Joe Frazier. One day with a champion

Joe Frazier entered the ring three times against Muhammad Ali, and once he managed to achieve victory. Photo AFP

One of the greatest heavyweights in the history of professional boxing, former world champion Joe Frazier, passed away yesterday at the age of 67.

More recently, it was announced that he was suffering from liver cancer. Trud, together with the famous boxer Evgeny Gorstkov, recalls the career of an American who has been at the top of world fame for more than ten years.

Stallone "painted" Rocky from Frazier

As is typical of many American boxing champions of past generations, Joe Frazier did not escape crime early in his adult life. He grew up in a relatively non-poor Negro family in the south of the United States - his father earned a living from the underground production of alcohol. Then Joe went to work in New York. He lived with relatives, who introduced the boy to stealing cars. Then Joe moved to Philadelphia, also to relatives, but more respectable. Relatives provided him with housing and food, and the young strong boy subordinated his entire routine to training. By the way, many of the attributes and everyday details from the life of Fraser in those years were later used by Sylvester Stallone when shooting his first film from the Rocky series.

The affairs of the young boxer quickly went uphill, he defeated all his rivals with an overwhelming advantage, until at the beginning of 1964 he met the huge powerful Buster Mathis in the ring, who weighed more than 120 kg - against 82 for Joe. Mathis won that fight and won the right to represent the United States at the Tokyo Olympics. But Joe himself volunteered to be Mathis' sparring partner at pre-Olympic camp. As a result, the leadership of the US national team either considered Mathis's injury to be quite serious, or Fraser - a much more diligent and promising athlete ... But in the end, Joe went to Tokyo, and won all his fights there very confidently. (And later, by the way, he defeated Mathis as a pro.)

Turning to professionals, Frazier continued his victorious march there. Having won 26 victories, he became the world champion - first according to the WBA, and then won the WBC belt.

Joe showed nobility in and out of the ring

In 1971, Joe showed nobility: he personally petitioned the President of the United States to rehabilitate the previously undefeated Muhammad Ali (aka Cassius Clay). In the case of a positive decision on this issue, Frazier risked a lot of all his championship titles. His fight against Ali in March 1971 turned out to be very stubborn. Frazier won on points.

Evgeny Gorstkov, the best Russian and Soviet heavyweight of the 1970s, shared his memories with a Trud correspondent:

- Before that fight, we - me and my comrades in the USSR national team - of course, rooted for Muhammad Ali. For us, he was the epitome of civic courage because he refused to take part in the imperialist war in Vietnam and was punished for it. So he had a reputation not only as a great champion, but also as a fighter for the truth and even a martyr. That fight was pretty even. And yet, the power of Fraser's blows - relatively small even by the standards of those years (height 1.82 m and weight a little more than 80 kg) - could not be overlooked immediately. But then we, Soviet boxers, were isolated from professional boxing. And therefore, they knew very little about Frazier and Ali, not only as people, but also as athletes. I remember that even the Polish "Boxing" was somehow obtained and with great difficulty translated articles from it. And our Soviet media presented professional boxing not as a sport, but as a kind of booth. And Muhammad Ali, we must give him his due, strengthened this feeling with his behavior. Now I understand that he behaved not quite nicely. Then he entered the ring in a crown and some kind of attire like a royal one. Before the fight, he insulted Frazier, and undeservedly. But he, being in the status of the absolute world champion, in fact, helped Muhammad Ali return to the professional ring and thus provided himself with the most dangerous opponent at that time.

Fell but didn't give up

In his 32nd fight, which took place in January 1973, Joe Frazier suffered his first defeat in the professional ring. And the defeat is very severe. In two incomplete rounds, he is from the strongest blows young George Foreman fell into the ring six (!) times, but every time he was in a hurry to get up and continue a clearly unequal fight. That fight, nicknamed "the beating in Jamaica", surprised the whole sports world the power of Foreman and the incredible courage of Fraser.

But even after this fight, Joe continued to perform in the professional ring, moreover, he also went to title fights. And he lost only to the same Muhammad Ali (twice - first on points, and then technical knockout), and later again to George Foreman, by knockout. Fraser was not afraid of anyone or anything.

