Joseph William "Joe" Frazier, born January 12, 1944), known as Smokin' Joe, is a former Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a brief comeback in 1981. Frazier emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, defeating the likes of Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones, George Chuvalo and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali on points in the highly-anticipated "Fight of the Century" in 1971. Two years later Frazier lost his title when he was knocked out by George Foreman. He fought on, beating Joe Bugner, losing a rematch to Ali, and beating Quarry and Ellis again. Frazier's last world title challenge came in 1975, but he was beaten by Ali in their brutal rubbermatch. He retired in 1976 following a second loss to Foreman. He made a comeback in 1981, fighting! just once, before retiring for good . The International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) rates Frazier among the ten greatest heavyweights of all time.[1] He is an inductee of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Frazier's style was often compared to that of Henry Armstrong and occasionally Rocky Marciano. He was dependent on bobbing, weaving, grunting, snorting as he grimaced with all out aggression wearing down his opponents with relentless pressure. His best known punch was a powerful left hook, which accounted for most of his knockouts. Compared to Ali's style, he was close enough to the ideal bruiser that some in the press and media characterized the bouts as the answer to the classic question: "What happens when a boxer meets with a brawler?" Since retiring Frazier has made cameo appearances in several Hollywood movies, and two episodes of The Simpsons. His son Marvis became a boxer - trained by Frazier himself ! - although was unable to emulate his father's success. Frazier! continu es to train fighters in his gym in Philadelphia. His later years have seen the continuation of his bitter rivalry with Ali, in which the two periodically exchange insults, interspersed with brief reconciliations. According to Frazier's business manager, Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011. The business manager communicated to the Associated Press that Frazier is seriously ill and under hospice care.[2] Contents 1 Early life 2 Amateur career 3 Olympics 4 Professional career 4.1 Mid to Late 1960s 4.2 Wins World Championship - Ellis 4.3 Defeats Ali in title defence 4.4 Loses title to George Foreman 4.5 Mid 1970s 4.6 Third Ali match 4.7 Foreman again 4.8 1980s comeback and coaching career 4.9 Autobiography 4.10 1990s to present 5 Financial status and legal battles 6 Relationship with Muhammad Ali 7 In popular culture 8 Professional boxing record 9 See also 10 References 11 External links [edit] Early life Joe Frazier was born to Rubin and Dolly Frazier! in Laurel Bay, Beaufort, South Carolina.[3] Joe has said he was always close to his father, who carried Joe when he was a toddler "over the 10 acres of farmland us Frazier's owned, to the still where he made his bootleg corn liquor, and into town on Saturday's to buy the necessities that a family of 10 needed. Billy Boy wasn't along just for the ride."[3] Rubin had his left hand and part of his forearm amputated a year before Joe was born. While Rubin and Dolly were in the car a friend named Arthur Smith, who was drunk at the time and was fond of meeting women, passed by and made a move for Dolly. He was refused. When Frazier's parents drove away Smith fired several bullets, hitting Dolly once in the foot and Rubin several times in the arm, which was hanging outside the car. Arthur Smith went to jail for the shooting, but didn't stay long. As Joe's Mother put it, "If you were a good workman, the white man took you out of jail and kept you busy on the farm."[4] His parents ! owned a farm "which had 10 acres, and two mules, Buck and Jenn! y, to wo rk them." Frazier had said the land was what country folk called "white dirt, which is another way of saying it isn't worth a damn." The Frazier family couldn't grow peas or corn on it, they were only able to grow cotton and watermelon.[4] In the early '50s, Joe's father got a black and white television. His father, his mother, her brothers and other people from the neighborhood would come to watch boxing matches on it. Frazier's mother sold drinks for a quarter as they watched fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Willie Pep, Rocky Graziano. One night Joe walked into the porch of his house when his Uncle Israel and noticed Joe's stocky build. "That boy there...that boy is gonna be another Joe Louis" he remarked. The words made an impression on Joe. At school, his classmates would give him a sandwich or a quarter to walk with them at final bell so that bullies would not mess with them. Joe remarked any "scamboogah" (a disrespectful, low-down and foul person) who ! got in my face would soon regret it: Billy Boy could kick anybody's ass." The next day after Joe was labelled the next Joe Louis, he got an old burlap sack and filled it with rags, corncobs, a brick in the middle and Spanish moss that grew on trees all over Beaufort County. He then tied a rope to it an hung the makeshift heavybag from an oak tree in the backyard where the mules were kept. "For the next 6, 7 years damn near every day I'd hit that heavybag for an hour at a time. I'd wrap my hands with a necktie of my Daddy's, or a stocking of my Momma's or sister's, and get to it" Joe remarked.