Smokin' Joe elevated to greatness by Ali rivalry
Olympic gold-medallist. Undisputed world heavyweight champion. Twelve world-title fights. A 73% knockout record. Arguably the best left hook in history. All this with a gammy arm and while blind in one eye. You see, it can be done, outlining Joe Frazier's greatness without mentioning 'the other one'. Ah well, I very nearly managed it.
Truth was, and truth is, however much Frazier might have protested, Muhammad Ali illuminated Frazier's own greatness while also managing to be the bane of his life.
Great rivalries elevate the rivals involved to greater heights - John McEnroe opined that tennis was never as much fun again after Bjorn Borg retired - but when your rival is the most charismatic sportsman who ever lived, you are liable to forget the excitement you generated together, all that money you made and feel overshadowed, unappreciated and bitter instead.
Frazier won 32 of his 37 fights - 27 by KO. Photo: Evening Standard/Getty Images
Towards the end of his life, Frazier's feelings towards Ali did soften ["I'd do anything he needed for me to help," Frazier said in an interview in 2009] but as recently as 2008 his answering machine bore the message: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, I done the job, he knows, look and see". Frazier revelled in the part he played in Ali's physical decline and, wherever he is now, is probably kicking himself for being the first of the two to die.
But if some of Frazier's remarks about his nemesis were in bad taste - when Ali lit the Olympic cauldron at the Atlanta Games in 1996, a deeply emotional moment for many, Frazier told a reporter he would have liked to throw him into the flames - they must be viewed through the prism of Ali's cruelty and malevolence.
Once upon a time, Frazier and Ali were buddies. When Ali was in the wilderness, his licence having been revoked because he refused to fight in Vietnam, Frazier lobbied President Nixon to issue a pardon and also lent money to Ali, who was despised by many in the United States and on his uppers.
Then, on the announcement of "The Fight of the Century" in 1971, Ali went on the turn. There are still those in the Ali camp who protest that their man calling Frazier an "Uncle Tom" and accusing him of working for the white man was nothing but a bit of fun. But for Frazier, who had indeed worked for the white man in the parched fields of South Carolina since the age of seven and whose privations far outweighed Ali's, this was deeply wounding rhetoric.
In his autobiography, Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee suggests his charge, in a fit of pique, made a calculated decision to lace his barbs with racial poison because Frazier was not rising to the fun taunts Ali usually dealt in. But when Ali cranked it up, Frazier turned his hatred inward and steeled himself for what was sure to be a brutal battle at Madison Square Garden.
Ali-Frazier I may have been packaged like a pretty gift from Bloomingdales - Burt Lancaster the 'colour commentator', Frank Sinatra taking snaps through the ropes, fans "dressed to the nines in full-length white mink coats," recalls Dundee, "and those were the men" - but once the dainty bows were pulled apart, guts and hearts came spilling out.
Across 15 savage rounds, Frazier outworked a now thicker, less mobile Ali, wobbling the former champion in the 11th and flooring him with a crackerjack left hook in the 15th before being awarded a lop-sided unanimous decision. As Ali's cheerleader, Bundini Brown, said afterwards, Frazier had "blown Ali's candles out".
However, while Ali's candles, like those magic ones you get on birthday cakes, fizzed back to life, Frazier was never the same fighter again. Almost two years later, he was down six times before being dethroned by George Foreman inside two rounds. The final knockdown, when Frazier's body stiffened as if jabbed with a cattle-prod and both legs left the canvas, has become synonymous with the barbarism of heavyweight boxing.
Frazier hits Muhammad Ali during the 15th round of their heavyweight title fight at New York's Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971 . Photo: AP
But boxing is about styles, and while Frazier may not have looked much cop against a hard-hitting giant like Foreman - Frazier was pulped again in a rematch - "Smokin' Joe", once described as "a wild beast caught in a thicket", knew he had the measure of Ali, who was not as big as Foreman and nowhere near as concussive.
In addition, Ali, who labelled Frazier "The Gorilla" before their third match, the "Thrilla in Manila", believed his old foe was spent. Their second match, when Ali jabbed Frazier's head off for 12 one-sided rounds, convinced him of such. But rumours of Frazier's demise had been greatly exaggerated. Frazier, burning with indignation, proclaimed before the bout: "I don't want to knock him out in Manila, I want to take his heart out."
What followed were 14 of the most turbulent rounds in heavyweight history, action that bordered on the obscene. When Frazier was pulled out by his trainer Eddie Futch, his face resembled, in the words of Dundee, "an apple that had been halved and pieced back together off-centre". "It's over," said Futch, "no-one will forget what you did here today."
