Joseph William "
Joe"
Frazier , also known as
Smokin' Joe, was an
American professional
boxer,
Olympic gold medalist and
Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981 died from liver cancer he was 67..
(January 12, 1944 – November 7, 2011)
Frazier emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, defeating opponents that included
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 by unanimous decision 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. The International
Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) rates Frazier among the ten
greatest heavyweights of all time.
[2] 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, dependent on bobbing, weaving and relentless pressure to wear down his opponents. His best known punch was a powerful left
hook,
which accounted for most of his knockouts. In his career he lost to
only two fighters, both former Olympic and world heavyweight champions:
twice to Muhammad Ali, and twice to George Foreman.
After retiring, Frazier 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
recreate his father's success. Frazier continued to train fighters in
his gym in Philadelphia. His later years saw the continuation of his
bitter rivalry with Ali, in which the two periodically exchanged
insults, interspersed with brief reconciliations.
Frazier was diagnosed with
liver cancer in late September 2011 and admitted to hospice care.
[3] He died November 7, 2011.
[4]
Early life
Joe Frazier was the 12th child born to Kayla Richardson-Frazier and Charlie in
Beaufort, South Carolina. He was raised in a rural community of
Beaufort called Laurel Bay.
[5][6]
Frazier said he was always close to his father, who carried him when he
was a toddler "over the 10 acres of farmland" the Fraziers owned "to
the still where he made his bootleg corn liquor, and into town on
Saturdays to buy the necessities that a family of 10 needed." Young
Frazier was affectionately called "Billy Boy."
[5]
Rubin Frazier had his left hand burned and part of his forearm
amputated the year before his son was born. Rubin Frazier and his wife
and Dolly had been in their car when Arthur Smith, who unfortunately was
drunk, passed by and made a move for Dolly and was rebuffed. When the
Fraziers drove away Smith fired at them several times, hitting Dolly in
the foot and Rubin several times in his arm. Smith was convicted and
sent to prison, but he did not stay long. Dolly Frazier said, "If you
were a good workman, the white man took you out of jail and kept you
busy on the farm."
[7]
Frazier's parents worked their farm with two mules, named Buck and
Jenny. The farm land was what country people called "white dirt, which
is another way of saying it isn't worth a damn." They could not grow
peas or corn on it, only cotton and watermelons.
[7]
In the early '50s, Frazier's father bought a black and white
television. The family and others nearby came to watch boxing matches on
it. Frazier's mother sold drinks for a quarter as they watched boxers
like
Sugar Ray Robinson,
Rocky Marciano,
Willie Pep and
Rocky Graziano. One night Frazier's Uncle Israel noticed his stocky build. "That boy there...that boy is gonna be another
Joe Louis"
he remarked. The words made an impression on Joe. His classmates at
school would give him a sandwich or a quarter to walk with them at final
bell so that bullies would not bother them. Frazier said, "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 day
after his Uncle's comment, Frazier filled old burlap sack with rags,
corncobs, a brick, and
Spanish moss.
He hung the makeshift heavybag from an oak tree in the backyard. "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.
[8]
Not long after Frazier started working, his left arm was seriously
injured running the family's 300 pound hog. One day Frazier poked the
hog with a stick and ran away. However, the gate to the pigpen was open
and the hog chased him. Frazier fell and hit his left arm on a brick.
His arm was torn badly, but as the family could not afford a doctor, the
arm had to heal on its own. Joe was never able to keep it fully
straight again.
[9]
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 didn'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."
[10]
The train fare from Beaufort to the cities up North was costly, and
the closest bus-stop was in Charleston, 96 miles (154 km) 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 pocket, and so first he went to work at the local
Coca-Cola
plant. Joe remarked that 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 at
Parris Island; at which time he was hired on a work crew.
Nine months eventually passed since 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."
[11]
Amateur career
During Frazier's amateur career, he won Golden Gloves
Heavyweight Championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964. His only loss in three years as an amateur was to
Buster Mathis.
[12]
Mathis would prove to be Joe's biggest obstacle to making the 1964 U.S.
Olympic Boxing team. They met in the final of the U.S. Olympic Trial at
the New York World's Fair in the summer of 1964. Their fight was
scheduled for three rounds and they fought with 10 oz gloves and with
headgear, even though the boxers who made it to Tokyo would wear no
headgear and would wear 8 oz 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.
