Frazier emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, defeating opponents that included Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones, George Chuvalo, and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali on points in the highly-anticipated "Fight of the Century" in 1971. Two years later Frazier lost his title when he was knocked out by George Foreman. He fought on, beating Joe Bugner, losing a rematch to Ali, and beating Quarry and Ellis again.
Frazier's last world title challenge came in 1975, but he was beaten by Ali in their brutal rubbermatch. He retired in 1976 following a second loss to Foreman. He made a comeback in 1981, fighting just once, before retiring for good. The International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) rates Frazier among the ten greatest heavyweights of all time. He is an inductee of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Frazier's style was often compared to that of Henry Armstrong and occasionally Rocky Marciano. He was dependent on bobbing, weaving, grunting, snorting as he grimaced with all out aggression wearing down his opponents with relentless pressure. His best known punch was a powerful left hook, which accounted for most of his knockouts.
After retiring, Frazier made cameo appearances in several Hollywood movies, and two episodes of The Simpsons. His son Marvis became a boxer — trained by Frazier himself — although was unable to emulate his father's success. Frazier continued to train fighters in his gym in Philadelphia. His later years saw the continuation of his bitter rivalry with Ali, in which the two periodically exchanged insults, interspersed with brief reconciliations.
Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011 and admitted to hospice care. He died November 7, 2011.
Early life
Joe Frazier was the 12th child born to Rubin and Dolly Frazier in Laurel Bay, Beaufort, South Carolina. Frazier said he was always close to his father, who carried him when he was a toddler "over the 10 acres of farmland" that the Fraziers owned, "to the still where he made his bootleg corn liquor, and into town on Saturdays to buy the necessities that a family of 10 needed." The young Frazier was affectionately called "Billy Boy."
Rubin had his left hand and part of his forearm amputated a year before Frazier was born. While Rubin and Dolly were in the car a friend named Arthur Smith, who was drunk at the time and was fond of meeting women, passed by and made a move for Dolly and was rebuffed. When Frazier's parents drove away Smith fired several bullets, hitting Dolly once in the foot and Rubin several times in the arm, which was hanging outside the car. Arthur Smith went to jail for the shooting, but did not stay long. As Joe's mother put it, "If you were a good workman, the white man took you out of jail and kept you busy on the farm."
His parents owned the 10 acre farm which they worked with "two mules, Buck and Jenny." Frazier said the land was what country folk called "white dirt, which is another way of saying it isn't worth a damn." The Frazier family couldn't grow peas or corn on it, they were only able to grow cotton and watermelon.
In the early '50s, Frazier's father got a black and white television. His father, his mother, her brothers and other people from the neighborhood would come to watch boxing matches on it. Frazier's mother sold drinks for a quarter as they watched fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Willie Pep, and Rocky Graziano. One night Frazier walked onto the porch of his house when his Uncle Israel noticed Frazier's stocky build. "That boy there...that boy is gonna be another Joe Louis" he remarked. The words made an impression on Joe. At school, his classmates would give him a sandwich or a quarter to walk with them at final bell so that bullies would not mess with them. Joe remarked, "Any 'scamboogah' (a disrespectful, low-down and foul person) who got in my face would soon regret it: Billy Boy could kick anybody's ass." The next day after Joe was labeled the next Joe Louis, he got an old burlap sack and filled it with rags, corncobs, a brick in the middle and Spanish moss that grew on trees all over Beaufort County. He then tied a rope to it and hung the makeshift heavybag from an oak tree in the backyard where the mules were kept. "For the next 6, 7 years, damn near every day I'd hit that heavybag for an hour at a time. I'd wrap my hands with a necktie of my Daddy's, or a stocking of my Momma's or sister's, and get to it" Joe remarked.
It was not long after Joe started working out that his left arm was seriously damaged because of the Fraziers' ornery 300 pound hog. The hog was very nasty from time to time, but sometimes Joe could not resist teasing it. One day Joe poked the hog with a stick and ran away, but someone had left the gate to the pigpen open and the hog ran through the gate, chasing Joe. In his hurry, Joe fell and hit his left arm on a brick. The arm was torn badly, but as the Frazier family was unable to pay for a doctor, the arm had to heal on its own. The arm eventually did heal, but Joe was never able to keep it fully straight again. It was crooked and lacking a full range of motion. But as it existed, it was as though it was cocked for the left hook — permanently cocked.
