'Smoking' Joe Frazier dies

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Category: boxing

Published on Wednesday, 09 November 2011 17:50

Written by Sankha de Livera Tennekoon

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Joe Frazier, the former undisputed heavyweight champ famed for his epic fights against Muhammad Ali, died on Monday after a brief but brave battle with liver cancer. He was 67.

The boxing icon won an Olympic gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to launch a brilliant career that spanned almost 20 years but he was best known for fighting Ali in a famed 1970s trilogy of bouts, including the epic "Thriller in Manila."

"I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration," Ali said in a statement. "My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones."

Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe," captured two major heavyweight titles while taking on all comers, including Ali, George Foreman, Jerry Quarry, Joe Bugner, Oscar Bonavena and George Chuvalo.

Frazier was a huge part of the heyday of boxing's heavyweight division in the 1970s. He finished his illustrious career with 32 wins (27 knockouts), four losses and one draw.

His four losses came at the hands of just two other legendary fighters from that era: Ali and Foreman.

Multiple world champion Manny Pacquiao commented that "boxing lost a great champion, and the sport lost a great ambassador."

British former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said Frazier was "one of the best".

"Without him other boxing heroes wouldn't be great either because they really tested their talent against him," Lewis told BBC radio.

Foreman bid farewell to his old rival in a Twitter message: "Good night Joe Frazier. I love you dear friend."

Current world heavyweight boxing champions, the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir from Ukraine, also had praise for the fallen legend.

"My brother and I are very sad about the death of Joe Frazier," said Vitali.

"He was one of the greatest heavyweights. His three fights against Muhammed Ali are undoubtedly amongst the classics of the sport's history."

Frazier was the first man to defeat Ali, with a unanimous 15-round decision in 1971 at Madison Square Garden, in a bout dubbed the "Fight of the Century" that was watched by an estimated TV audience of 300 million.

Frazier and Ali went on to fight twice more.Ali won a unanimous 12-round decision in a 1974 rematch at the Garden and famously completed the trilogy, winning the "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975 by stopping Frazier after 14 rounds in their epic fight in the Philippines."Closest thing to dying that I know of," said Ali after the fight.

 

Frazier won the World boxing Council and World boxing Association heavyweight titles in 1970 by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round of their fight at Madison Square Garden.

He defended the title four times before running into the bigger and stronger Foreman in 1973.

Not as well known as the Ali clashes, but almost as dynamic, were Frazier's two lopsided fights against Foreman.

Frazier began his career with 29 consecutive wins before suffering his first loss.

 

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