[12]
Mathis had worn his trunks very high, so that when Joe hit Mathis
with legitimate body shots the referee took a dim view of them. In the
second round, the referee had gone so far as to penalize Joe two points
for hitting below the belt. "In a three-round bout a man can't afford a
points deduction like that," Joe would say. Joe then returned to
Philadelphia feeling as low as he'd ever been and was even thinking of
giving up boxing. Duke Dugent and his trainer Yank Durham were able to
talk Joe out of his doldrums and even suggested Joe make the trip to
Tokyo as an alternate, in case something happened to Mathis. Joe agreed
and while there, he was a workhorse, sparring with any of the Olympic
boxers who wanted some action. "
Middleweight,
light heavyweight,
it didn't matter to me, I got in there and boxed all comers" Joe would
say. In contrast, Mathis was slacking off. In the morning, when the
Olympic team would do their roadwork, Mathis would run a mile, then
start walking saying "Go ahead, big Joe. I'll catch up."
[13]
1964 Olympics
In 1964 heavyweight representative Buster Mathis qualified but was injured so Frazier was sent as a replacement. At the
Heavyweight boxing event, Frazier knocked out George Oywello of
Uganda in the first round, then knocked out Athol McQueen of
Australia
40 seconds into the third round. He was then into the semi-final, as
the only American boxer left, facing the 6 foot 4, 230 lb.
Vadim Yemelyanov of the Soviet Union.
[14]
"My left hook was a heat seeking missile, careening off his face and
body time and again. Twice in the second round I knocked him to the
canvas. But as I pounded away, I felt a jolt of pain shoot through my
left arm.
Oh damn, the thumb." Joe would say. Joe knew
immediately the thumb of his left hand was damaged, though he wasn't
sure as to the extent. "In the midst of the fight, with your adrenaline
pumping, it's hard to gauge such things. My mind was on more important
matters. Like how I was going to deal with Yemelyanov for the rest of
the fight." The match ended when The Russian handlers threw in the
towel, at 1:49 in the second round, the referee raised Joe's injured
hand in victory.
Now that Joe was into the final, he didn't mention his broken thumb
to anyone. He went back to his room and soaked his thumb in hot water
and
Epsom salts.
"Pain or not, Joe Frazier of Beaufort, South Carolina, was going for
gold." Joe proclaimed. Joe would fight a 30-year-old German mechanic
named
Hans Huber,
who failed to make it on the German Olympic wrestling team. By now Joe
was used to fighting bigger guys, but he was not used to doing it with a
damaged left hand. When the opening bell sounded on fight night, Joe
came out and started winging punches, he threw his right hand more than
usual that night. Every so often he'd used his left hook, but nothing
landed with the kind of impact he managed in previous bouts. Under
Olympic rules, 5 judges judge a bout, and that night three voted for
Joe.
[15]
Professional career
After Frazier won the USA's only 1964 Olympic boxing gold medal, his
trainer Yancey "Yank" Durham helped put together Cloverlay, a group of
local businessmen (including a young
Larry Merchant)
who invested in Frazier's professional career and allowed him to train
full-time. Durham was Frazier's chief trainer and manager until Durham's
death in August 1973.
Frazier turned professional in 1965, defeating
Woody Goss
by a technical knockout in the first round. He won three more fights
that year, all by knockout, none going past the third round. Later that
year, he was in a training accident, where he suffered an injury which
left him legally blind in his left eye.
[16]
During pre-fight physicals, after reading the eye chart with his right
eye, when prompted to cover his other eye, Frazier switched hands, but
covered his blind eye for a second time, and state athletic commission
physicians either played along or were fooled for the bulk of Frazier's
career.
[17]
Joe's second contest was of interest in that he was decked in round 1
by Mike Bruce. Frazier took an "8" count by referee Bob Polis but
rallied for a TKO over Bruce in round 3.
[18]
In 1966, as Frazier's career was taking off, Durham contacted Los Angeles trainer
Eddie Futch.
The two men had never met, but Durham had heard of Futch through the
latter's reputation as one of the most respected trainers in boxing.
Frazier was sent to Los Angeles to train, before Futch agreed to join
Durham as an assistant trainer. With Futch's assistance, Durham arranged
three fights in Los Angeles against
Al Jones, veteran contender
Eddie Machen and
George "Scrapiron" Johnson.
Frazier knocked out Jones and Machen, but surprisingly went 10 rounds
with journeyman Johnson to win a unanimous decision. Johnson had
apparently bet all his purse that he'd survive to the final bell, noted
Ring magazine, and somehow he achieved it. But Johnson was known in the trade as 'impossibly durable.'
