With the passing of Smokin’ Joe Frazier, boxing has lost one of its greatest heavyweights and ambassadors.
Frazier’s name will forever be linked to Muhammad Ali’s, and rightfully so. Their trilogy is the gold standard by which all boxing rivalries are now judged. After the brutal third fight between the two, Ali proclaimed “[Frazier] is the greatest fighter of all times, next to me.”
But while Ali’s flash and personality has spawned many fast-talking, quick-lipped wannabe’s, Frazier’s reserved, humble and hard-working nature is often forgotten and rarely duplicated.
Frazier was a grinder who always came to fight and never put on a dull show. He chose to speak with his fists and his vicious left hook screamed at unmatched decibels – loud enough to silence Ali for a few seconds en route to his win in the “Fight of the Century” in 1971.
Rest in Peace Smokin’ Joe.
Worthy battle
I doubt Smokin’ Joe was watching, but over the weekend we saw an excellent slugfest that would’ve made Frazier proud.
James Kirkland, coming off a knockout loss and plenty of personal turmoil, found himself on the canvas and seriously hurt just 30-seconds into his bout with Alfredo Angulo. As Angulo assaulted Kirland over the next 90 seconds, the referee watched carefully for the stoppage. However, somehow Kirkland weathered the storm and knocked down Angulo at the end of the first round.
The remaining five rounds were full of toe-to-toe exchanges and bad intentioned blows as Kirkland pulled off the upset via 6th round stoppage. The bout is surely one of the favorites for “Fight of the Year” honors.
