RIP Smoking Joe Frazier

pugh-the-special-one

pugh-the-special-one

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For the younger members of TSR who probably never saw Joe fight during the great renaissance period of heavweight boxing during the 1970s I sugest for good nights entertainment with your mates, get a few packs of beer in, then buy the muhammad ali V Joe Frazier the first fight, and be amazed by the level of brutality skill and sheer spirit these two men brought to the ring, then the day after, in a moment of reflection laugh as loud as you can at the kind of low grade washed up pile of shite heavwieghts we have had to watch and endure for the last 30 years or more. PS probably the greatest world heavyweight championship fight ever.

Regards Jamie
 
You are a little older than me Peter, but back then if we wanted to watch a live world title fight from the USA we had to visit our local cinema to watch these great sporting battles, no such thing as pay per view on the box Peter, I was a huge boxing fan from the 60s 70s and early 80s, but Boxing became more showbiz and that's when my love affair ended. PS as a fight enthusiast yourself you probably would know my town as produced some great fighters through the years world champions Howard Winstone Jimmy Wilde, the Scottish fighter and world champion Ken Buchan fought and trained out of Merthyr, a few European champions also produced in Merthyr, on the world stage it's known a a fighting town, a strange thing happened last year, I told my wife that I was popping down town for something or other, and believe this or not in there in the middle of shopping precinct looking at some bronze boxing figures erected buy local people in memory of the towns great fighters, was Mr Mike Tyson who made a flying visit to Merthyr to see them, but strange how I happened to be right there at the same time, he also was also with a few heavies. He probably needed them he was in Merthyr Tydfil after all. :)

Regards Jamie
 
RIP Smokin' Joe - one of the great heavyweights. His battles with Ali were tremendous, particularly the first and the last ('Thrilla in Manila').

I always thought he got a raw deal from Ali, who for some reason felt compelled to taunt Frazier with particularly vicious insults and 'Uncle Tom' accusations. It seemed all the more unfair as they actually used to be friends in the sixties, and Joe gave his support to Ali through the years when his title and boxing licence had been stripped from him. I don't know if they ever truly reconciled, but Ali has at least had some kind words to say in tribute to Joe.
 
I had the pleasure of meeting JF in a bar in Chicago in the early 80's - well retired. He was surrounded by all kinds of talent & a BIG character for a small in height heavy weight. And two years later I met Ali in a hotel in Madras. He was with a man & a women & they were touring India to raise funds for orphanages. He was suffering with the early stages of Parkinsons then. He was a big lad then, formidable & skillful in his prime & a past master at the old whined up..... RIP JF, a true champ.
 
fozz77 said:
I had the pleasure of meeting JF in a bar in Chicago in the early 80's - well retired. He was surrounded by all kinds of talent & a BIG character for a small in height heavy weight. And two years later I met Ali in a hotel in Madras. He was with a man & a women & they were touring India to raise funds for orphanages. He was suffering with the early stages of Parkinsons then. He was a big lad then, formidable & skillful in his prime & a past master at the old whined up..... RIP JF, a true champ.
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What a fantastic story Ian, not only meeting what many boxing experts regard as the greatest fighter ever Ali, I would personally have Ali down as the greatest heavyweight i've ever seen, then also meeting Joe Frazier as well who took part in one of, if not the greatest world heavyweight fight of all time, what a great story.

Regards Jamie.
 
Ali's PR machine have gone into overdrive and the lazy media sucked it up, Frazier always hated Ali and I'm pretty sure it would have lasted to the very end.
 
I recall seeing footage of the time both Frazier and Ali were on the Dick Cavett Show in the early seventies, with Michael Parkinson co-hosting.

Ali taunts Frazier mercilessly throughout the interview. He really is relentless, making fun of Frazier's boxing style, diction, and claiming that he didn't really win their first fight. You can see Frazier getting visibly more and more annoyed, and biting his lip trying to reign in his anger.

I couldn't find the exact moment I was looking for, where it ends up with the two men taking off their jackets and briefly 'sparring' before Frazier decides he's had enough and attempts to walk off the show and Ali pulls him back on and then falls over a chair. Cavett looks worried, but Parkie is just laughing at the chaos. Marvellous entertainment.

I did find this clip however, which occurs before that, and before things got more heated. Whichever way you view it, Ali was always the consummate showman.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IocCgocRjhY[/video]
 
Astonishing they have a statue of Rocky in Phili but not Joe.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/boxing/tom_english_smokin_joe_takes_his_grudge_against_ali_to_grave_1_1955069

A great documentary I saw a while ago if you have 90 minutes.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fOibG3aL2k&feature=related[/video]
 
Hiya,

Being an old geezer has it's occasional benefits. I was lucky enough to follow all the amazing heavyweights that started with Ali fighting Liston in the mid 1960s. Yeah, it took a long time for him and Frazier to finally hook up, and those fights were pretty damn intense.

Joe's boxing style was all about being relentless and always going straight ahead. 'Sweet Science' didn't really apply to him all that much, but he was really successful doing what worked best for him.

As others mentioned, to see the fight you hadda go someplace to where the satellite hookup was being beamed. Ran about $20 for a ticket, and sometimes the hook up would fail. The only other option was to listen to the radio. If I'm not mistaken, a TV station would show the fight THE NEXT WEEK,. Seriously.

No idea if you foreigners know much about Howard Cosell, but hopefully some of you remember him and his style of broadcasting. He did football for a long time, and many other sports events. He also did fights in a memorable way. Plus, he did some great interviews with sports figures...Ali especially.

One thing to keep in mind what the fact that Ali had his title stripped for three years...until 1970. He fought three tune ups before finally meeting Frazier in 1971 and that fight was HUGELY anticipated. Yeah, that was a big deal back in the day.

Martin
 
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