PHILADELPHIA — He beat Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century, battled him nearly to the death in the Thrilla in Manila. Then, Joe Frazier spent the rest of his life trying to fight his way out of Ali’s shadow.
That was one fight Frazier could never win.
He was a 1964 Olympic gold medalist and later a heavyweight champion, and a great one at that. Ali said as much after Frazier knocked him down in the 15th round at Madison Square Garden in March 1971, en route to becoming the first man to beat Ali.
But Frazier bore the burden of being Ali’s foil, and he paid the price. Bitter for years about the taunts his former nemesis once threw his way, Frazier only in recent times came to terms with what happened in the past and said he had forgiven Ali for everything he said.
Frazier, who died last night after a brief battle with liver cancer at the age of 67, will forever be linked to Ali. But no one in boxing would dream of anointing Ali as The Greatest unless he, too, was linked to Smokin’ Joe.
“You can’t mention Ali without mentioning Joe Frazier,” said former Associated Press boxing writer Ed Schuyler Jr. “He beat Ali; don’t forget that.”
They fought three times — twice in the heart of New York City, and once in the morning in a steamy arena in the Philippines — with Ali winning the final two. They went 41 rounds together, with neither giving an inch.
In their third and final fight, in Manila in 1975, they traded punches with a fervor that seemed unimaginable among heavyweights. Frazier gave almost as good as he got for 14 rounds, then had to be held back by trainer Eddie Futch as he tried to go out for the final round, unable to see.
“Closest thing to dying that I know of,” Ali said afterward of his experience.
Ali was as merciless with Frazier out of the ring as he was inside it. He called him a gorilla and mocked him as an Uncle Tom.
But he respected him as a fighter, especially after Frazier won a decision to defend his heavyweight title against the then-unbeaten Ali in a fight that was so big that Frank Sinatra was shooting pictures at ringside and both fighters earned $2.5 million — an astonishing sum then.
The night at the Garden 40 years ago remained fresh in Frazier’s mind as he talked about his life, career and relationship with Ali a few months before he died. “I can’t go nowhere where it’s not mentioned,” he said. “That was the greatest thing that ever happened in my life.”
Although his speech was slurred in later years by the toll of punches taken in the ring, Frazier was active on the autograph circuit in the months before he died.
Frazier was small for a heavyweight, weighing just 205 pounds when he won the title by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden in 1970. But he fought every minute of every round, going forward behind a vicious left hook, and few fighters could withstand his constant pressure.
His reign as heavyweight champion lasted only four fights — including the win over Ali — before he ran into George Foreman, who dropped him three times in the first round and three more in the second before their 1973 fight in Jamaica was waved to a close.
That was one fight Frazier could never win.
He was a 1964 Olympic gold medalist and later a heavyweight champion, and a great one at that. Ali said as much after Frazier knocked him down in the 15th round at Madison Square Garden in March 1971, en route to becoming the first man to beat Ali.
But Frazier bore the burden of being Ali’s foil, and he paid the price. Bitter for years about the taunts his former nemesis once threw his way, Frazier only in recent times came to terms with what happened in the past and said he had forgiven Ali for everything he said.
Frazier, who died last night after a brief battle with liver cancer at the age of 67, will forever be linked to Ali. But no one in boxing would dream of anointing Ali as The Greatest unless he, too, was linked to Smokin’ Joe.
“You can’t mention Ali without mentioning Joe Frazier,” said former Associated Press boxing writer Ed Schuyler Jr. “He beat Ali; don’t forget that.”
They fought three times — twice in the heart of New York City, and once in the morning in a steamy arena in the Philippines — with Ali winning the final two. They went 41 rounds together, with neither giving an inch.
In their third and final fight, in Manila in 1975, they traded punches with a fervor that seemed unimaginable among heavyweights. Frazier gave almost as good as he got for 14 rounds, then had to be held back by trainer Eddie Futch as he tried to go out for the final round, unable to see.
“Closest thing to dying that I know of,” Ali said afterward of his experience.
Ali was as merciless with Frazier out of the ring as he was inside it. He called him a gorilla and mocked him as an Uncle Tom.
But he respected him as a fighter, especially after Frazier won a decision to defend his heavyweight title against the then-unbeaten Ali in a fight that was so big that Frank Sinatra was shooting pictures at ringside and both fighters earned $2.5 million — an astonishing sum then.
The night at the Garden 40 years ago remained fresh in Frazier’s mind as he talked about his life, career and relationship with Ali a few months before he died. “I can’t go nowhere where it’s not mentioned,” he said. “That was the greatest thing that ever happened in my life.”
Although his speech was slurred in later years by the toll of punches taken in the ring, Frazier was active on the autograph circuit in the months before he died.
Frazier was small for a heavyweight, weighing just 205 pounds when he won the title by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden in 1970. But he fought every minute of every round, going forward behind a vicious left hook, and few fighters could withstand his constant pressure.
His reign as heavyweight champion lasted only four fights — including the win over Ali — before he ran into George Foreman, who dropped him three times in the first round and three more in the second before their 1973 fight in Jamaica was waved to a close.
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