And so it came to pass. While Frazier beat Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Ellis (all twice), George Chuvalo and Bob Foster in a career spanning 16 years, he will forever be defined by that victory over Ali in New York and even more so by that jaw-dropping demonstration of courage in a losing cause in Manila.
When I interviewed Frazier in 2006, he was disconsolate at and bemused by the parlous state of heavyweight boxing. "I don't see anyone who's going to bring back the glory days," he said. "Do you know who the heavyweight champion is?" But the ill winds that whistle through the current heavyweight division will also serve to fan Frazier's smokin' legacy into flames: a glorious fighter from a glorious era, how boxing could do with his like today.
Said Ali himself immediately after their third fight in Manila: "I have nothing bad to say about Joe Frazier. Without him I wouldn't be who I am and without me he couldn't be who he is. We've been a pretty good team for four or five years."
Hello. I have been working for the BBC for more than a decade now and cover almost all sports. It would be good to hear from you - just don't be nasty or my mum might get upset.
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© 2011
Comment number 1.
At 09:02 8th Nov 2011, allent wrote:great blog ben. These days, i cant be bothered to turn the telly on for the latest version on whichever over-hyped heavyweight world champion is on, how can we have so many 'world' champions. But smokin joe came from an era when most of the world stopped to watch a heavyweight world title fight. As you said, neither could have excelled without the other, its good they finally realised that before it was too late. RIP Joe Frazier
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Comment number 2.
At 09:22 8th Nov 2011, P_RichardStroker wrote:This Thomas Hauser article; http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2005/sep/04/features.sport16 was published in the Observer Sport Monthly a few years ago and is a brilliant read, it covers a number of the things this blog touches on. A great piece of writing about a truly great fighter, sad day today.
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Comment number 3.
At 09:22 8th Nov 2011, Bomber wrote:Don't for get Joe's courage in that 12th round in Manila. I have never seen a boxer take so much punishment and not even go down, never mind out. Great boxer in a great era.
I always thought Ken Norton was the bigger bane of Ali and I still think Norton won all 3 bouts. As they say, styles make fights.
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Comment number 4.
At 09:25 8th Nov 2011, Dedwood85 wrote:Wonderful blog.
All time great.
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Comment number 5.
At 09:59 8th Nov 2011, Ryushinku wrote:Sad that he's gone but privileged at the fights and moments he gave us.
One of the true greats, an elite of the elite.
RIP Smokin' Joe, and thank you.
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Comment number 6.
At 10:15 8th Nov 2011, thebaldgit wrote:The sad passing of a true giant of both the division and the sport. His left hook was a signature punch of the division. His death reminds us of the strength of the heavies then compared to now and as for the American Heavyweights they now live in his shadow.
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Comment number 7.
At 10:16 8th Nov 2011, captaincarrantuohil wrote:You've excelled yourself here - easily the best blog I've ever seen from you, which does wonderful justice to a childhood hero of mine. Frazier was somehow exalted to the ranks of the suffering saints by Ali's goonish taunts, but exacted his revenge in a way that St. Francis of Assisi might not have recognised.
I am more affected by the death of a man I never met than I thought possible; a twinkling light of my formative years has guttered and gone out with horrible speed. A proper fighter and a proper man, it's hard to believe that we will see the like of Smokin' Joe Frazier again any time soon.
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Comment number 8.
At 10:39 8th Nov 2011, RolyBoy wrote:Great Blog.
I'm not afraid to say that I get more emotional about sporting heroes and achievements than anything else and today is no exception.
I am fortunate enough to have lived through those glory days of boxing, with 3 generations of may family crowded around a black and white TV watching the excitement. Maybe losing those memories is making me emotional as well.
A great fighter and a sad sad day...
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Comment number 9.
At 10:42 8th Nov 2011, greatHayemaker wrote:RIP Joe.
Great man and a sad loss.
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Comment number 10.
At 10:51 8th Nov 2011, D GORNALL wrote:Joe was an idol of mine when I was a kid, and I was so lucky to have met and chatted with him earlier this year. The first Ali fight was the perfect fight. Both men Olympic Gold medalists, unbeaten, in their prime, charasmatic, exciting, perfectly conditioned and pefectly matched. The fight couldn't possibly live up to the pre-hype.... but it certainly it. My all time favourite fight.
Joe was a great fighter, in a great era of boxing. I feel really sad that he has passed away so suddenly.
