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- For the Major League Baseball player and manager, see Joe Frazier (baseball)
Joseph William "Smokin' Joe" Frazier is a former world heavyweight boxing champion, active mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. Frazier is most famous for his trilogy of fights with Muhammad Ali, the first of which, won by Frazier in a unanimous decision, has been considered by many to be one of boxing's greatest bouts. Frazier was known for a driving, relentless pursuit of opponents from all angles across the ring, using a chugging locomotion reminiscent of a train's advance up a hill. The contrast with Ali's dancing, non-linear style could not have been greater [1].
Life and Career
Birth, Early Fights
Born in Beaufort, South Carolina on January 12, 1944, the Philadelphia-raised Frazier won a Gold medal in the 84 kilograms (187 lbs.) and above category (heavyweight) at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He subsequently turned professional, defeating Woody Goss by a knockout in the 1st round. He won three more fights that year, all by knockout.
Frazier notes in his autobiography that he had an economically poor childhood. Even as early as childhood, he was noticeably bigger and stronger than most others his age. He notes that, as a pre-teen, he often made deals with his school mates. In exchange for them giving him some of their lunch or some extra food every once in a while, he would walk them home from school and protect them from bullies.
Late 1960s: The Olympian Cuts a Wide Swath
In 1966 Frazier was undefeated in nine fights, winning eight by knockout before gaining a split decision over Argentine fighter Oscar Bonavena, despite Bonavena flooring him twice in round 2. Frazier's 1966 knockout victims included Charlie Polite and Eddie Machen.
In 1967 Frazier won all four of his fights, including a 6th round knockout of Doug Jones and a 4th round technical knockout of George Chuvalo.
In 1968 Ali had to leave his world heavyweight title vacant due to legal repercussions from his refusal to serve in the Vietnam War, and the New York commission decided to hold a fight between Frazier and Buster Mathis, the winner to be recognized as world champion by the state of New York. Although the fight was not recognized as a world championship bout by some, Frazier won it by a knockout in 11 rounds. Next, he beat Manuel Ramos of Mexico in 2 rounds to defend his title. To close 1968 he beat Bonavena in a tough rematch, retaining the title by a decision in 15.
1969 saw him defending his title in Texas, beating Dave Zyglewicz by a knockout in the 1st. He finished the year TKOing Jerry Quarry in 7, once again defending the New York title. The very competitive, exciting match with Quarry was called 1969 Ring Magazine Fight of The Year.
Early 1970s: World Champion; Conquers Ali; Conquered by Foreman
On February 16, 1970, Frazier finally became a recognized champion when WBA world heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis defended against him at Madison Square Garden and Frazier emerged victorious with a 5th round knockout. Frazier was immediately recognized as the undisputed world champion. In his first defense, he went to Detroit to fight world light heavyweight champion Bob Foster, who set a record for the number of defenses in the light heavyweight division. Frazier retained the title by a knockout in 2 rounds, and then came what was nicknamed the Fight Of The Century, his first fight with Ali.
On March 8 of 1971, at Madison Square Garden, Frazier and Ali boxed the first of three bouts. In front of a world wide television audience, and an in-house audience including such luminaries as Frank Sinatra (acting as a photographer for Life magazine), comedian Woody Allen, and actor Burt Lancaster, the two heavyweights met in the kind of media-frenzied atmosphere not seen since Joe Louis' youth.
Many factors came together for Frazier in this fight. He was at his lifetime peak both physically and mentally, while Ali was coming back from a 3 year absence, taking on Frazier right after a sloppy performance in a bruising battle with Bonavena. Frazier had exhaustively trained specifically for Ali under the tutelage of famed coach Eddie Futch, who had developed a strategy based on Ali's tendency to throw the right-hand uppercut from a straight standing position after dropping the hand in preparation to throw it with force. Futch instructed Frazier to watch Ali's right hand and at the moment Ali dropped it to throw his left hook at the spot where they knew Ali's face would be a second later [2]. Frazier's knock down of Ali in the 15th round executed in this precise scenario.
Perhaps the most important factor in the fight was Frazier's raging anger at Ali, who dubbed him 'a gorilla' for all of their matches. He hinted that Frazier was not truly black, but the white man's hope. He derided and insulted Frazier at considerable length, something Frazier has never forgotten to this day. He even made a famous visit to Frazier's training site, a scene that nearly dissolved into a street brawl. Many did cheer Frazier's win because of Ali's obvious lack of class.
Frazier lost many of the early rounds but took Ali's combinations without backing down, and as Ali started to slow down in the middle rounds, Frazier came on strong, landing hard shots to the body and powerful left hooks to the head. Frazier won the 15-round unanimous decision, handing Ali his first ever defeat. Ali was taken to the hospital immediately after the fight to have his badly swollen jaw x-rayed. Frazier spent considerably more time in the hospital.
In 1972 Frazier retained the title twice, beating Terry Daniels and Ron Stander, both 4 round knockouts.
