Joe Frazier dead at 67

http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_/id/7193707/joe-frazier-former-heavyweight-champ-seriously-ill-cancer

Frazier Under Hospice Care
Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier has liver cancer and is under hospice care.
Tags: Joe FrazierFrazier Under Hospice CarePHILADELPHIA -- Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier has liver cancer and is under hospice care.

The 67-year-old boxer was diagnosed four or five weeks ago, Frazier's personal and business manager said Saturday. Leslie Wolff told The Associated Press that doctors have not yet told Frazier how long he has to live.

"We have medical experts looking into the all the options that are out there," Wolff said. "There are very few. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop looking."

Wolff, who has been Frazier's manager for seven years, said the boxer had been in out and out of the hospital since early October and receiving hospice treatment the last week.

"We appreciate every prayer we can get," Wolff said. "I've got everybody praying for him. We"ll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for a miracle."

Frazier's illness was first reported by the New York Post, citing an unidentified source.

Frazier was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali, knocking him down and taking a decision in the so-called Fight of the Century in 1971. He would go on to lose two more fights to Ali, including the epic "Thrilla in Manila" bout.

Frazier was bitter for many years about the way Ali treated him then. More recently, he said he had forgiven Ali for repeatedly taunting him.

Smokin' Joe was a small yet ferocious fighter who smothered his opponents with punches, including a devastating left hook he used to end many of his fights early. It was the left hook that dropped Ali in the 15th round of their "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden in 1971 to seal a win in a bout where each fighter earned an unheard of $2.5 million.

While that fight is celebrated in boxing lore, Ali and Frazier put on an even better show in their third fight, held in a sweltering arena in Manila as part of Ali's world tour of fights in 1975. Nearly blinded by Ali's punches, Frazier still wanted to go out for the 15th round of the fight but was held back by trainer Eddie Futch in a bout Ali would later say was the closest thing to death he could imagine.

Frazier won the heavyweight title in 1970 by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round of their fight at Madison Square Garden. Frazier defended it successfully four times before George Foreman knocked him down six times in the first two rounds to take the title from him in 1973.

Frazier would never be heavyweight champion again.

In recent years, Frazier had been doing regular autograph appearances, including one in Las Vegas the weekend of a Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight in September.

"I was very sad to hear the news. It's a tragedy," leading British promoter Frank Warren said. "He's one of the greatest fighters of his generation and one of the best heavyweights in history. It's a sad thing and I know everyone in boxing will be wishing him well."

I was very sad to hear this. Smokin Joe is a legend and was 1 of the greatest fighters ever.

Is this God's doing?

It is a very sad day for not just Boxing fans but for sports fans in total. Joe frazier was a class act and was one of the truely all time greats!!! R.I.P Smokin Joe!!!!

RIP Smokin Joe

very sad,

the word legend gets thrown around too easily these days but frazier certainly was one.

RIP smokin' joe

timthebim wrote:

It is a very sad day for not just Boxing fans but for sports fans in total. Joe frazier was a class act and was one of the truely all time greats!!! R.I.P Smokin Joe!!!!

THIS

This guy was a king back when it still really meant something to be a HW Champ. RIP.

OU wrote:

+1

Joe's now sparring with Marciano and Louis.

PBF offered to pay for the funeral.

OU wrote:

PBF offered to pay for the funeral.

For real ?

Any word from Ali or Foreman yet ?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/nov/08/muhammad-ali-tribute-joe-frazier

Muhammad Ali leads tributes to the late Joe Frazier

Muhammad Ali has paid tribute to his greatest adversary, Joe Frazier, saying: "The world has lost a great champion." Frazier, who had been suffering from liver cancer, died overnight at the age of 67, his family confirmed in a statement, and tributes poured in from throughout the world of boxing and beyond.

But it is his fights with Ali for which Frazier is best remembered.

Frazier beat Ali on points in the so-called "Fight of the Century" in 1971, but lost in two further meetings including the epic Thrilla in Manila in 1975. On Tuesday Ali said: "The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones."

The pair had a troubled relationship, dating back to often racial taunts Ali directed at Frazier in the build-ups to their three fights in the early 1970s, but had been on much better terms in recent years.

Another memorable opponent, George Foreman, who won both of his bouts against Frazier and in 1973 became the first man to beat him, told the BBC: "Joe Frazier was the most amazing fighter. He never stood more than 5ft 10 in but he had every big man in boxing afraid of the little guys, he was such a terror. Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, we were big guys but when we got into a ring with Joe Frazier we had to have respect – and move. I talk to his family all the time, we were pretty close, and no one even mentioned that Joe was that sick."

But the tributes to Frazier were not limited to his contemporaries. Bernard Hopkins, the current light heavyweight champion and a native of Philadelphia, where Frazier made his home, said: "He had great discipline and a strong will to win. Joe Frazier is an icon and he will always be remembered that way. My condolences to the entire Frazier family. It's a very sad day in Philadelphia and all over the world. To be a fighter with a ring name such as 'Smokin', you're taking a big risk because you must be smokin' with that famous left hook, and he was."

Frazier had struggled financially since the end of his boxing career in 1981, living for some time in a one-bedroom flat above his Philadelphia gym. On his Twitter account Floyd Mayweather, the unbeaten world welterweight champion, offered to pay for his funeral. "RIP Smokin' Joe. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Frazier family. We lost an all-time great," he wrote. "My condolences go out to the family of the late great Joe Frazier. [My team] will pay for his funeral services."