When I met him earlier this year he had clearly softened towards Ali, and referreed to him as Muhammad. Two such great men should not bear any malice towards each other. We wont see their likes again I reckon !!! RIP Joe.
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Comment number 11.
At 10:57 8th Nov 2011, TonyBlair61 wrote:R.I.P Joe much too young to remeber any of your fights, but listening to boxers of today talking of you with such admiration shows me that you truly were a world class boxer.
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Comment number 12.
At 11:00 8th Nov 2011, tee222111 wrote:Good write up Ben
i never got to see Joe fight live but have since watched his gruelling battles with Ali and have to rate him as one of the greatest, he puts todays HW boxers to shame, i wish we could have boxers like that today but im guessing it will never happen again, HW boxing is dead, much sadder that Joe is gone too tho, RIP ..
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Comment number 13.
At 11:06 8th Nov 2011, ComeEnglandAway wrote:I was lucky enough to meet the guy for 30-40 mins in '92. Unfortunately he came across as umm...a 'not very nice' bloke.
That said; in the ring in his day....an absolute legend. How the HW division needs his kind today. :-(
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Comment number 14.
At 11:09 8th Nov 2011, gregg_LUFC wrote:Fantastic blog! As someone who never lived in the era of Ali/Frazier and have only followed from interviews and films this gave me a great insight!
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Comment number 15.
At 12:00 8th Nov 2011, boils wrote:Nice blog.
Joe always came across to me as a guy who was deeply likeable but very sensitive to being liked. He had a defensive mechanism which questioned others motives and I'm sure the Ali taunting must have hurt especially from someone who tried to help and therefore must have respected.
A fighter being world champion in a great era = great fighter.
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Comment number 16.
At 12:09 8th Nov 2011, Squawkencluck wrote:Now there was a fighter in an era where boxers were real fighters. Not like the namby pambys of so called boxers of todays era.
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Comment number 17.
At 12:20 8th Nov 2011, Londoner in exile returns wrote:Great blog Dan for a sad day and it has bought us olduns out to post.
Joe you gave me so much pleasure as a teenager. The only man to get anywhere near 'the greatest' and match him, at his peak.
With Ali, great fun pre fight but once both of you entered the ring, fireworks. For years I have missed what fighters like you have gave the sport.
I really believe if you were from any other era, we would be forever wondering how you would have matched up to Ali because you were true class, thankfully we got to see two greats in the ring at the same time.
RIP Smokin Joe.
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Comment number 18.
At 12:21 8th Nov 2011, CappedbyJamaica wrote:Smokin Joe Frazier. The name says it all!! Awesome boxer.
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Comment number 19.
At 12:43 8th Nov 2011, Sebastian-Fettles-Teacher wrote:I can't think of any heavyweight after your era who'd be fit to tie your bootlaces, including Tyson. Lennox Lewis perhaps...perhaps. Thanks for your everything. RIP.
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Comment number 20.
At 12:47 8th Nov 2011, DC Keeper wrote:I am fortunate to have seen all three Ali-Frazier bouts and to have witness the courage and skills of these men throughout their careers. Remarkable, historic figures. Most people don't realize the first fight was a polarizing bout: Ali, returning from his "exile" represented the anti-war movement and the left; Frazier represented the political right and those favoring Nixon's Vietnam policies. When Ali made his "Uncle Tom" comments the hype went up another notch. Most who saw the fight thought it couldn't be topped. But it was with Ali-Frazier III in Manilla. I take a train once a week from DC to my NY office and pass the Joe Frazier Gym on the trip. It is a nondescript two-story building in downtown Philly. The building should be the location for a memorial to Smokin' Joe.
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Comment number 21.
At 12:48 8th Nov 2011, Liam wrote:Like most boxing fans I have my own Top 10 of boxers & Joe makes it easilly. As well as being world champ between 1970 -1973 he had the skill to be a champion in any era. Another of my boyhood heroes gone. A sad day indeed.
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Comment number 22.
At 12:51 8th Nov 2011, I_ATE_MY_1ST_PIE_AT_MAINE_ROAD wrote:Sitting with my dad watching proper boxers in the 60's and 70's....a memory that will never leave me. Smokin Joe RIP
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Comment number 23.
At 12:53 8th Nov 2011, lesmow wrote:As i write this I have a lump in my throat and a tremulous bottom lip. I was lucky enough to have watched those fights as they happened. Smoking Joe fights with Ali were the ultimate in heavyweight championship boxing which have never been replicated.
Joe Fraser was a warrior, who was not going to go out other than on his shield. He would have taken care of most heavyweights that I have seen through from his time in the 70's to today.
