![]() ![]() The fast-talking Ali invariably delighted in using the more taciturn Frazier as his stooge. "A lot of people went to the fight that night to see head knocked off – and I did my best to oblige them." "I was as mad as a junkyard dog at Ali," Frazier remembered. "I like to feel my strength and go for broke." It was this uncompromising attitude that earned him the nickname "Smokin' Joe".įrazier's feared left hook floored Ali in the final round of their first encounter and helped him clinch victory in what became known as the "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden, New York, on 8 March 1971. "I like to hit guys and see their knees tremble," he said. Despite invariably conceding height to his opponents, the 5ft 11.5in Frazier, who had a crouching and weaving style similar to the one which made Mike Tyson such a daunting proposition several years later, used his stocky physique to unload frightening hooks to head and body. The third of those 1970s encounters – memorably dubbed the "Thrilla in Manila" – is generally remembered as the greatest fight of all time.Ī crowd-pleasing heavyweight, Frazier's relentless attacking approach included one of the most savage left hooks in boxing. Frazier’s victory coming at Madison Square Garden in what was coined the “Fight of the Century.” Their third match was the famed “Thrilla in Manila.” Those fights with the man known as “The Greatest” helped vault Frazier toward the top of the sport.For all Joe Frazier achieved, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, who has died of liver cancer aged 67, was destined to remain in the shadow of his nemesis, Muhammad Ali, who twice beat him in the most famous trilogy of fights the sport has ever produced. ![]() The Frazier-Ali trilogy was among his most famous fights. He came back for one more match in 1981, a draw against Floyd Cummings. This ended up being Frazier’s last fight for five years. Two of those last three losses came against Ali, and Frazier’s final loss of his career was another TKO defeat at the hands of Foreman in 1976. That loss put Frazier at 29-1, and he went 3-3-1 in his final seven fights after that loss. He would go on to start his career 29-0, with one of those wins a unanimous decision over Muhammad Ali in 1971.įrazier’s first loss came in 1973 when Foreman beat him by second-round TKO. He turned pro the following year, winning his debut fight by first-round TKO. ![]() RELATED: George Foreman Grew Up Poor and Angry But a TV Ad Changed His Lifeįrazier had a successful amateur career, winning the Golden Gloves heavyweight championship three straight years beginning in 1962, and he won the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, America’s only boxing gold at those Games. ![]()
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