Boxing legend Joe Frazier has died. Biography of Joe Fraser in a white fur coat

Joe Frazier - world boxing legend. American heavyweight boxer, who won Olympic gold in 1964 in Tokyo, became the world champion in the WBA and WBC boxing versions. Joe entered the ring and fought with legendary boxers of all times - Muhammad Ali, George Foreman. In the boxing world, Frazier has become " "Smokin" Joe, his punches 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 light heavyweight champion Bob Foster (). The meeting ended very quickly; in the 2nd round, “Smoking” Joe knocked out Foster.

In the summer of 1970 from the previous invincible legendary champion Muhammad Ali the disqualification is lifted, and therefore the question of their possible meeting arose outside the public eye. The viewer was interested in who is the true world champion?

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

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

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

1974 - second fight Joe Frazier vs Muhammad Ali. This fight also ends with a loss on points for Fraser. Later he won, but he was never able to overcome the two Foreman-Ali walls.

In September 1975, the third meeting between Frazier and Muhammad Ali took place, known to everyone as the "Thrilla in Manila". It was a difficult, unbearable and rather unpredictable battle in its intensity. Both boxing legends radiated inhuman aggression, this was not a fight, this was a war. The fight received the title “Battle of the Century” and was recognized as the best fight of the year.

The number 4 became somehow fatal for the boxer. He defended his title four times and lost four times, all four defeats (two from each) to Frazier were inflicted by Foreman and Ali. In June 1976, fight number two took place 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, Fraser did not enter 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 referees gave the boxers a controversial draw. Joseph Fraser's attempt again ended in failure for him and now he has finished his performances forever. A boxing legend is gone, but he will always be remembered.

Fraser did not move away from boxing; he began training young boxers in his own gym. Joe Fraser began to live in a new way, he relaxes, travels the world, acts in films (in 1994 he got one of the main roles in Nick Stagliano’s film “Residence of Angels”). Joe is passionate about music, as a result of which the world was able to hear several songs performed by him. Fraser treats his musical activities with great responsibility, seriousness and love, despite the evil tongues of American critics. Of course, he doesn’t forget about boxing, how can you forget the love of your life?! He attends fights between boxing stars of today.

The last years of his life he lived in a tiny, ramshackle apartment next to the railroad tracks in suburban Philadelphia. 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 person the world lost an entire era...

Joe Frazier is an American professional boxer who competed in the heavy weight category. Olympic champion in 1964, world champion in the heavy weight category. He received the nickname "Smoking Joe".

Joe Frazier was born in 1944 in Beaufort, South Carolina. His debut took place in 1965. A year later, by a split decision, he was declared the winner of the fight with Oscar Bonavena, despite the fact that the enemy knocked Fraser down twice.

In 1967 he knocked out George Chuvalo.

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

In 1969, he defeated Jerry Kvari by technical knockout in the 7th round. This meeting was named “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

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

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

In March 1971, a legendary fight took place with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. For the first time in the history of the heavyweight division, two opponents who had never lost a fight met in the ring in a championship fight. In the 15th round, Joe knocked Ali down with a beautiful left hook and won the fight. Ali could not forget the defeat by Joe for the rest of his career. The fight received the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

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

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

In July 1973, Frazier won on points over Joe Bugner.

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

In 1975, the third and most brutal fight between Frazier and Ali took place. The battle took place in 30 degrees Celsius heat. Until the very end, the outcome of the battle was unclear; the battle was extremely aggressive. From the first to the fifth round, Ali had the advantage, from the sixth to the 11th - Frazier. After the next 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 could not see in his right (the coach showed three fingers and asked to count them, Frazier answered “one”).

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

The fight was stopped by Fraser's trainer. Ali was given the victory. After this fight, Ali called Frazier the best boxer after him. The fight was called “Thriller in Manila” and the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

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

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

Joe Frazier made his last return to boxing in 1981. He met with 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.

