Boxing Classics. Frazier vs. Ellis 1. - kensoldtimeboxingchat.com

Joe Frazier won a portion of the heavyweight championship by stopping Buster Mathis on March 4, 1968 after Muhammad Ali was stripped of his titles in 1967 for refusing induction into the armed services. When Joe fought Jimmy Ellis on February 16, 1970 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it was to unify the heavyweight belts. I was 9 years old at the time and while not yet a big boxing fan, tuned into the replay of the bout the following Saturday on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. It was the first time I had ever watched a fight on television and even though I already knew the result, found myself mesmerized by the action.

Since I grew up in south Jersey about 15 miles east of Philadelphia, Joe Frazier was a local favorite. I was impressed with the aggressive style he fought with, always chugging forward and rarely taking a step backwards. He was clearly better than Ellis, and put Jimmy down on the canvas for the first time in his professional career. By the fourth round he had worn Ellis completely out and pounded him to the canvas as the round came to an end. Ellis’s cornerman Angelo Dundee stopped the contest between rounds, and Joe Frazier was the new unified Heavyweight Champion of the World.

In early 1970, I was a fledgling sports fan, with baseball, football and basketball my favorites. I had no idea at the time that before the decade of the 1970’s would end, boxing would start to become a huge part of my life. Joe Frazier was a household name by 1970 and the biggest name in the sport since Ali was still in retirement. Constant talks about the two finally meeting in the ring became a reality when Ali returned to the ring in October 1970 to face Jerry Quarry after 3 1/2 years in forced retirement.

‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier would fight Jimmy Ellis a second time in 1975, but his destruction of him on February 16, 1970 was one of the finest performances of his professional career.