Also on Twitter Oscar De La Hoya wrote simply: "I will miss you my friend. RIP Joe Frazier", while the world welterweight champion, Shane Mosley, added: "Joe Frazier one of the greatest heavyweight champions ever. RIP." Manny Pacquiao said: "Boxing lost a great champion, and the sport lost a great ambassador."

The British former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said he was "extremely saddened" by the news. "He made history in the greatest era ever of heavyweight boxing and his contributions to the sport are profound and immeasurable," he said. "My deepest sympathies go out to the Frazier family during this time of loss and grief and I would like them to know that they are in my prayers. He will be missed but never forgotten."

Foreman's long-time publicist Bill Kaplan said: "He was a very fun guy and he was a great fighter. The first fight with Ali, at the time it was considered to be the biggest fight promotion of all time and it probably still is. Ali and Frazier were both undefeated, Ali had been on a forced hiatus for three-and-a-half years [for refusing to be drafted to Vietnam] and while he was gone Joe became what we knew as the undisputed heavyweight champion.

"Ali came back, had a couple of fights and then felt he was ready to fight Joe to prove who was the real heavyweight champion. I'm sure his proudest moment was when he won that fight."

Joe Bugner, a former British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, lost on points to Frazier five months after being beaten by Ali in 1973. "Joe Frazier was relentless," Bugner said. "Here was a man about 5ft 10in, he weighed about a stone lighter than myself, but he was so courageous and ferocious, you had to literally hit him with a sledgehammer to put him away. In 1973 I was 23 years old. I became a man after that fight because I realised you can't go through a career like boxing without seeing and feeling the power of the greats.

"I happened to have the privilege of fighting Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali and a few others, but those two to me were the greatest. Joe took everything away I thought I had and made me realise I needed more, if I was going to succeed I needed a lot more. I'm so proud I fought him. It hit me like a lightning bolt when I heard he died."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2011/11/george-foreman-pays-touching-tribute-to-joe-frazier.html

George Foreman pays touching tribute to Joe Frazier

Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who inspired Howard Cosell's legendary call, "Down goes Frazier!" in dethroning Joe Frazier as world heavyweight champion, has just distributed a statement on Monday night's death of Smokin' Joe.

"The term 'one and only' has been widely used to introduce many a celebrity, athlete and politician. Generally they've appeared in print, TV or movies.

"With most of these folks, 'one and only' is the last definition they deserve. [Because when] you see them at home, at work, on the TV, campaigning, visiting the poor -- [and then] in the presence of the rich and famous -- you might see a different person.

"One hello for the rich, a goodbye for the poor.

"Even a special handshake for the haves and the have nots.
"But this is not the case with Smoking Joe Frazier.
"Truly the one and only.
"If you were his friend, you got no more than the stranger. "Jam Bugger," the highest compliment and form of praise from Smoking Joe.
"Joe Frazier, for me, was the first champion I followed and studied. I wanted to fight him one day. I looked for weakness: Anyone who treated big shots big and the little person small was a plastic person. This kind of person would melt when the going got rough.
"With Joe, first time we met, I extended my hand for a handshake. He held back his hand and said, 'George, meet my wife.' After I greeted his Mrs., he then said, 'Hello' and 'Nice to meet you, George,'
with a firm handshake. Nothing weak in his game. Everyone was the same.
"Joe Frazier had journeyed from the Southern part of the U.S., worked hard to provide for his wife and children, making sure they'd [find] a better life than the one he found so hard. They would get a good education and a chance to take part in the American dream -- which meant no bowing down to any man, woman or child.
"Church and service to almighty God would be first in the family's life. Preaching to your kids is one thing, but example was another. Even his fighting style was his way of life. When the bell rings, he
would not back up from King Kong!
"I know, I knocked Joe down six times. When our fight was over, Joe was on his feet looking for me.
When the world changed, Joe Frazier [didn't distinguish between people]. If you were a man, you got a handshake, all women would get a personal "yes, ma'am." It didn't matter the color of your skin; if you wanted to be friends, you could. ... Joe was willing to slam down anywhere, then a handshake after.
"The new world brought new names such as ghetto, soul brother, Tom. Joe has been called them all. But just like the old Southern term "boy," Joe did not box around it and has not [side-stepped] any, but met them head-on with words like "boogie" and a song and dance.
"Yes, when his fellow man had mean [or] hurtful names for him, Joe got his band together and toured the world singing and dancing the Joe Frazier story. The world knows Joe Frazier, [he] did it his way.
"Talk about Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali. Even me (George Foreman), but the fact is: There is only one common, ordinary, everyday Joe.
"And he is 'The One and Only Joe Frazier.' "
George Foreman

Thanks G.

Quote :

Dan Rafael
HBO pays tribute to Joe Frazier by replaying the 2009 documentary 'Thrilla in Manila.' Film airs Thursday, 6:30 pm ET/PT. It's outstanding.

RIP

Quote :

Dan Rafael
Was told that @MikeTyson will ring the bell at tonight's fight for the Joe Frazier 10-count. #boxing

Some really classic stuff here.

dinner conversation with Joe Frazier, Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Ken Norton hosted by Reggie Jackson.

GDPofDRC wrote:

Some really classic stuff here.

dinner conversation with Joe Frazier, Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Ken Norton hosted by Reggie Jackson.

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/asyQAAdbpDk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Thats big time ass kickers at that table there.