JANUARY 12th
JANUARY 12th
January 12, 1920 - 1st Regiment Armory - Fred Fulton 52-5-0 & Frank Moran (The Pittsburgh Dentist) 35-9-2 fought to an 8 round no decision, no contest (from the world Almanac - Popular Verdict, a win for Fulton)
Scapp:
"A champion, a true champion is to take on all capable challengers. A true champion defends his title, and looks for matches that pose a threat in order to prove to the world he deserves to be called the best of the best."
"Man, it really felt good to be home and some of my family and grandkids were here so we had a very pleasant evening. Again, thanks for all of the encouragement and kind words. You are truly a great bunch of friends."
"A champion, a true champion is to take on all capable challengers. A true champion defends his title, and looks for matches that pose a threat in order to prove to the world he deserves to be called the best of the best."
"Man, it really felt good to be home and some of my family and grandkids were here so we had a very pleasant evening. Again, thanks for all of the encouragement and kind words. You are truly a great bunch of friends."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE FRAZIER
On this day in 1944, Joe Frazier was born in Beaufort, SC.
Best remembered for his three epic bouts with Muhammad Ali, Smokin' Joe posted a career record of 32-4-1 (27 KO).
He is the easy choice for many compiling their list of best-ever Philly fighters based on his global impact and overall place in boxing history. As an amateur, Frazier won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics, and as a pro held the Heavyweight Title from 1968 to 1973. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMOKIN' JOE!
Phillyfighters.com
On this day in 1944, Joe Frazier was born in Beaufort, SC.
Best remembered for his three epic bouts with Muhammad Ali, Smokin' Joe posted a career record of 32-4-1 (27 KO).
He is the easy choice for many compiling their list of best-ever Philly fighters based on his global impact and overall place in boxing history. As an amateur, Frazier won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics, and as a pro held the Heavyweight Title from 1968 to 1973. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMOKIN' JOE!
Phillyfighters.com
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scappoosejohn
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From thesweetscience.com:
On this day in 1894, Georges Carpentier was born in Lens, France. “The Orchid Man” is arguably the greatest boxer to ever come out of Europe.
Carpentier turned professional at the age of 14, and won the European middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight titles before he was 20 years old. His career was halted when France entered World War I and Carpentier joined his country’s military. He served as an observation pilot during the war and was twice decorated.
After World War I ended, Carpentier traveled to the United States and won the world light heavyweight title with a fourth-round knockout of Battling Levinsky in 1920. A year later, he challenged Jack Dempsey for his world heavyweight title. In front of a crowd of 80,000, Carpentier fought bravely, despite breaking his right thumb in the second round. However, Dempsey was much bigger and stronger, and was able to put Carpentier away for good in the fourth round.
Carpentier successfully defended his light heavyweight belt with a first-round knockout of Ted “Kid” Lewis in 1922, but lost it to Battling Siki later that year. He continued fighting until 1926, but did not challenge for another world title.
Upon retiring, Carpentier was an actor and restaurateur. He passed away in 1975 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
On this day in 1894, Georges Carpentier was born in Lens, France. “The Orchid Man” is arguably the greatest boxer to ever come out of Europe.
Carpentier turned professional at the age of 14, and won the European middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight titles before he was 20 years old. His career was halted when France entered World War I and Carpentier joined his country’s military. He served as an observation pilot during the war and was twice decorated.
After World War I ended, Carpentier traveled to the United States and won the world light heavyweight title with a fourth-round knockout of Battling Levinsky in 1920. A year later, he challenged Jack Dempsey for his world heavyweight title. In front of a crowd of 80,000, Carpentier fought bravely, despite breaking his right thumb in the second round. However, Dempsey was much bigger and stronger, and was able to put Carpentier away for good in the fourth round.
Carpentier successfully defended his light heavyweight belt with a first-round knockout of Ted “Kid” Lewis in 1922, but lost it to Battling Siki later that year. He continued fighting until 1926, but did not challenge for another world title.