“The great generation of great champions of the 1960s and 1970s raised professional boxing to new heights,” Evgeny Gorstkov continues to comment on Fraser’s career. - And if we talk about that era in our sport, then the names of three fighters stand apart in it - Ali, Frazier and Foreman. Each of them was an outstanding personality both in the ring and outside it. It is these people who make the field of activity in which they are engaged popular and attractive to the youth of the whole world. I had the good fortune to meet Joe Frazier in person, but to call our meeting a face-to-face meeting would be an overstatement. In the late 1970s, we came to the USA for one of the boxing team matches between the USSR national team and the US amateur team - these meetings were traditional then. And then the great champions of the past years, Floyd Patterson and Joe Frazier, came to greet us. But we would hardly have recognized by sight if the organizers had not introduced us to each other. We heard a lot about their victories in the ring, but in “civilian” clothes they would hardly have been distinguished among passers-by on the street. Joe Frazier greeted us politely, some with a handshake, some with a nod of the head. He hardly knew his own American lovers then, and even more so us - overseas. But the further the era of his triumph moves away from us, the more striking his achievements seem. The current heavyweight champions - the Klitschko brothers - I have a lot of respect for their unbeaten performances against the strongest boxers in the world. But the bright, spectacular boxing of the big guys, perhaps, ended with Mike Tyson. Well, maybe Lennox Lewis. And such desperate uncompromising grunts and at the same time magnificent boxers in all the technical and tactical intricacies of mastery, which was Joe Frazier, as they say, I don’t even see close. And judging by the recollections of people who knew him closely, he was at the same time a very good person, very decent. Blessed memory of the great champion!

- Evgeny Nikolaevich, the cause of Fraser's disease is called liver cancer. Could this disease be the result of many blows received in the ring?

- The great champion lived for 71 years. And this, for example, in Russia, not so many men of our generation succeed. As my colleagues say in such cases, the shells are falling closer and closer. In addition, most boxers my age or older died from different reasons, and the liver as the cause appeared quite rarely. In general, drunk vodka and even fatty foods harm the liver much more than boxing. Yes, our brother is beaten in the ring in the liver, and quite sensitively. But they hit once, hit another: you involuntarily covered this place with your elbow. And it is quite possible to endure further. And in this case, the death of a great champion should by no means be considered as a contraindication for boxing. This would be wrong and unfair.

Numbers

• 37 fights held by Joe Frazier in the professional ring
• 32 victories won by an American
• 27 wins were achieved by knockout
• Frazier suffered 4 defeats
• Joe ended 1 fight in a draw

Dossier "Labor"

Joe Frazier, boxer

Achievements: Olympic champion. He played professionally from 1965 to 1981. He became the world champion for the first time in 1969. A year later became absolute champion peace. In total, he spent four years in the championship title, and then was knocked out by George Foreman.

Joe's eldest son, Marvis, also performed successfully.

joe frazier, boxing,

Joe Frazier - American professional boxer, speaking in heavy weight class. Olympic champion 1964, world heavyweight champion. Nicknamed "Smoking Joe".

Joe Frazier was born in 1944 in Beaufort, South Carolina. His debut took place in 1965. A year later, by a separate decision of the judges, he was recognized as the winner of the fight with Oscar Bonavena, despite the fact that the opponent sent Frazier down twice.

In 1967, he knocked out George Chuvalo.

In 1968, he again met in the ring with Oscar Bonavena. This time, the judges unanimously gave the victory to Frazier.

In 1969, he defeated Jerry Quary by TKO in the 7th round. This meeting was named "fight of the year" according to the magazine "Ring".

In 1970, he met in the ring with WBA heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis. Frazier knocked out the champion in the 5th round.

In the same year, he met with the undisputed world heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Bob Foster. Frazier knocked out the opponent in the 2nd round.

In March 1971, the legendary fight with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. For the first time in history heavy weight V championship fight two opponents met in the ring, never losing fights. In the 15th round, Joe knocked Ali down with a beautiful left hook and won the fight. Ali could not forget the defeat from Joe until the end of his career. The fight received the status of "fight of the year" according to the magazine "Ring".

In January 1972, he knocked out Terry Daniels. In May, he knocked out Ron Standler.

In 1973, another battle took place between two undefeated boxers. Joe met in the ring with George Foreman. Frazier was knocked down 6 times during the meeting, 3 times in the first round and three in the second. Foreman won by TKO in the 2nd round, Frazier lost for the first time.

In July 1973, Frazier scored a points victory over Joe Bugner.

In 1974, Frazier met again with Muhammad Ali. Ali won the fight on points.

In 1975, the third and most fierce fight Frazier and Ali. The battle took place in 30-degree heat. Until the very end, the outcome of the battle was unclear, the battle was extremely aggressive. From the first to the fifth round, the advantage was for Ali, from the sixth to the 11th - for Frazier. After another round, Ali said "I think I'm dying." After the 14th round, the referee stopped the fight - Frazier, being blind in his left eye, practically did not see with his right (the coach showed three fingers and asked them to count, Frazier answered "one").

In his corner, Ali asked to take off his gloves (“I am very tired, take off my gloves”) and, according to his doctor, he could not go to the 15th round. After the end of the fight, Mohammed went to the middle of the ring and fell unconscious.