Fraser returned to coaching and promoting. His son Marvis made his debut in the professional ring, and throughout his career he suffered defeats just like his father - from two outstanding boxers.

Based on materials from ru.wikipedia.org

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

Yesterday, boxer Joe Frazier would have turned 70. Yes, he was no more graceful than Muhammad Ali in the ring, but outside of it, Joe Frazier was many times superior to his counterpart in the ability to behave with dignity and act like a gentleman.

On the evening of March 8, 1971, in a packed Madison Square Garden, cufflinks flashing from under the sleeves of his black suit, Frank Sinatra makes his way through the crowd of spectators. That evening he himself was a fan - with a camera in his hands he came to watch the event, which would later be called the “fight of the century”. In the arena there is a duet of undefeated world champions: Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier. To say that there were no tickets available for this match would be an understatement. Sinatra himself, in order to be in the forefront, had to obtain accreditation as a photojournalist for Life magazine.

Sports photographers, of course, are shocked by the honor of working next to the maestro and often photograph him rather than the ring, but Frank doesn’t care.

The hall roars. "Historic moment!" - shouts the commentator. Ali, in a red robe, is the first to enter the ring as a challenger. He has 31 wins (25 by knockout) and no defeats.

Next comes the champion, whose track record includes 26 victories (23 by knockout) and also not a single defeat. Fraser, nicknamed Smoking Joe, is wearing an emerald robe.

Three days before the events described, that same weekly magazine Life came out with a black cover, on which two gentlemen in tuxedos stood side by side - Ali and Frazier. Below is the signature “Fight of Champions.” A circulation of 7 million copies was sold within 24 hours.

It is almost impossible to win the minds and hearts of people with fists in a progressive society. No matter how much you hit some, it will not be enough for others. Joe Frazier became the absolute world champion in February 1970 (at that time there were two boxing titles - the WBC and WBA - and he had both). But when the world is against you, even this does not help. A fighter with an impeccable reputation, who beat everyone he could, was not recognized as a real champion. The press and public unanimously insisted that one cannot be considered the first without beating Muhammad Ali.

Ali himself suggested this idea to the newspapermen, not forgetting to pour tons of slop at Fraser. The horror was that Ali had been truly invincible and unattainable for three years now - for refusing to fight in Vietnam, the government banned him from performing in the United States, deprived him of his boxing license and championship title. Naturally, a martyr and fighter for truth, he was number one in the eyes of the public. Fraser was seen by everyone as fake. Instead of quietly earning money by defending the title against official contenders, Joe Fraser chose an impassable but noble route. He put on his best suit and went to an audience with President Nixon asking him to allow Ali to enter the ring against him. “Ali broke the law, so you are the world champion,” the president answered judiciously. “But if you want to fight this man, he’s yours.”

It is known that there are two types of people. For some, everything is given thanks to, for others - in spite of. Joseph William Fraser was one of the latter. Although, if you look at his biography, he was lucky. For example, he turned out to be the youngest, eleventh child in the family, which gave him great privileges. Joe had two shirts - one for school, the other for walking. No one in the area had a more extensive wardrobe - he was a dandy from the cradle. In addition, he was lucky with his father - a successful bootlegger - so there was a television in the family.

On Wednesdays, neighbors gathered at the Fraser house to watch boxing matches. Little Joe ran around in front of the screen, imitating the fighters. One of the neighbors once joked: “This guy will become the next Joe Louis!” (world heavyweight champion 1937-1948, best knockout fighter in the world according to the American magazine Ring Magazine. - Ed.) The guy believed. He hung a bag of rags, corn tops and a couple of bricks on a tree and beat it down every day. True, this did not foreshadow any championship career. On top of that, Joe had an accident - little Fraser was hit by a huge boar, and he broke his left arm at the elbow. The arm has grown together incorrectly, and it will not be possible to fully straighten it for the rest of my life.

