[8.9] JOE FRAZIER 37-32(27)-4-1: Daily Telegraph - Bert Randolph Sugar - Angelo Dundee - Muhammad Ali - Joe Frazier - Michael Stallone - Michael Spinks - Sporting Greats: Joe Frazier TV - Phil Berger -
Glorious night the lights went our for Smokin’ Joe: Life was never the same for Joe Frazier, who is 60 today, after he knocked out Ali: To those of us who were young when he was in his prime, it might seem improbable, but today Joe Frazier is six decades old.
To my generation, Frazier will always be Smokin’ Joe, the relentless, rhythmic predator who hunted down – and knocked down – Muhammad Ali in Madison Square Garden, New York, on a heady night in March 1971.
Frazier became great over those 15 torrid, unbearably tense rounds. His greatness did not last beyond the hour for, not surprisingly, something went out of him with the achievement he had dreamed about for so many years …
Frazier still lives, cherished and protected by his family in Philadelphia, near the gym on North Broad Street, where he learned his trade. His son, Marvis, coaches youngsters there now. Daily Telegraph article January 2004 Bob Mee
A left hook from hell. Bert Randolph Sugar
He stands taller for his effort. And Eddie Futch stands taller as a trainer and a compassionate human being. Bert Randolph Sugar, after third fight with Ali
Joe Frazier was a helluva fighter. Angelo Dundee
He is tough. He is a great fighter. Muhammad Ali, post-fight press-conference Frazier III
I admired Frazier. And of all the people in my profession I would like to have had as a friend, he was the one. He was a fighter of the new breed. Not as outspoken as I was, but he could never qualify as an Uncle Tom. Muhammad Ali
Then I looked up from the autographs to see if he was still there. I wanted to go over to him, get back in the car with him. He was standing at the edge of the crowd, his cowboy hat cocked on the side of his head. But a chilly feeling went through me when our eyes met. His look was that of a travelling gunfighter who had come into town to appraise the fastest gun. There was no envy or jealousy in his look, only a cold, methodical appraisal, for he knew that only when he had defeated me in the ring would the world really recognize him as the Champion. He nodded his head slowly and got back in the car. Whatever chance we had of being buddies, of being close, intimate friends, was gone. Muhammad Ali
I grew up in Beaufort, South Carolina, in a six-room farmhouse with a couple of leaning posts to keep it from fallin’. I came up in a time when men were men. Joe Frazier
Boxing is the only sport you can get your brain shook, your money took and your name in the undertaker book. Joe Frazier
When I go out there, I have no pity on my brother. I’m out there to win. Joe Frazier
I want to hit him, step away and watch him hurt. I want his heart. Joe Frazier
You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you’re down to your reflexes ... That’s where your roadwork shows. If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, well, you’re going to get found out now, under the bright lights. Joe Frazier
The best way to fight a war is alone. Joe Frazier
He gave millions to charity, but when he was down and out, how come they didn’t help the Champ out? He loved this city. He was a Rocky movie. A legacy is what you do when you don’t get paid for it because you don't care about your pocketbook. People in Philadelphia need to write a check to get a Joe Frazier statue built, to buy [Joe Frazier’s] gym back. Michael Stallone, son of Sylvester
Joe was a great dude. A good father. A God-fearing man. A good spirit. He loved and lived for his family. Michael Spinks
Here was an old fashioned fighter prepared to take a punch to land a single knockout blow. But this was no ordinary fighter. Alongside Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, Joe Frazier formed part of the greatest era in the history of Heavyweight boxing. Sporting Greats: Joe Frazier
Frazier fought with a frightening intensity. ibid.
Foreman arrived with a fearsome reputation. ibid.
A brutal and intense fighter. ibid.
But the designation on the exterior – ‘Joe Frazier’s Gym’ – is a good clue that this place is no candidate for the wrecker’s ball. It is, in fact, a kind of boxing landmark, a gym where fighters have been training since 1968, when Cloverlay Inc bought the gym for him. Smokin’ Joe used it well: he became the world champion and, on retiring in 1976 (there was a one-fight comeback, a draw against Jumbo Cummings, in 1981), bought the gym from Cloverlay for $75,000. (Boxers: Heavyweights & Club) Phil Berger, The Basis of the Bloodline
In November 1983, Marvis reportedly received $500,000 to fight Holmes, who knocked him out in one round. ibid.
