Joseph William Frazier was born on January 12, 1944 in Beaufort, South Carolina. After working as a sharecropper as a youth, a 15 year-old Frazier moved to Philadelphia in 1959. He began an amateur boxing career not long after, and won Golden Gloves heavyweight championships for three consecutive years, in 1962, 1963, and 1964. Joe was sent as a replacement for the injured Buster Mathis at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and wound up winning the gold medal.
Upon his return, Joe signed with trainer Yank Durham, who had organized a group of local businessman to invest in his young fighter. Cloverlay was formed, and it allowed Frazier to train full time.
Joe’s first bout was on August 16, 1965 against Woody Goss at Convention Hall in Philadelphia, which Frazier won via a first round TKO. By 1966, his career was growing, and Eddie Futch joined his team as an assistant trainer. By February of 1967, Joe had defeated the likes of Oscar Bonavena, Doug Jones and George Chuvalo. When Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title in April of that year for refusing induction into to Army, Joe was signed to meet Buster Mathis, with the winner to be recognized as “World Champion” by New York State. Frazier stopped Mathis in 11 rounds in March of 1968, and now laid claim to a portion of the heavyweight title.
The WBA held a tournament to name their champion, which Joe was not invited to. Jimmy Ellis won the vacant belt, and signed to meet Frazier at Madison Square Garden on February 16, 1970. Joe easily knocked Ellis out in five rounds. He was now the undisputed champ, and knocked out light-heavyweight champ Bob Foster in his first title defense.
That set up ‘The Fight of the Century’, pitting Joe against the returned ex-champ Ali, and March 8, 1971 was the date assigned for the bout. Each man would receive $2.5 million, with the fight set for Madison Square Garden in New York City. To me, it is the greatest fight in professional boxing history, and it still transcends time. Joe won a unanimous decision in a brutal battle, and would defend his championship successfully for the next two years.
On January 22, 1973, Joe was brutally knocked out by George Foreman in two rounds in Kingston, Jamaica. Frazier would continue to fight until 1976, when he retired at 32 after getting knocked out by Foreman again. He returned for one last bout on December 3, 1981 against Floyd ‘Jumbo’ Cummings in Chicago. The bout was ruled a draw, and Joe returned to his job as a trainer, mainly for his son Marvis. Joe was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Frazier passed away on November 7, 2011, and will always be remembered as ‘Smokin’ Joe to the countless fans that still love him.
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