At the age of 15, Joe moved to New York, but the boxing capital of the world did not accept him. All the time was spent trying to get a job and somehow survive. At one time, he even stole old cars, selling them for scrap for $50 apiece. From there, Frazier moved to Philadelphia, where he stayed with relatives and was able to concentrate on training. In the mornings he jogged through the streets, finishing the route at the threshold of the Museum of Art, during the day he skinned calf carcasses, and in the evening he went to the gym. (For those who have seen the movie Rocky, the stories may seem similar, but more on that later.)

The broken arm, as it turned out later, was unbending exactly at the angle that was provided by the most powerful left hook among heavyweights. Even small by the standards of the heavy division (182 cm, 82 kg) and with short arms, but hitting like a sledgehammer, he could well count on success, if not for a much more terrible attack. Fraser carefully hid from others that he had cataracts in both eyes. If the right one could see more or less, then the left one was in complete trouble. “It’s okay, I somehow adapted,” he will say in 2005, smiling, already an old man, in an interview with the Sport-Express newspaper. Often eye cataracts at an early age can be a consequence of diabetes, but Fraser was in excellent shape - no one thought of forcing him to take tests, and Joe managed to fool the ophthalmologists (strangely, but even in this, fate played along with him). With such a disease, a couple of accurate ones - and you can go blind. It’s better to be blind and rich than blind and poor, Fraser decided and, gritting his teeth, frantically began to prepare for the 1964 Olympics.

In the qualifying tournament, the thug Buster Mathis came out against Joe and won the fight. The Olympics waved its hand. It’s not that Fraser didn’t give up or decided to wait for the next Olympics. No. He went to the training camp in New Orleans with Mathis to help him prepare, because he had no other worthy sparring partners. Then, retelling the story of Smoking Joe, the media will write that Mathis suffered an injury and, by a happy coincidence, Fraser was sent to the competition, where he suddenly beat everyone. In fact, Fraser literally carried Buster's block on himself, forcing him to train. Every morning I pushed the lazy guy out for a run so that he would run at least half of Fraser’s distance.

Again, Joe’s fierce thirst to be the best helped him, and he found himself in the Olympic ring, quickly knocking out all the contenders stronger and bigger than him. In the semi-finals everything was going well, but then - bam! - a crunch in the left hand, a broken finger. His main weapon - a killer left hook - was left without ammunition. He goes to the final battle. And he still wins, albeit on points.

Just a finished movie. But on screen such a plot would look implausible. Even if you say: “Based on true events.” Perhaps this is what Sylvester Stallone was thinking about when he wrote the story of the clumsy boxer Rocky, which became an absolute hit in 1976. The public is ready to fall in love with a kind, sluggish drunk who squanders his talent in low-grade, penny fights, working as a bouncer for a petty gangster and sipping beer in a bar, on whom the chance to fight the champion fell right out of the sky. To admit that among us lives a rare breed of people for whom circumstances do not exist is humiliating.

“Ali usually dances, but today he doesn’t seem to be in the mood for dancing,” says the commentator, watching as Smoking Joe bull-charges Ali round after round, and Mohammed, in his red bullfighter’s rag, is smeared on the ropes. trying to hold him back. Frazier will beat Ali all rounds and eventually “wipe the floor with him.” Joe will break the jaw of the hitherto undefeated Ali, who admits after the fight that Frazier is a great boxer (after himself, of course), and Sinatra will stand by and watch the next victory of a real champion.
In the same year, 1971, Frazier and his soul group Smokin Joe Frazier and the Knockouts recorded a cover of Sinatra's hit My Way, released two years earlier. Each participant received $2.5 million for the fight, and Fraser, in his finest hour, spent it as he had long dreamed of.

