with advanced liver cancer my heart sank and I went into a funk. Smokin’ Joe Frazier epitomized everything that you want to see in a great fighter. His trilogy with Muhammad Ali ranks up there with the very best in boxing history.
Thriller in Manila, Who do you believe?
By Thomas David Drury: It is 35 years since the thriller in Manila and the misconception lingers that Muhammad Ali wanted to quit on his stool before the start of the 15th and final round against smokin Joe Frazier, only for Frazier’s trainer, Eddie Futch, to pull his battered warrior out of the fight.
Famous Ring Wars: Ali vs Frazier 1 – Part 2
By John F. McKenna (McJack): So great was the anticipation for the March 8, 1971 showdown between Ali and Frazier that Madison Square Garden was thronged with the most famous celebrities of the day. Frank Sinatra used his influence with Life Magazine to provide him with a camera and assign him to cover the fight as a photographer. Woody Allen and Norman Mailer were there as was Le Roy Neiman, who painted the combatants as they did battle. Burt Lancaster, who had never reported on a fight, was given a microphone and acted as a color commentator for the closed circuit TV broadcast.
Famous Ring Wars: Ali vs Frazier 1 – Part 1
By John F. McKenna (McJack): It is hard to believe that it was forty years ago that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier squared off for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. The fight was held on March 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden and was hyped like nothing this author had ever seen. The electricity in the air was contagious, with people who were not into boxing also getting into the act. Muhammad Ali, AKA “The Louisville Lip” and Joe Frazier, AKA “Smokin’ Joe” were both determined to prove to everyone who the best heavyweight in the world was.
Ali-Frazier: The Thrilla in Manila
By Sam Gregory: October 1st 1975 Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier for the third time to defend his heavyweight title. Ali was making his fourth title defense since capturing the crowd a year earlier from George Foreman via an eighth round knockout in a highly publicized fight in Zaire.
The fight these two heavyweight gladiators were to embark on would be forever remembered as the most brutal heavyweight fight in boxing history and ranked as one of the greatest fights of the 20th century.
The Thirty Year War: Ali vs. Frazier
By Matt McGrain: When I realised that it was Muhammad Ali up there on the podium about to light the Olympic flame in 1996, my heart sank. The news of Ali’s condition at that time was mostly good – he was described as being “as happy as anyone with each day” amongst other things, but it was the first time in a long time I had seen him, and for an awful moment I thought he was going to fall face first onto the fluttering flame extinguishing both it, and visions of his astonishing boxing genius in one false step. It didn’t work that way of course – Ali didn’t have to climb the steps to the torch, he just had to light a mobile wick, which jetted up to the symbolic torch and whoosh, Ali adds to resume all those years after retiring. He was once more the most famous fighter in the world. The crowds reaction was emotional. Once I got over the relief, mine was too.
Joe Frazier: “It would have been a good thing if he would have lit the torch and fallen in. If I had the chance, I would have pushed him in.”
Joe Frazier: Could He Compete Against Today’s Heavyweights? Klitschko, Ibragimov, Chagaev & Maskaev
A fighter like Joe Frazier (32-4-1, 27 KOs) comes around on once in a great while. Though he was undersized as a heavyweight, standing 5’11” and weighing around 205 lbs, he always seemed to fight much bigger than his limited weight would indicate. With classic battles against Muhammed Ali, Jimmy Ellis and Jerry Quarry, to name just a few, he showed that he had incredible power that made up for his lack of size. He did, however, have problems with certain heavyweights, losing four of five matches to George Foreman and Muhammed Ali.