By the time Joe was 15 years old, he was working on a farm for a family named Bellamy. They were both white men, Mac who was the younger of the two and more easy going, and Jim who was a little rougher and somewhat backward. One day a little black boy of about 12 years old, damaged one of the Bellamy's tractors without meaning to. Jim Bellamy became so enraged he took off his belt and whipped the boy with his belt right there in the field. Joe saw the event and went back to the packing house on the farm and told his black friends what he had seen. It wasn't long before Jim Bellamy saw Joe and asked him why he told what he had witnessed. Joe then told Bellamy he didn't know what he was talking about, but Bellamy didn't believe Joe and threatened Joe to get off the farm before he took off his belt again. Joe told him he better keep his pants up because he wasn't going to use his belt on him. Jim then analyzed Joe for a bit and eventually said "Go on, get the hell outta here." Joe knew from that moment it was time for him to leave Beaufort; he could only see hard times and low-rent for himself. Even his Momma could see it. She told Joe "Son, if you can't get along with the white folks, then leave home because I don't want anything to happen to you."
The train fare from Beaufort to the cities up North was costly, and the closest bus-stop was in Charleston, 96 miles (154 km) away. Luckily by 1958, the bus (The Dog, as called by locals in Beaufort) had finally made Beaufort a stop on its South Carolina route. Joe had a brother, Tommy, in New York. He was told he could stay with Tommy and his family. Joe had to save up a bit before he could make the bus trip to New York and still have some money in his pocket, and so first he went to work at the local Coca-Cola plant. Joe remarked that the white guy would drive the truck and he would do the real work, stacking and unloading the crates. Joe stayed with Coca-Cola until the government began building houses for the marines stationed at Parris Island; at which time he was hired on a work crew.
Nine months eventually passed since he got the boot from the Bellamy farm. One day, with no fanfare, no tearful goodbyes, Joe packed quickly and got the first bus heading northward. "I climbed on the Dog's back and rode through the night" Joe remarked. "It was 1959, I was 15 years old and I was on my own."
Amateur career
During Frazier's amateur career, he Gloves heavyweight championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964. His only loss in three years as an amateur was to Buster Mathis. Mathis would prove to be Joe's biggest obstacle to making the 1964 U.S. Olympic Boxing team. They met in the final of the U.S. Olympic Trial at the New York World's Fair in the summer of 1964. Their fight was scheduled for three rounds, and they fought with 10 oz gloves and with headgear, even though the boxers who made it to Tokyo would wear no headgear and would wear 8 oz gloves. Joe was eager to get back at Mathis for his only amateur loss, and KO'd two opponents to get to the finals. But once again, when the dust settled, the judges had called it for Mathis, undeservedly Joe thought. "All that fat boy had done was run like a thief- hit me with a peck and backpedal like crazy." Joe would remark.
Mathis had worn his trunks very high, so that when Joe hit Mathis with legitimate body shots the referee took a dim view of them. In the second round, the referee had gone so far as to penalize Joe two points for hitting below the belt. "In a three-round bout a man can't afford a points deduction like that," Joe would say. Joe then returned to Philadelphia feeling as low as he'd ever been, and was even thinking of giving up boxing. Duke Dugent and his trainer Yank Durham were able to talk Joe out of his doldrums and even suggested Joe make the trip to Tokyo as an alternate, in case something happened to Mathis. Joe agreed and while there, he was a workhorse, sparring with any of the Olympic boxers who wanted some action. "Middleweight, light heavyweight, it didn't matter to me, I got in there and boxed all comers" Joe would say. In contrast, Mathis was slacking off. In the morning, when the Olympic team would do their roadwork, Mathis would run a mile, then start walking saying "Go ahead, big Joe. I'll catch up."
Professional career
After Frazier won the USA's only 1964 Olympic boxing gold medal, his trainer Yancey "Yank" Durham helped put together Cloverlay, a group of local businessmen (including a young Larry Merchant) who invested in Frazier's professional career and allowed him to train full-time. Durham was Frazier's chief trainer and manager until Durham's death in August 1973.
Frazier turned professional in 1965, defeating Woody Goss by a technical knockout in the first round. He won three more fights that year, all by knockout, none going past the third round.
Joe's second contest was of interest in that he was decked in round 1 by Mike Bruce. Frazier took an "8" count by referee Bob Polis but rallied for a TKO over Bruce in round 3.
In 1966, as Frazier's career was taking off, Durham contacted Los Angeles trainer Eddie Futch. The two men had never met, but Durham had heard of Futch through the latter's reputation as one of the most respected trainers in boxing. Frazier was sent to Los Angeles to train, before Futch agreed to join Durham as an assistant trainer. With Futch's assistance, Durham arranged three fights in Los Angeles against Al Jones, veteran contender Eddie Machen, and George "Scrapiron" Johnson. Frazier knocked out Jones and Machen, but surprisingly went 10 rounds with journeyman Johnson to win a unanimous decision. Johnson had apparently bet all his purse that he'd survive to the final bell, noted Ring magazine, and somehow he achieved it. But Johnson was known in the trade as 'impossibly durable'.
