Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, better known to his many fans as "Smokin' Joe" Frazier, has passed away at the age of 67. His death comes just days after publicly disclosing that he was fighting liver cancer.
Frazier will always be remembered as one of the greatest - some say the greatest - boxers in the sport. His 1971 bout with Mohammed Ali that saw Frazier keeping his belt would still be considered one of the most legendary matches of all time. But even that was eclipsed by the "Thrilla in Manilla" a few years later: the third and final fight between the two and the end of Frazier's attempt to win back the heavyweight title.
But y'know, it doesn't matter that he didn't, not really. Joe Frazier was one of the greatest in the ring and he was a true gentleman out of it. A guy with as much heart and love for God and others as he had for his sport. He will always be a man remembered for those qualities.
Thoughts and prayers going out to his family tonight.
1 comments:
The world sports media owes Joe Frazier an apology, why? Because they allowed Ali to call this man an Uncle Tom!
Joe Frazier, son of a share cropper being called an Uncle Tom is like Martin Luther King being called a Grand Dragon of the Klan!
It's wrong it was despicable at the time and still is. Yet the world news media allowed it, covered it and glorified the idea!
While Frazier who fought with only one good eye, will be remembered for his guts and being respectful to others outside the ring, while Frazier helped Ali with money when he was down, Ali repaid that help by insults and despicable behavior egged on by the media who were more concerned with their ratings then respecting the Heavyweight World Champion!
Did the media chide Ali for this behavior, not that I recall, they encouraged it, thrived on it, even today ESPN speaks of Ali with worship in there eyes, yet Ali was an evil despicable man during that time!
I just hope history gives Joe Frazier his due, a man with courage who fought the self proclaimed "greatest" with one good eye and beat him once and had he not been blind in one eye because of cataracts would have beaten Ali a second time in their last fight, even with one good eye, Smok'n Joe gave all Ali could handle but blind at the end of the 14th Round his trainer did the right thing and stopped the fight.
RIP Joe Frazier, you truly were the greatest, both in and more importunately out of the ring!
The only question now is will the media finally admit they were wrong in their worship of Ali and because of that worship the attempt to destroy one on the greatest fighters of the 20th century Smok'n Joe Frazier?
It's time to tear down that stupid statue in Philly and put Joe Frazier in it's place! He is the one that deserves it!
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