After the Johnson match, Futch became a full-fledged member of the
Frazier camp as an assistant trainer and strategist, who advised Durham
on matchmaking. It was Futch who suggested that Frazier boycott the 1967
WBA Heavyweight
Elimination Tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali after the
Heavyweight Champion was stripped of his title for refusing to be
inducted into the military, although Frazier was the top-ranked
contender at the time.
Futch proved invaluable to Frazier as an assistant trainer, helping
modify his style. Under his tutelage, Frazier adopted the bob-and-weave
defensive style, making him more difficult for taller opponents to
punch, while giving Frazier more power with his own punches. While Futch
remained based in Los Angeles, where he worked as a supervisor with the
U.S. Postal Service, he was flown to Philadelphia to work with Frazier during the final preparations for all of his fights.
After Durham died of a stroke on August 30, 1973, Futch was asked to
succeed him as Frazier's head trainer and manager—at the same time he
was training heavyweight contender
Ken Norton.
Norton lost a rematch against Ali less than two weeks after Durham's
death. At that point, Norton's managers, Robert Biron and Aaron Rivkind,
demanded that Futch choose between training Frazier and Norton, with
Futch choosing Frazier.
Mid to late 1960s
Now in his second year, in September 1966 and somewhat green, Frazier won a close decision over rugged contender
Oscar Bonavena,
despite Bonavena flooring him twice in the second round. A third
knockdown in that round would have ended the fight under the three
knockdown rule. Frazier rallied and won a decision after 12 rounds. The
Machen win followed this contest.
In 1967 Frazier stormed ahead winning all six of his fights, including a sixth-round knockout of
Doug Jones and a brutal fourth round (TKO) of Canadian
George Chuvalo.
No boxer had ever stopped Chuvalo before, but Frazier, despite the
stoppage, was unable to floor Chuvalo, who would never be dropped in his
career.
By February 1967 Joe had scored 14 wins and his star was beginning to
rise. This culminated with his first appearance on the cover of Ring
Magazine. In this month he met Ali, who hadn't yet been stripped of his
title. Ali said Joe would never stand a chance of "whipping" him, not
even in his wildest dreams. Later that year, Muhammad Ali was stripped
of his world heavyweight title due to his refusal to be inducted into
the military during the
Vietnam War.
To fill the vacancy, the
New York State Athletic Commission
held a bout between Frazier and Buster Mathis, with 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 by a knockout in the 11th round and staked a claim to the
Heavyweight Championship. He then defended his claim by beating hard
hitting prospect
Manuel Ramos of
Mexico in two rounds.
He closed 1968 by again beating Oscar Bonavena via a 15-round
decision in a hard-fought rematch. Bonavena fought somewhat defensively,
allowing himself to be often bulled to the ropes, which let Frazier
build a wide points margin. Ring magazine showed Bonavena afterwards
with a gruesomely bruised face. It had been a punishing match.
1969 saw Frazier defend his NYSAC title in Texas, beating
Dave Zyglewicz, who'd only lost once in 29 fights, by a first-round knockout. Then he beat
Jerry Quarry in a 7th round stoppage. The competitive, exciting match with Quarry was named 1969
Ring Magazine
fight of the year. Frazier showed he could do a lot more than just
slug. He'd used his newly honed defensive skills to slip, bob and weave a
barrage of Quarry punches despite Quarry's reputation as an excellent
counter punching heavyweight.
Wins World Championship – Ellis
On February 16, 1970, Frazier faced
WBA Champion
Jimmy Ellis at
Madison Square Garden.
Ellis had outpointed Jerry Quarry in the final bout of the WBA
elimination tournament for Ali's vacated belt. Frazier had himself
declined to participate with the WBA tournament to protest their
decision to strip Ali. Ellis also held a win over Oscar Bonavena.
Beforehand, Ali had announced his retirement and relinquished the
Heavyweight title, allowing Ellis and Frazier to fight for the
undisputed title. Frazier won by a TKO when Ellis' trainer
Angelo Dundee
would not let him come out for the 5th round following two 4th round
knockdowns (the first knockdowns of Ellis' career). His decisive win
over Ellis was a frightening display of power and tenacity.