After the Johnson match, Futch became a full-fledged member of the Frazier camp as an assistant trainer and strategist, who advised Durham on matchmaking. It was Futch who suggested that Frazier boycott the 1967 WBA heavyweight elimination tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali, after the heavyweight champion was stripped of his title for refusing to be inducted into the military, although Frazier was the top-ranked contender at the time.
Futch proved invaluable to Frazier as an assistant trainer, helping modify his style. Under his tutelage, Frazier adopted the bob-and-weave defensive style, making him more difficult for taller opponents to punch, while giving Frazier more power with his own punches. While Futch remained based in Los Angeles, where he worked as a supervisor with the U.S. Postal Service, he was flown to Philadelphia to work with Frazier during the final preparations for all of his fights.
After Durham died of a stroke on August 30, 1973, Futch was asked to succeed him as Frazier's head trainer and manager--at the same time he was training heavyweight contender Ken Norton. Norton lost a rematch against Ali less than two weeks after Durham's death. At that point, Norton's managers, Robert Biron and Aaron Rivkind, demanded that Futch choose between training Frazier and Norton, with Futch choosing Frazier.
Wins World Championship – Ellis
On February 16, 1970, Frazier faced WBA champion Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden. Ellis had outpointed Jerry Quarry in the final bout of the WBA elimination tournament for Ali's vacated belt. Frazier had himself declined to participate with the WBA tournament to protest their decision to strip Ali. Ellis also held a win over Oscar Bonavena. Beforehand, Ali had announced his retirement and relinquished the heavyweight title, allowing Ellis and Frazier to fight for the undisputed title. Frazier won by a TKO when Ellis' trainer Angelo Dundee would not let him come out for the 5th round following two 4th round knockdowns (the first knockdowns of Ellis' career). His decisive win over Ellis was a frightening display of power and tenacity.
In his first title defense, Frazier traveled to Detroit to fight world light-heavyweight champion Bob Foster, who would go on to set a record for the number of title defenses in the light-heavyweight division. Frazier (26–0) retained his title by twice flooring the hard punching Foster in the second round. The second knock down came on a devastating left hook, and Foster could not beat the count. Then came what was hyped as the "Fight Of The Century", his first fight with Muhammad Ali, who had launched a comeback in 1970 after a three year suspension from boxing. This would be the first meeting of two undefeated heavyweight champions (and last until Mike Tyson faced Michael Spinks in 1988), since Ali (31–0) had not lost his title in the ring, but rather been stripped because of his refusal to be inducted in the Armed Forces, some considered him to be the true champion. This fight was to crown the one, true heavyweight champion.
Music career
During the late 1970s, Frazier created a soul-funk group called "Joe Frazier and the Knockouts", being mentioned in Billboard and recording a number of singles.
1980s comeback and coaching career
In 1981, Frazier attempted a comeback. He drew over 10 rounds with hulking Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings in Chicago, Illinois. It was a bruising battle with mixed reviews. He then retired for good.
After that, Frazier involved himself in various endeavors. Among his sons who turned to boxing as a career, he helped train Marvis Frazier, a challenger for Larry Holmes's world heavyweight title, and trained his daughter, Jackie Frazier-Lyde, whose most notable fight to date was a close points loss against Laila Ali, the daughter of his rival.
Frazier's overall record was 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw, with 27 wins by knockout. He won 73 percent of his fights by knockout, compared to 60 percent for Ali and 84 percent for Foreman. He was a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
In 1986, Frazier appeared as the "corner man" for Mr. T against Roddy Piper at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of WrestleMania 2. In 1989, Frazier joined Ali, Foreman, Norton, and Holmes for the tribute special Champions Forever.
Relationship with Muhammad Ali
While Ali's characteristic taunts of his opponent began typically enough, after regaining his title, his taunts eventually turned personal. Joe was painted by Ali as the white man's hope and as an "Uncle Tom," interjecting a racial element into an already contentious and controversial series of great bouts.
Frazier petitioned U.S. President Richard Nixon to have Ali's right to box reinstated, setting up the whole series of matches. (Frazier had boycotted the 1967 WBA heavyweight elimination tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali, after the champion had been stripped of the title.)
After years of remaining bitter, Frazier told Sports Illustrated in May 2009 that he no longer held hard feelings for Ali.
Ali was among those who attended the private funeral services for Frazier in Philadelphia on November 14, 2011. The Rev. Jesse Jackson gave remarks during the service, and at one point asked those in attendance to stand and "show your love." It was reported that Ali stood with the audience and clapped "vigorously."
Death
Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011. Within a few weeks, the cancer had metastasized. By November 2011, he was under hospice care, where he died on November 7. Upon hearing of Frazier's death, Muhammad Ali said, "The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration." Frazier's private funeral took place on 14 November at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and in addition to friends and family was attended by Muhammad Ali, Don King, Larry Holmes, Magic Johnson, Dennis Rodman, among others. He was later buried at the Ivy Hill Cemetery, a short drive from the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.