[5] It was not long after Joe started working out that his left arm was seriously damaged because of the Frazier's ornery 300 pound hog. The hog was very nasty from time to time, but sometimes Joe could not resist teasing it. One day Joe poked the hog with a stick and ran away, but someone had left the gate to the pigpen open and the hog ran through the gate, chasing Joe. In his hurry, ! Joe fell and hit his left arm on a brick. The arm was torn bad! ly, but as the Frazier family was unable to pay for a doctor, the arm had to heal on its own. The arm eventually did heal, but Joe was never able to keep it fully straight again. It was crooked and lacking a full range of motion. But as it existed, it was as though it was cocked for the left hook – permanently cocked.[6] By the time Joe was 15 years old, he was working on a farm for a family named Bellamy. They were both white men, Mac who was the younger of the two and more easy going, and Jim who was a little rougher and somewhat backward. One day a little black boy of about 12 years old, damaged one of the Bellamy's tractors without meaning to. Jim Bellamy became so enraged he took off his belt and whipped the boy with his belt right there in the field. Joe saw the event and went back to the packing house on the farm and told his black friends what he had seen. It wasn't long before Jim Bellamy saw Joe and asked him why he told what he had witnessed. Joe then told Bellamy he di! dn't know what he was talking about, but Bellamy didn't believe Joe and threatened Joe to get off the farm before he took off his belt again. Joe told him he better keep his pants up because he wasn't going to use his belt on him. Jim then analyzed Joe for a bit and eventually said "Go on, get the hell outta here." Joe knew from that moment it was time for him to leave Beaufort, he could only see hard times and low-rent for himself. Even his Momma could see it. She told Joe "Son, if you can't get along with the white folks, then leave home because I don't want anything to happen to you."[7] The train fare from Beaufort to the cities up North was costly, and the closet bus-stop was in Charleston, 96 miles away. Luckily by 1958, the bus (The Dog, as called by locals in Beaufort) had finally made Beaufort a stop on its South Carolina route. Joe had a brother, Tommy, in New York. He was told he could stay with Tommy and his family. Joe had to save up a bit before he could make ! the bus trip to New York and still have some money in his pock! et, and he went to work for the local Coca-Cola plant. Joe remarked the white guy would drive the truck and he would do the real work, stacking and unloading the crates. Joe stayed with Coca-Cola until the government began building houses for the marines stationed over at Parris Island, when he was hired on a work crew. 9 months had eventually passed from when he got the boot from the Bellamy farm. One day, with no fanfare, no tearful goodbyes, Joe packed quickly and got the first bus heading northward. "I climbed on the Dog's back and rode through the night" Joe remarked. "It was 1959, I was 15 years old and I was on my own."[8] [edit] Amateur career In Joe's amateur days, he won the Middle Atlantic Golden Gloves heavyweight championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964. His only loss in 3 years as an amateur was to Buster Mathis.[9] Mathis would prove to be Joe's biggest obstacles to making the 1964 US Olympic Boxing team. They met in the final of the US Olympic Trial at the New York World! 's Fair in the summer of 1964. Their fight was scheduled for 3 rounds, and they fought with 10oz gloves and with headgear, even though the boxers who made it to Tokyo would wear no headgear and would wear 8oz gloves. Joe was eager to get back at Mathis for his only amateur loss, and KO'd two opponents to get to the finals. But once again, when the dust settled, the judges had called it for Mathis, undeservedly Joe thought. "All that fat boy had done was run like a thief- hit me with a peck and backpedal like crazy." Joe would remark.[9] Mathis had worn his trunks very high, ("darm near up to his titties") so that when Joe hit Mathis with legitimate body shots the referee took a dim view of them. In the 2nd round, the referee had gone so far as to penalize Joe 2 points for hitting below the belt. "In a 3-round bout a man can't afford a points ded
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Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , born January 12, 1944), known as Smokin' Joe , is a for! mer Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, ! whose pr ofessional Read the rest
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boxer; entertainer; business owner Personal Information Born January 12, 1944 in Beaufort, South Carolina; son of Rubin and Dolly Frazier; wife: Florence; children Read the rest
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