Who Is Joe Frazier ?
Joe Frazier was christened Joseph William Frazier at birth. However, he is a pro boxer who was the world champ in the heavy weight category in the early part of the 1970s, and he was also a gold medalist at the Olympics. But Joe is remembered most in the world of boxing for his three fights with Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight world champ. |
Frazier’s professional career as a heavyweight boxer began soon after he won the gold medal at the 1964 Olympics. In his first pro fight, Joe defeated Woody Goss in the 1st round through a technical knock out. He then went on to win 3 more fights the same year. In 1966, Frazier won nine fights out of which 8 were knockouts. In 1967, he won all his four fights by technical knockouts.
In 1967, Frazier was declared the world boxing champ after he defeated Buster Mathis via a technical knock out in the eleventh round. He then went on to defend his title successfully by defeating the likes of Manuel Ramos and Bonavena the following year. However, it was in 1970 that Joe was declared the undisputed champ of the world in the heavy weight category when he defeated Jimmy Ellis.
On 8 March 1971 Frazier fought one of the most well-known matches of the boxing history when he took on Muhammad Ali. Joe with his powerful punches and ferocious left hook defeated Ali in the 15th round. This historic match was witnessed by celebrities and famous personalities from all over the world. Frazier remained the undisputed heavy weight champ for the next three years before losing the title to George Foremen in 1973 at Jamaica, Kingston.
Frazier went on to fight Muhammad Ali once more in 1974. However, this bout was won by Ali in the 12th round. The two kings of boxing met for the 3rd time in the Philippines which was won by Ali in the 14th round. This famous fight was dubbed as Thrilla in Manila.
After few more defeats Frazier retired in the year 1976. In the year 1981, he made bid to return to pro boxing. However, this was unsuccessful as Frazier fought just one match on his return. This time, he decided to retire for real and went on to open the Joe Frazier Gymnasium in Philadelphia where he trained aspiring young boxers.
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