In his first title defense, Frazier traveled to Detroit to fight World
Light Heavyweight Champion
Bob Foster,
who would go on to set a record for the number of title defenses in the
light-heavyweight division. Frazier (26–0) retained his title by twice
flooring the hard punching Foster in the second round. The second knock
down came on a devastating left hook and Foster could not beat the
count. Then came what was hyped as the "
Fight Of The Century," his first fight with
Muhammad Ali,
who had launched a comeback in 1970 after a three-year suspension from
boxing. This would be the first meeting of two undefeated heavyweight
champions (and last until
Mike Tyson faced Michael Spinks
in 1988), since Ali (31–0) had not lost his title in the ring, but
rather been stripped because of his refusal to be inducted in the Armed
Forces, some considered him to be the true champion. This fight was to
crown the one, true heavyweight champion.
Fight of the Century
On March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden, Frazier and Ali met in the first of their three bouts which was widely called the "
Fight of the Century" in pre-bout publicity and the press feeding frenzy.
[19] With a worldwide television audience and an in-house audience that included luminaries such as
Frank Sinatra (as a photographer for
Life magazine to get a ringside seat), comedian
Woody Allen, singer
Diana Ross and actors
Dustin Hoffman and
Burt Lancaster (who served as "color commentator" with fight announcer
Don Dunphy), the two undefeated heavyweights met in the kind of media-frenzied atmosphere not seen since
Joe Louis' youth.
Several factors came together for Frazier in this fight. He was 27
years old and at his lifetime peak boxing-wise, physically and mentally,
while Ali, 29, was coming back from a three-year absence but had kept
in training, taking on Frazier three months after a bruising battle with
Oscar Bonavena, whom Ali had defeated by a TKO in 15.
[20] Joe did his 'homework' training with 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 a
left hook at the spot where they knew Ali's face would be a second
later. Frazier's major staggering of Ali in the 11th round and his
knock-down of Ali in the 15th were both executed precisely in this way.
In a brutally competitive contest, Frazier lost a number of early
rounds but took Ali's combinations without backing down. As Ali started
to slow in the middle rounds, Frazier came on strong, landing hard shots
to the body as well as the powerful left hooks to the head.
Consequently, Frazier won a clear, 15-round, unanimous decision. Ali
was taken to the hospital immediately after the fight where he was found
to have a severely swollen jaw(which was apparent in post-fight
interviews). Frazier spent time in the hospital during the ensuing
month, the exertions of the fight having been exacerbated by his
existing health problems, such as hypertension and a kidney infection.
Some time later he fought a 3-round exhibition against
Cleveland Williams.
In 1972, Frazier successfully defended the title twice, beating
Terry Daniels and
Ron Stander,
both by knockout, in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. It's
worth noting Daniels had drawn with Jerry Quarry and Stander had KO'd
Earnie Shavers.
Loses title to George Foreman
Ultimately, Frazier lost his undefeated record of 29–0 and his world championship, at the hands of the unbeaten
George Foreman on January 22, 1973, in
Kingston, Jamaica.
Despite Frazier being the overall favorite, Foreman towered 4" over the
shorter, more compact champion and soon dominated the brief bout as
Frazier came in too open. Two minutes into the first round, Frazier was
knocked down. After he was knocked down a sixth time in the second round
referee
Arthur Mercante, Sr. stopped the contest. It was the first two knockdowns that were decisive.
Frazier won his next fight, a 12-round tough decision and floored
Joe Bugner in
London to begin his quest to regain the title. Many felt it was Bugner's best career effort.
Mid 1970s
Frazier's
second fight against Ali
took place on January 28, 1974, in New York City. In contrast to their
previous meeting, the bout was a non-title fight, with Ali winning a
disputed 12-round unanimous decision. The fight was somewhat
disappointing, with a lot of action being blunted by continuous
clinching.
Five months later, Frazier again battled Jerry Quarry in Madison
Square Garden, with a wicked left hook to the ribs by Frazier ending the
fight in the fifth round.
In March 1975, Frazier again fought Jimmy Ellis, the man from whom he had originally taken the WBA title, in
Melbourne, Australia,
knocking him out again in nine rounds. The win again established him as
the number one heavyweight challenger for the title that was now held
by Ali, following an eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in the
famous "
Rumble in the Jungle" in October 1974.
Thrilla In Manila
Ali and Frazier met for the third and final time in
Quezon City (a district within the
metropolitan area of
Manila), the
Philippines, on October 1, 1975: the "
Thrilla in Manila." Ali took every opportunity to mock Frazier, again calling him '"The Gorilla," and generally trying to irritate him.