Everything that the fashion designers of the 70s could offer - black fur coats, double-breasted jackets and coats, diamond rings, shirts with prohibitively large lapels and wide-brimmed hats - Fraser wore all this with such gloss that neither Ali nor other athletes. He could easily match his sense of style with Robert Redford or Gregory Peck. “Burst, but keep it in style” - this is about Fraser. When he lost to the thug George Foreman in 1973 (falling six times in two rounds, but never giving up), after the fight Joe, with a slight chuckle, modestly remarked about his opponent: “Foreman hits well. Very good".

Birthday January 12, 1944

legendary American professional boxer who competed in the heavy weight category

Biography

1965-1981

Until 1965 he performed among amateurs. In 1964, at the Tokyo Olympics, 20-year-old Joe won gold in the super heavyweight category, defeating Soviet boxer Vadim Emelyanov in the semifinals and German Hans Huber in the final with a score of 3-2. He became a professional in August 1965.

In September 1966, he defeated Oscar Bonavena by split decision. Frazier was knocked down twice in the 2nd round.

In July 1967, he knocked out George Chuvalo in the 4th round.

In December 1968, a second fight took place between Frazier and Oscar Bonavena. This time Frazier won by unanimous decision.

In September 1969, Jerry Quari defeated him in the 7th round by technical knockout. The fight received the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

In February 1970, a fight took place between Fraser and WBA world heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis. The vacant WBC world heavyweight title was also at stake. Frazier knocked out the champion in the 5th round.

In November, a fight took place between Fraser, who at that time held the title of absolute world heavyweight champion, and the absolute world light heavyweight champion Bob Foster. Frazier knocked out his opponent in the 2nd round.

In March 1971, Frazier entered the ring against former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. For the first time in the history of the heavyweight division, two unbeaten champions fought in a championship fight - one former, the other current. Frazier had good speed and was able to resist Ali. In the 15th round, he scored a beautiful knockdown on the former champion (the 3rd in Ali’s career). Ali lost for the first time. The fight received the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

In January 1972, he knocked out Terry Daniels in the 4th round.

In May, he knocked out Ron Standler in the 5th round.

In January 1973, a fight took place between two undefeated boxers - Frazier and George Foreman. Frazier was knocked down three times in the first round and three times in the second. Foreman won by technical knockout in the 2nd round. The fight received the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

In July he defeated Joe Bugner on points.

In January 1974, Frazier's second fight took place against Muhammad Ali. This time Ali won on points.

In June, a second fight took place between Fraser and Jerry Kvari. Frazier knocked out his opponent in the 5th round.

In March 1975, the 2nd fight took place between Fraser and Jimmy Ellis. Frazier knocked out his opponent in the 9th round.

In September, a third fight took place between Frazier and Muhammad Ali. The battle took place in incredible heat - more than 30 degrees. It was a stubborn and aggressive fight with intrigue until the very end: Ali and Frazier staged a real fight. From the first to the fifth round, Ali had the advantage, from the sixth to the 11th, Frazier “beat” Ali, after the next 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 could not see in his right (the coach showed three fingers and asked to count them, Frazier answered “one”). At the same time, in his corner, Ali asked to take off his gloves (“I’m very tired, take off my gloves”) and, according to his doctor, he would not have been able to enter the 15th round. After the fight ended, Mohammed stood up and fell unconscious in his corner. In whose favor the fight would have ended if Fraser’s coach had not stopped him remains a question. After this fight, Ali called Frazier the best boxer after himself and said that he greatly underestimated him. The fight was called “Thriller in Manila” and the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

In June 1976, a second fight took place between Frazier and George Foreman. Frazier lost by knockout in the 5th round. After this fight, he did not enter the ring for 5 years.

In December 1981 he returned to boxing. He entered the ring against the little-known Floyd Cummings. At the end of 10 rounds, the judges gave it a controversial draw. After this fight, Frazier retired from boxing.

In 1994, he starred in the film Home Of Angels.

2011

In 2011, Joe Fraser was diagnosed with liver cancer in one of the last stages. Smokin' Joe's manager Leslie Wolfe announced this sad news to the public.