The fight was stopped by Frazier's trainer. Ali won. After this fight, Ali called Frazier the best boxer after himself. The fight was named "Thriller in Manila" and the status of "fight of the year" according to the magazine "Ring".

In 1976, Fraser met again with George Foreman. Joe lost by knockout in the 5th round and after this fight he did not enter the ring for 5 years.

Fraser by the mid-70s had serious vision problems, he was almost blind in one eye and could not maintain optimal weight.

The last time Joe Frazier returned to boxing was in 1981. He met with the little-known boxer Floyd Cummings. The fight ended in a controversial draw. After the meeting, Frazier announced his retirement from professional boxing.

After this meeting, Cummings, who had previously had one defeat, suffered five defeats in a row and ended his career.

Frazier returned to coaching and promotion work. His son Marvis made his debut in the professional ring, who throughout his career suffered defeats in the same way as his father - from two outstanding boxers.

According to en.wikipedia.org

Photos - fightnews.ru, limonada-net.livejournal.com, haberdukkani.com, pdxretro.com

In the 1950s, the Fraser family got hold of a black-and-white television, and neighbors and relatives from all over the neighborhood came to their house to watch boxing matches. Joe, who was always keenly interested in boxing matches, tried to imitate the blows of the fighters from the TV screen, and once one of the relatives, noticing this, said something like: "Look, our Joe will be the champion! You will see - he will become the second Joe Louis !". Hearing this, the flattered boy firmly believed that he now simply needed to become a champion.

Later, Joe, stuffing a bag with rags, corn cobs, bricks, and Spanish moss that grew everywhere in those parts, made himself a punching bag and began training. Much later, in an interview, Fraser said that for 6 or 7 years he practiced almost daily, practicing his blows for an hour, wrapping his hands in an old father's tie or mother's stockings.

In 1959, 15-year-old Joe, who had just been fired from the farm he worked on, suddenly found himself on his own. Without thinking twice, he went to his brother Tommy (Tommy) in New York (New York), where for some time he earned what he had to, including not always honestly. Later, he moved to relatives in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and it was there that he had the opportunity to train in the gym.

Joe had already won his first amateur championships in the early 1960s, including the Middle Atlantic Golden Gloves in 1962, 1963 and 1964.

The first defeat of a very well-started boxer was in 1964, losing to Buster Mathis in the pre-Olympic competitions. However, Frazier still got to the Olympics in Tokyo (Tokyo), as Mathis was injured. So, it was in Tokyo in 1964 that Joe Frazier earned Olympic gold in heavyweight champion leaving no chance for their rivals. By the way, the German Hans Huber was the best then, but the victory on points was still awarded to Fraser. It is noteworthy that this year this medal became the only American gold in boxing.

After Joe won Olympic Games his coach Yankee Durham (Yancey "Yank" Durham) attracted several businessmen willing to invest their money in Frazier's professional career.

So, on August 16, 1965, Joe entered the professional ring for the first time. Joe's first opponent was Woody Goss, whom Frazier knocked out in the first round. The young boxer's professional career started definitely well, and his first very eminent opponent was in 1966 Dick Wipperman; however, he was knocked out in the 5th round.

This fight, which was Joe's sixth fight in the professional ring, was followed by 5 more fights, each of which also ended in a knockout.

Joe met a very serious resistance from the Argentine Oscar Bonavena (Oscar Bonavena) in September 1966. Bonavena knocked Frazier down in the second round, but Joe was on his feet by the count of five. After that, Bonavena only increased his pressure, but Fraser held out, and, moreover, became the winner in the end by a separate decision of the judges.

Following were the victorious fights with Eddie Machen (Eddie Machen); George Chuvalo; and again with Buster Mathis, who defeated Joe before the Olympics.

By the end of 1967, Frazier had a record record of 19 wins in 19 fights. Joe's next opponent was Jerry Quarry, a fight with whom, held in September 1969, was recognized as the "Fight of the Year".

In February 1970, Fraser received the right to fight for the WBA world champion belt; his opponent was Jimmy Ellis. The result was a knockout of Ellis in the fifth round. Frazier defended his title, as well as the WBC title, in a fight with the legendary Bob Foster, whom he knocked out in the 2nd round.

So, the fight between Frazier and the legendary Muhammad Ali became inevitable and obvious. Naturally, the excitement around this event was simply unthinkable - the battle took place on best arena America, in Madison Square Garden in New York (Madison Square Garden, New York, New York), and tickets for the duel were sold out in a month.

So, on March 8, 1971, after a grueling fight, which was later recognized as the "Fight of the Century", and lasted 15 rounds, the victory went to Joe Frazier by unanimous decision.

