Joe Frazier had been heavyweight champ for almost 5 years when he met the undefeated 1968 Olympic champion George Foreman on January 22, 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica. I was only in the 7th grade at the time, but was still interested in who won the fight, especially since Joe Frazier was from Philadelphia and a local favorite. It would turn out to be the first fight broadcast on a new upstart cable company called HBO, which would eventually grow into the home of professional boxing for decades.
Foreman was undefeated with a record of 37-0, and 34 knockouts, but was a 3 1/2 underdog to Joe Frazier, who was also undefeated at 29-0. George dominated Joe from the start and knocked down Frazier 6 times in less than 2 rounds. Frazier showed courage in getting up each and every time, but referee Arthur Mercante Sr. finally halted the action to prevent Joe from any more punishment. The bout is famous for Howard Cosell’s call of “Down goes Frazier!” Down goes Frazier!” on ABC, which I’ve seen countless times over the years.
I vividly remember waking up for school the next morning and hearing the late Philadelphia sportscaster Charlie Swift say on the radio my mother had on top of the refrigerator in our kitchen that George Foreman had knocked Joe Frazier out in two rounds. The news shocked me since I lived in south Jersey and Joe was fan favorite to everyone here. It’s not like I lost sleep over it since boxing was only a small interest of mine, but it’s a moment that strongly stands out in my mind to this very day.
FOLLOW ME ON TIKTOK AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
FOLLOW ME ON YOUTUBE AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ON SPOTIFY AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
