Joe Frazier fought nine times in 1966, with his managers gradually stepping up his competition. Name boxers like Charlie Polite, Chuck Leslie and Billy Daniels were now on his resume of victories, and in September he faced his toughest opponent in Oscar Bonavena. The fight on the 21st at Madison Square Garden saw Joe hit the canvas twice in the second round. He rallied to win a split decision over the rugged Argentinian, and moved up the rankings after the win.
Two months later, on November 21, Joe traveled to the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles to take on tough Eddie Machen. Frazier stopped him in the tenth, and finished 1966 with a record of 13-0, 11 by knockout.
On February 21, 1967, Joe came back home to the Philadelphia Arena to face Doug Jones. In the biggest gate ever at the Arena, Joe knocked Jones out in he sixth. After another fifth round stoppage of Jefferson Davis on April 11 in Miami Beach, and a ten round unanimous decision over George Johnson on May 4 in Los Angeles, Frazier signed to face the stiffest challenge of his young professional career, in Canadian George Chuvalo.
The bout at Madison Square Garden in New York on July 19, 1967 was before nearly 14,000 fans. Frazier cut Chuvalo, hurt him to the body, and it was over in the fourth. Chuvalo said that “I was damaged goods when I went into the ring.”, after being injured in his previous bout. Whatever the case, Joe had a big name on his record, and was moving up the rankings of the heavyweight division.
Frazier’s next fight was on October 17 vs. Tony Doyle at the brand new Spectrum in Philadelphia. In the first main event held there, Joe stopped Doyle in the second round, and was becoming a hugely popular athlete to Philadelphia fans. He would have one more fight to round out the year, on December 18 at the Boston Garden against Marion Conner. Joe easily handled him in three, and now had his sights on a shot at the heavyweight title in the upcoming year of 1968.
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