Remembering Joe Frazier

Joe Frazier, who has died aged 67, was one of the great heavyweight boxers of his era, and will forever be remembered for his epic trilogy of fights with Muhammad Ali in the 1970s, the third of which — the so-called “Thrilla in Manila” — is widely regarded as the best fight of all time .Known as “Smokin Joe” because of his relentless all-action style, Frazier was not a great knockout artist but wore opponents down with his remorseless attacking approach. The most famous weapon in his arsenal was his feared left hook. It was one such blow which floored Ali in the final round of their first encounter – which itself had become known as “The Fight Of The Century” – at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 8 1971. I was in the 10th class , in Central School , Pathankot and we were all talking about how he had won the bout against Ali . Later on , George Foreman knocked out Frazier and Ali kayoed Foreman to become the world champ again.“Of all the men I fought,” Ali would recall, “the roughest and the toughest was Joe Frazier. He brought out the best in me and the best fight we fought was in Manila. Joe Frazier is a good man. I couldn’t have done it without him and he couldn’t have done what he did without me. And if God ever calls me to a holy war, I want Joe Frazier fighting beside me.”------------

http://www.joefrazier.com/biography.html