The fight was far more action-filled than the previous encounter and
was a punishing display on both sides under oppressively hot conditions.
During the course of the fight, Ali said to Frazier, "They said you
were through, Joe." Frazier's terse reply quickly followed: "They lied,
pretty boy." After 14 grueling rounds, Eddie Futch stopped the fight
after Frazier was determined to finish the fight despite both eyes being
swollen shut. Ali won the battle, but said afterward that it was the
"Closest thing to dying that I know of."
[21]
Foreman again
In 1976, Frazier (32–3) personally wished to retry against George
Foreman. With a shaved head for a new image Frazier fought well enough,
somewhat more restrained than usual, avoiding walking onto the big shots
which he had done in their first match. However, Foreman awaited his
moment and then lobbed in one tremendous left hook that lifted Frazier
off his feet. After a second knock down it was stopped in the fifth. Joe
retired.
Frazier made a cameo appearance in the movie
Rocky later in 1976 and dedicated himself to training local boxers in
Philadelphia, where he grew up, including some of his own children. He helped train
Duane Bobick a while.
Music career
During the late 1970s, Frazier created a soul-funk group called "Joe
Frazier and the Knockouts," being mentioned in Billboard and recording a
number of singles. Joe toured widely all over the USA and Europe
including Ireland where among other places he performed in
Donegal, Ireland and
Athy Co
Kildare, Ireland with his band, the Knockouts.
1980s comeback and career as trainer
In 1981, Frazier attempted a comeback. He drew over 10 rounds with hulking
Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings in
Chicago, Illinois. It was a bruising battle with mixed reviews. He then retired for good.
After that, Frazier involved himself in various endeavors. Among his sons who turned to boxing as a career, he helped train
Marvis Frazier, a challenger for
Larry Holmes's world heavyweight title and trained his daughter,
Jackie Frazier-Lyde, whose most notable fight to date was a close points loss against
Laila Ali, the daughter of his rival.
Frazier's overall record was 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw, with 27
wins by knockout. He won 73 percent of his fights by knockout, compared
to 60 percent for Ali and 84 percent for Foreman. He was a member of the
International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
In 1986, Frazier appeared as the "corner man" for
Mr. T against
Roddy Piper at
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of
WrestleMania 2. In 1989, Frazier joined Ali, Foreman, Norton and Holmes for the tribute special
Champions Forever.
Media appearances
Frazier appeared as himself in an episode of
The Simpsons ("
Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?") in 1992, in which he was supposed to have been beaten up by
Barney Gumble in
Moe's Tavern.
Frazier's son objected and Frazier was instead shown beating up Gumble
and putting him in a trash can. Frazier appeared in another episode of
The Simpsons ("
Homer's Paternity Coot")
in 2006. He appeared on-screen in the 8th series of The Celebrity
Apprentice (USA) television show as a guest-attendee at the Silent
Auction event held for the season finale (won by Joan Rivers). Frazier
appeared as himself in the
Academy Award winning 1976 movie,
Rocky. Since the debut of the Fight Night series of games, Frazier appeared in
Fight Night 2004,
Fight Night Round 2,
Fight Night Round 3,
Fight Night Round 4 and
Fight Night Champion, games made by
EA Sports.
Autobiography
Frazier's well-received 1996 autobiography,
Smokin' Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of the World, Smokin' Joe Frazier
Frazier released his autobiography in March 1996, entitled
Smokin' Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of the World, Smokin' Joe Frazier. Frazier promoted the book shortly before its release with a memorable appearance on
The Howard Stern Show on January 26, 1996.
[22]
Financial issues and legal battles
According to an article from The
New York Times, "over the years, Frazier has lost a fortune through a combination of his own generosity and
naïveté,
his carousing, and failed business opportunities. The other headliners
from his fighting days — Ali, George Foreman, and Larry Holmes — are
millionaires." Asked about his situation, Frazier became playfully
defensive, but would not reveal his financial status. "Are you asking me
how much money I have?" he said. "I got plenty of money. I got a stack
of $100 bills rolled up over there in the back of the room." Frazier
blamed himself, partly, for not effectively promoting his own image.
His daughter
Jackie Frazier-Lyde
is a lawyer and worked on her father’s behalf in pursuit of money they
claimed he was owed in a Pennsylvania land deal. In 1973, Frazier
purchased 140 acres in
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
for $843,000. Five years later, a developer agreed to buy the farmland
for $1.8 million. Frazier received annual payments from a trust that
bought the land with money he had earned in the ring. However, when the
trust went bankrupt, the payments ceased.