Later, Joe defended his titles more than once, including a fight with the indestructible Joe Bugner.

On October 1, 1975, another duel between Frazier and Ali took place; this time, reputedly, the boxers went out to kill each other. Ali won by TKO after 14 rounds. This fight was the greatest in the history of boxing, it set a record for the number of thrown punches, which was broken only 20 years later.

Frazier also lost his next fight with George Foreman.

So, a series of remarkable victories for Joe Frazier is over.

Despite this, Frazier is considered one of the preeminent professional heavyweight boxers, and one of the best punchers in boxing history, with one of the strongest left hooks in history. It was he who first managed to take away the title from Muhammad Ali.

Notably, Joe suffered from cataracts in both eyes.

More recently, 67-year-old Joe Frazier was diagnosed with a terrible diagnosis - liver cancer in a very severe stage. Sadly, the doctors' prognosis turned out to be, alas, disappointing for Joe Frazier - the disease did not leave him a single chance for life.

Joe Frazier, American boxing legend, passed away on November 7, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Joe Frazier - world boxing legend. American heavyweight boxer who won Olympic gold 1964 in Tokyo, became the WBA and WBC boxing world champion. Joe entered the ring and fought with the legendary boxers of all time - Muhammad Ali, George Foreman. In the boxing world, Frazier has stuck " Smokin' Joe, his blows were so strong that smoke came from his gloves, hence his nickname.

In November of the same year, a battle took place between undisputed heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, and the absolute champion in the light heavyweight category Bob Foster (). The meeting ended very quickly, in the 2nd round "Smoking" Joe knocked out Foster.

In the summer of 1970, from the previous undefeated legendary champion Muhammad Ali remove the disqualification, and according to this, the question arose publicly about their possible meeting. The viewer was interested in who is the true world champion?

March 8, 1971, enters the ring Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. It was historical battle(), for the first time in heavyweight history in a championship fight two boxing legends met, two "unbeaten" champions- one former, the other current. In a 15-round bout, Joe knocks down Muhammad. Ali endures the first in his professional career fiasco. All referees gave their preference to Joe Frazier, and the fight itself received the title of "fight of the year" according to the well-known magazine "Ring".

In 1972, Joe knocked out Terry Daniels () in the fourth round, and in May of the same year he defeated Ron Standler.

January 3, 1973, Jamaica. Fraser meets the undefeated and extremely dangerous George Foreman. It seemed that everything was against Joe that evening, 6 knockdowns and this was only in the first 2 rounds ... Frazier suffered a crushing defeat and lost his championship belts.

1974 year - second the battle Joe Frazier vs Muhammad Ali. This fight also ends for Frazier with a loss on points. In the future, he won, but he could not overcome the two walls of Foreman - Ali.

In September 1975, the third meeting took place between Frazier and Muhammad Ali, known to all as "Thrilla in Manila" (Thrilla in Manila). It was a difficult, unbearable and rather unpredictable fight in its intensity. Both legendary boxers radiated inhuman aggression, it was not a fight, it was a war. The duel received the title of "Battle of the Century" and was recognized the best fight of the year.

The number 4 has become some kind of fatal for the boxer. Four times he defended his title and lost 4 times, all four defeats (two from each) to Frazier were caused by Foreman and Ali. In June 1976, there was a duel at number two, between Frazier and Foreman. Joe lost by knockout in the fifth round. After this fight, any attempts to regain the title did not bring the desired results and he ended his sports career.

For 5 years, Frazier did not go to the platform of the ring. Later, on December 3, 1981, he made another attempt to return to boxing, he met in the ring against Floyd Cummings. At the end of ten rounds, the referee gave the boxers a controversial draw. Joseph Fraser's attempt again ended in failure for him, and now he has already completed his performances forever. The boxing legend is gone, but he will always be remembered.

Fraser did not move away from boxing, he began to train young boxers in his own gym. Joe Frazier began to live in a new way, he rests, travels the world, starred in films (in 1994 he got one of the main roles in Nick Stagliano's film "Resident Angels"). Joe is fond of music, as a result of which the world was able to hear several songs performed by him. Fraser treats his musical activity with great responsibility, seriousness and love, despite the evil tongues of American critics. Of course, he does not forget about boxing, how can you forget the love of your life?! He attends the fights of boxing stars of the present time.

For the last years of his life, he lived in a tiny run-down apartment near the railroad tracks in a Philadelphia suburb. It was in this apartment that "his life was shortened." He lost a lot of weight and even became shorter. Legendary boxer, American heavyweight Joe Frazier, died at the age of 67 from liver cancer on November 7, 2011. This terrible diagnosis took away from us a great boxer, a wonderful person. In his face, the world has lost an entire era...