12) Oscar Bonavena Split Points10: US Fight Commentary TV -
v Oscar Bonavena 21st September 1966 New York [r1] ... Now both men are powerful left hookers ... Bonavena has started well ...[r2] ... And Frazier is down! Seven – he’s taken the mandatory eight count. Frazier was down from a short right ... Frazier down again ... Bonavena has a cut over the left eye ... Frazier comes back with a good left hook ... [r4] ... The body attack by Frazier may be taking its toll on Bonavena ... There haven’t been many dull moments in this one ... [r5] ... Frazier is a little bit over anxious but he is scoring heavily ... [r6] ... Frazier has been forcing the fight; Bonavena has been counter-punching ... [r8] ... Most of these exchanges have been fairly even ... Bonavena looking strong in this round. And so is Frazier [r10] ... Bonavena having Frazier in trouble again ... A very fine fight. [5-4-1 Frazier, 6-4 Frazier, 5-5 (points 7-5 Bonavena)] Dom Dunphy, US fight commentary
25) Jimmy Ellis TKO5: US Fight Commentary TV -
v Jimmy Ellis 16th February 1970 New York. Frazier coming out smoking ... Ellis the classic stylist, the boxer, the left jab, the left hook, the crunching right, a very underrated puncher. US fight commentary
27) Muhammad Ali UD15: UK Fight Commentary TV -
v Muhammad Ali 8th March 1971 Madison Square Garden New York [r1] ... He outreaches Frazier by four and a half inches ... Clay dancing fast, and the tassels on the shoes twirling away ... The opening round has gone to Clay ... [r2] ... And Clay is hurt, and he dances away from the ropes because he has to. Frazier keeps coming ... And these two will never last fifteen rounds at this pace ... He gives that little shake of the head again ... He’s picking off Frazier all the time ... [r3] ... That’s a good left hook and he catches Clay that time ... This is the best championship fight for many years ... The jab has slowed down from Clay ... Still able to pick his man off at long range ... Clay is bleeding from the nose ... [r4] ... Frazier straight at his man ... Clay still whips the right hand across the face of Frazier ... An incredible pace ... The two men beginning to slow ... There’s the big one, and he [Ali] got hurt ... [r5] ... Clay’s got his work cut out now with this fight and he knows it. And Frazier snarls back at Clay as Clay catches him in the head ... And Frazier gets caught as he comes in ... One of these is going to crack ... Frazier grins. He puts his hands down and laughs ... [r6] ... He [Ali] plays about with him. How can the man do this? ... And the prediction has failed ... [r7] ... Although Clay shakes his head again he felt that ... I make Clay in front by this stage of the fight ... [r8] ... Good looking jabs from Clay ... But this windmill of a machine, this threshing machine that is Joe Frazier ... They’re just messing about .... This is not fighting; this is exhibition stuff ... [r9] ... Joe! Joe! Joe! they shout ... This is more like it ... There’s a good left hook ... There's a strange death-wish about Clay ... He hangs his chin out ... And now he’s giving Frazier a good working over ... Frazier forced back and hurt ... [r10] ... I think Clay lost that one ... [r11] ... Hooking all the time and chasing his man all the time: typical Rocky Marciano style ... It was a slip [Ali]. Again Frazier hammers forward ... The punches are getting through to Clay’s head ... And Clay beckons him back. And Frazier goes after him and he's got him with the left hook ... And Clay is in trouble and he makes a face ... And he is hurt again and he almost goes over ... He’s hurt. Tremendous round for Frazier ... [r12] ... He’s pulled himself together, and he's coming back ... That’s a good right hand ... [r13] ... And these two have nearly punched themselves out on each other ... The side of Frazier’s face looks puffed and raw ... He’s been in that corner for a minute now ... [r14] … It’s still not resolved ... Good strong finish there by Muhammad Ali ... [r15] ... Oh there it is! The left hook! Frazier at last has caught up with him! ... There’s the left hook again. And he almost went down from that one ... What a finish and what a fight! And that knockdown has probably saved the title for Frazier ... This extraordinary fight saved a sensation for the fifteenth round ... [8-6-1 Frazier 9-6 Frazier 11-4 Frazier] Harry Carpenter UK fight commentary