Frazier sued his business partners, insisting his signature had been
forged on documents and he had no knowledge of the sale. In the ensuing
years, the 140 acres was subdivided and turned into a residential
community. The land is now worth an estimated $100 million.
[23]
Relationship with Muhammad Ali
While Ali's characteristic taunts of his opponent began typically
enough, after regaining his title, his taunts eventually turned
personal. Joe was painted by Ali as the white man's hope and as an "
Uncle Tom," interjecting a racial element into an already contentious and controversial series of great bouts.
Bryant Gumbel
joined the pro-Ali, anti-Frazier bandwagon by writing a major magazine
article that asked "Is Joe Frazier a white champion with black skin?",
and many younger boxing fans who had no issues with Frazier sided with
Ali in their feud because of their admiration for Ali's anti-war and
anti-racism views (Frazier rarely spoke publicly about social or
political issues).
Frazier petitioned
U.S. President Richard Nixon
to have Ali's right to box reinstated, setting up the whole series of
matches. (Frazier had boycotted the 1967 WBA heavyweight elimination
tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali, after the champion had
been stripped of the title.)
After years of remaining bitter, Frazier told
Sports Illustrated in May 2009 that he no longer held hard feelings for Ali.
[24]
Ali was among those who attended the private funeral services for Frazier in Philadelphia on November 14, 2011. The Rev.
Jesse Jackson
gave remarks during the service and at one point asked those in
attendance to stand and "show your love." It was reported that Ali stood
with the audience and clapped "vigorously."
[25]
Later years
Frazier lived in Philadelphia where he owned and managed a boxing
gym. Frazier put the gym up for sale in mid 2009. He was diagnosed with
diabetes and
high blood pressure. He and his nemesis, Muhammad Ali, alternated over the years between public apologies and public insults.
[27] In 1996, when Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Frazier told a reporter that he would like to throw Ali into the fire.
[28]
Frazier made millions of dollars in the 1970s, but the article cited
mismanagement of real-estate holdings as a partial explanation for his
economic woes. Frazier stated repeatedly that he no longer had any
bitter feelings towards Ali. The
National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the Joe Frazier's Gym in its 25th list of
America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2012.
[29][30]
Frazier continued to train young fighters, although he needed
multiple operations for back injuries sustained in a car accident. He
and Ali reportedly attempted a reconciliation in his final years, but in
October 2006 Frazier still claimed to have won all three bouts between
the two. He declared to a
Times reporter, when questioned about his bitterness toward Ali, "I am what I am."
[citation needed]
Frazier attempted to revive his music interests in late 2009/2010
notably popular for singing 'Mustang Sally' both Frazier and manager
Leslie R. Wolff teamed up with Welsh Rock Solo artist
Jayce Lewis
to release his repertoire in the U.K, later visiting the Welshman in
U.K to a host a string of After dinner Speeches and music developments,
it would notably be Frazier's last U.K appearance.
[31][32]
Death
Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011.
Within a few weeks, the cancer had metastasized. By November 2011, he
was under hospice care, where he died on November 7.
[1][33][34] Upon hearing of Frazier's death,
Muhammad Ali said, "The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration."
[35][36][37]
Frazier's private funeral took place on November 14 at the Enon
Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia and in addition to friends and
family was attended by Muhammad Ali, Don King, Larry Holmes, Magic
Johnson, Dennis Rodman, among others. He was later buried at the Ivy
Hill Cemetery, a short drive from the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.
[38][39] About 3 months later, Muhammad Ali's boxing trainer,
Angelo Dundee died on February 1, 2012.
In popular media
- Some of the most memorable moments in the 1976 boxing-themed feature film, Rocky — such as Rocky's carcass-punching scenes and Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
as part of his training regimen — are taken from Frazier's real-life
exploits, though he received no credit. Ironically, he does make a cameo
appearance, promoting the fight between Rocky and Apollo.[40]
- In March 2007, a Joe Frazier action figure was released as part of a
range of toys based on the Rocky film franchise, developed by the
American toy manufacturer, Jakks Pacific.[41][42]
- Electric bassist Jeff Berlin wrote a musical tribute simply called "Joe Frazier," originally recorded on the Bill Bruford album Gradually Going Tornado, available on the compilation album Master Strokes.
- Mr. Sandman, a video game character in the Punch-Out!! video game series known for being one of the toughest opponents, was based in part on Frazier
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