Then came January 22 of 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica, and it was Frazier's turn to lose his undefeated record and position as world champion against George Foreman in startling fashion. Foreman dominated, stopping Frazier's famous tank-like advance with armor-piercing crosses and hooks in just 2 rounds, including 6 knockdowns.
Continuing to fight, Frazier, showing signs of deterioration as a boxer, won a 12 round decision over Joe Bugner in London.
Mid 1970s: Thrilla in Manila; Aging Fast
In 1974 his second fight against Ali took place, once again in New York, in which Ali was given a 12 round decision in a lackluster bout. Frazier finished that year with another rematch, knocking Quarry out in 5 rounds.
1975 was, once again, a year of rematches for Frazier, but this time around they were accompanied by more traveling to far away countries. He met former victim Jimmy Ellis in Melbourne, Australia, knocking him out in 9 rounds. That win made him again the number one challenger for the world crown, taken over by Ali after Ali brilliantly defeated Foreman by knockout in 8 at The Rumble in the Jungle.
The now aging Ali and Frazier met for the third time in Quezon City (a district within the metropolitan area of Manila), the Philippines: the "Thrilla in Manila". Ali took every opportunity to mock Frazier, nicknaming him The Gorilla, calling him an Uncle Tom, and generally trying to aggravate him (and succeeding) at every chance. The two nearly came to blows in a pre-fight studio interview with Howard Cosell, during which Ali said, "It'll be a chilla, and a killa, and a thrilla, when I get the gorilla in Manila.". The actual fight, which was attended by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, caused another media frenzy and was seen live in many countries around the world. It was far more action-filled than the previous encounter, a punishing display that ended when Frazier's coach and cornerman, Eddie Futch, in an act of compassion rare in boxing, stopped the fight before the final round was to begin. Frazier never talked to Futch again . Ali described the match as "the closest thing to death" he had ever experienced.
In 1976 Frazier lost badly to Foreman in a rematch and retired. Frazier's style was poorly suited to counter Foreman's outside power punching, and Frazier finally despaired of reaching the top again. Many critics believe that in most other eras in the heavyweight division, Frazier would have ruled easily for five or even eight years. But in an era that included Ali and Foreman he would have to settle for just under two years as the undisputed champ.
Smokin' Joe made a cameo appearance in the movie Rocky later in 1976 and dedicated himself to training many local boxers in his native Philadelphia, including some of his own children.
1980s: One Fight Comeback; Trainer and Coach
In 1980 Frazier was honored by the band Bruford on their LP Gradually Going Tornado.
In 1981 Frazier attempted a comeback which lasted only one fight, drawing in 10 rounds with Jumbo Cummings in Chicago, Illinois.
Ever since, Frazier, who likes to meet fans and sign autographs, has involved himself in different endeavors. Among his sons that turned to boxing as a career, he helped train Marvis Frazier, a challenger for Larry Holmes's world heavyweight title, and currently trains his daughter, Jackie Frazier-Lyde.
Frazier's record is 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw, with 27 knockout wins. He won 73% of his fights by knockout, compared to 60% for Ali and 84% for Foreman. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
1990s to Present: Bitterness; Lost Fortune; Beyond Glory
In 1990 Frazier joined Ali, Foreman, Norton and Holmes to appear on the cover of a boxing game, Champions Forever, produced for the Sega and Nintendo game systems. He appeared as himself in an episode of the Simpsons in 1992 in which he would have gotten beaten up by Barney Gumble. Frazier objected and he was shown beating up Gumble instead. He later appeared in another episode of the Simpsons in early 2006.
Frazier's autobiography is titled Smokin' Joe. He was widely criticized by Ali fans for relating many offensive actions of Ali in his book.
The current consensus is that Frazier has hurt himself with his unrelenting bitterness toward Ali. In 1996, when Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Frazier told a reporter that he would like to throw Ali into the fire [3].
An episode featuring Frazier has been added to Fox Sports Net's Beyond the Glory television series, to be premiered December 11, 2006.
Frazier is still training fighters, but an October, 2006 article in The New York Times showed him struggling financially and living in a small apartment above his gym in a run-down section of Philadelphia. He needed multiple operations for back injuries sustained in a car accident and could afford them only through the generosity of former heavyweight champ Larry Holmes. Mismanagement of certain real-estate holdings was cited by the article as a partial explanation for Frazier's economic woes despite winning millions in the ring during the 1970s.
Reportedly, he and Ali recently attempted a reconciliation, but as of October 2006 Frazier still claimed to have won all three bouts against him (officially Frazier won one and lost two) and declared to the Times' reporter, when questioned about his bitterness toward Ali, "I am what I am."
See also
- Frazier's portrayal in the film "Ali" (2001); directed by Michael Mann.
- List of heavyweight boxing champions
- List of male boxers
- List of WBC world champions
- Notable boxing families
- Featured Athlete on Fox Sports Net's Beyond the Glory
External links
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