I was at the fight in Jamaica when Foreman beat Joe and was amazed as anyone with what happened there, it just didn't add up. I can only rationalise that Joe had used his all in the first fight with Ali and had somehow become diminished.
I could go on and on about this amazing boxer, however there is one last thing. I think the statue in Philadelphia of 'rocky' is blasphemous to the names of great fighters who have come out of the windy city of which Joe Frazer sits at the pinnacle. I can only hope that he is simlarly recognised in a more prominent and deserved position as a testament to reality over hollywood fiction.
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Comment number 24.
At 13:02 8th Nov 2011, sadzol wrote:Ben....i would have to say one of your best blogs ever......thank you :) I once asked my dad if he could travel back in time and see 1 sporting event live what would it be? He choose the Manilla fight (he is Australian.
I still remember my shock at his choice. there are so many choices and most Australians will go for some Olympic or cricket event. I laughed it off but years later as a grown man he sat me down and we watched it together.....i was stunned....what ever ones thoughts on boxing, that was an iconic moment in sport, it has and still does have a huge effect on many poeple...
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Comment number 25.
At 13:05 8th Nov 2011, Neags wrote:@ #17 I think you mean Ben :P
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Comment number 26.
At 13:09 8th Nov 2011, razzaforza wrote:what a champion boxer total legend R.I.P smokin joe you will be missed.
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Comment number 27.
At 13:10 8th Nov 2011, vinnieboards wrote:I read BBC sports blogs with great interest but the vast majority (especially the football ones) are absolutely rubbish.
Not so with Mr Ben Dirs - it's always a real pleasure to read your work and this one is no exception. Can you give Phil McNulty some tutoring please?
Smokin Joe - Heavyweight Legend - RIP
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Comment number 28.
At 13:35 8th Nov 2011, arabian_monk wrote:Sad news to darken an already dark and gloomy day.
I'm too young to have ever had the opportunity to witness the great heavyweights of that generation but I can look back and make the comparisons necessary to believe that those who lived during Joe's era were blessed with some of the greatest boxing talents of all time - Joe was no exception.
Rest in peace big man.
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Comment number 29.
At 13:40 8th Nov 2011, Thomas Oh wrote:I have just heard of the demise of Joe Frazier (Smoking Joe) whom I have a special adoration. I am Thomas Oh, the 'Match Maker' who was responsible for arranging the 3rd Ali-Frazier Fight in Manila. To me, it was about the greatest heavyweight fight in the world's boxing history! Only Ali and Joe could have carried it off and to know I was directly responsible to put through this fight, is a life time's memory. I got to know and understand Joe better over the period in Manila. I admired him for his fighting prowess. But out of the ring, he was such a nice and quiet person to talk to! Good bye Joe, you may be gone but shall always remain in the minds of those who had the opportunity to know you. God Bless
Thomas Oh, Malaysia
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Comment number 30.
At 13:45 8th Nov 2011, davigrif wrote:Lovely post by "first pie at Maine Road" (or similar). I too remember that era, listening to fights on the radio with my Dad (Welsh, great Howard Winstone fan) and also on TV... Ali, Our 'Enry, Smokin' Joe. Times that will never be repeated
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Comment number 31.
At 13:47 8th Nov 2011, galpharmheadache wrote:Ali v Frazer was one of my earliest sporting memories when sporting rivalry was at its fiercest. Although both made a lot of money from the fights you got the impression that they would have happily slugged it out for the title and title alone. An both would have walked to Manila for the contest if they had to. I am pleased that their hostility to each other cooled as the years went by... but the sheer fact that they genuinely did not like each other just added to the melting pot and the interest in the fight.
All the posturing of today's fighters is half hearted and all about the purse. A sad way for a great fighter to go out. I know we will not see their type again in boxing.
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Comment number 32.
At 13:57 8th Nov 2011, enanjay wrote:Ben - cracking piece of writing - nothing flowery and over the top (which some 'obituaries' can be), but then again, Joe Frazier and flowery don't go well together!
I would wager a fair sum of money that if you put the great heavyweights up against a wall (Ali, Foreman, Bonavena, Ellis, Quarry, Norton, Foreman and Frazier - how those names trip off the tongue) most people would find a reason to dislike one or all of them.....except Joe Frazier. I cannot imagine anyone not 'liking' Joe Frazier. 5 foot 10 and change, all guts and determination...what's not to like.
I believe it was Joe Louis who said when hearing of Marciano's passing - 'Someone stand over him and count....he'll get up!' Oh that you could Joe, but for now, sleep well - we miss ya!
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