On November 14, the funeral of the legendary Joe Frazier, who died of liver cancer last week, took place in Philadelphia. At the farewell ceremony, in addition to relatives and friends, more than 4,000 people were present. Famous faces at the ceremony included Muhammad Ali, Don King, Larry Holmes, Bernard Hopkins, Mike Tyson, Mickey Rourke, Donald Trump and many others.

In 1964, he qualified for the Olympic Games, although he lost the qualifying final to Buster Mathis. Mathis was unable to travel to Tokyo due to injury.

In the Olympic final at the Korakuen Ice Palace, Joe will box with a broken arm against Germany's Hans Huber.

NY. 1968 Joe beats that same Buster Mathis in the pros.

March 8, 1971. NY. Frazier entered the ring against former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. For the first time in the history of the heavyweight division, two unbeaten champions fought in a championship fight - one former, the other current.

He also knew how to dress cool and sing. Joe recorded several singles. His work has been played on Motown, Capitol, Prodigal, Cloverlay, Contempo, P.I.P and his own music label, Knockout Records. In addition to the Knockout Records label, he also had his own funk group, Joe Frazier’s Knockouts. “My Way” is an interpretation of the French song “Claude François – Comme d’habitude” by Claude François, which gained worldwide popularity in the English version by Paul Anka and performed by Frank Sinatra. Fraser rewrote the lyrics of “My Way” in a boxing style, so that it began to resemble the plot of the Rocky movie, there is even a line “Sly way”! The single was released in 1971, after the epic fight between Frazier and Muhammad Ali, in which Joe won by knocking Ali down in the fifteenth round. That fight was known in the media as the “fight of the century”!

Frank Sinatra was present at that fight as a photojournalist for Life magazine.

The motto of the 70s was the expression “Anything is possible!” A whole galaxy of new fashion designers has appeared. Joe tried to keep up.

A duel of glances with George Foreman.

January 22, 1973, Kingston, Jamaica. Foreman won by technical knockout in the 2nd round. The fight received the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine.

Second and final meeting with Foreman.

In this photo taken on September 3, 1980, Joe touches the hands of his sons Marvis Frazier (right) and James Schuler (left). New York, Madison Square Garden.

2002, Pennsylvania. Joe signed autographs with his son Marvis (left) and daughter Jackie Fraser-Lyda (right) after the exhibition at Abington.

In June 2001, Jackie would lose his fight to Laila Ali (Mohammed's daughter).

The author of the photograph, Walter Loose, told how Ali easily agreed to pose, but Joe had to be persuaded for a long time. The photographer believes that despite the passage of time, Fraser is still tormented by his defeat. “Joe finally agreed when we offered to come to his gym in Philadelphia. I knew it would be a difficult shoot because Ali has Parkinson's and it turns out Joe Frazier is diabetic. When Ali came in, I put a chair in the ring for him. Then Joe said, “What about me? Boy, I can hardly walk. My legs are killing me." But still, they were both happy, laughing and joking when I photographed them. Towards the end of filming, I switched the camera to sepia. I said, “Listen guys, just look into the lens. No smiles or jokes needed." I took one shot, then another, and finally it was what I wanted: Two tired, broken warriors who left their lives in the ring.”

In 2002, they will be invited together to the award ceremony in Hollywood.

2007 36 years have passed, but he still remains true to himself.

“The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration." - Muhammad Ali.

"Good night, Joe Fraser." “I love you, dear friend,” Foreman wrote on Twitter.

Lennox Lewis told the BBC about Frazier: “Without him, other boxing heroes would not have been as great as they were because their talent was tested against him.”

“He was definitely a legendary [boxer]. This is very sad for his family. Nobody likes to hear great heroes pass away. This is a very sad day for boxing,” Lewis added.

photo: boxingScene.com, sports-yahoo.com and Matt Slocum.