Upon retiring, Carpentier was an actor and restaurateur. He passed away in 1975 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
"A champion, a true champion is to take on all capable challengers. A true champion defends his title, and looks for matches that pose a threat in order to prove to the world he deserves to be called the best of the best."
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The following entries have been merged from a different thread into this one.
on this date 2007 scappoosejohn wrote:Joe Frazier was born on this date. This is from eurosport.com:
By James Slater: What a month for legendary heavyweight champions January is. Not only was George Foreman born in this month, on the 10 but his two most famous adversaries were as well. Both Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali - also came into the world in the year's first month.
By James Slater: What a month for legendary heavyweight champions January is. Not only was George Foreman born in this month, on the 10th, in 1949 (as recounted in my previous piece) but his two most famous adversaries were as well. Both Joe Frazier and - the man who holds the mantle, surely, as THE most famous boxer of all-time, Muhammad Ali - also came into the world in the year's first month, on the 12th, in 1944 and on the 17th in 1942, respectively. More than enough ink will be used in writing tributes to "The Greatest's" sixty-fifth birthday next week,so in this article I look back instead at the ring exploits of the man so often sadly relegated to being remembered as having merely been Ali's supporting player.
Joseph William Frazier was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, sixty-three years ago today (Jan 12). Born into a hard working family that, if they wasn't flat out broke, was certainly what one could class as being poor, Joe soon relocated to the place with which he would forever be associated - Philadelphia. Arguably "The City of Brotherly Love's" most cherished and well known pugilist, Joe very quickly won praise for his determination and all-out aggressive style. Like Rocky Marciano before him, Joe soon realised that his shortcomings - of both a physical standpoint, along with his not having been blessed with anything like naturally silky boxing skills - would have to be overcome with sheer hard work and a reliance on inner strength.
Standing only Five feet, eleven and a half inches tall, and with noticeably shorter arms than most heavyweights, Joe was to develop a fighting style that saw him take three or four punches on the way to landing his own when inside his opponent's reach. When there, however, he would make his own shots tell. Such a style was possible only due to Joe's solid chin and ability to take wicked punishment. His first and most influential trainer, Yank Durham, always envisioned a relatively short career for Joe - who he nicknamed "Smokin'" because he would constantly yell at Joe to make smoke come from the heavy bag when in training. Taking twice as many punches as the ones that you land yourself is never a strategy that will provide long years at the top. Therefore Joe would have to make each fight count - win the title, make as much money defending it as possible and then get out of the game.
After being selected for the 1964 Olympic team in Tokyo (he replaced Buster Mathis, who pulled out) and the subsequent gold medal it brought him, Frazier set about making it as a pro. He boxed his debut in August of 1965, winning a first round stoppage over one Woody Goss. Pretty soon Joe's superb left hook began getting him noticed. His most effective and famous punch was actually acquired in his formative years. According to Joe himself, he developed his natural left hook when, assisting his one armed father in various farming chores, he became his "left hand man." The hard work he had been subject to when barely in his teens paid off, and now "Smokin'" Joe's rigorous work ethic was serving him no end of good.
He powered his way to 17 straight wins, all but one of the victories coming without any trouble, before achieving his first really big and impressive win. The tough night came against the hard as nails Argentine, Oscar Bonavena, in 1966. Knocked down twice in the second round, Joe was one more trip to the floor away from an automatic stoppage defeat. He scraped through the round, however, and was awarded a close and debatable split decision triumph. These two would meet again down the road. Then came the interest garnering win. Joe absolutely pummelled Canadian heavyweight George Chuvalo, to the extent that the fight was a gruesome one to view. With his face a complete mess, the gutsy Chuvalo was stopped in the fourth round. Frazier was well and truly on his way.
It was around this time, however, that all things heavyweight got a bit messy. Muhammad Ali, having refused induction into the Vietnam war, was stripped of his world championship and a series of elimination bouts to decide his successor was set in motion. Fighters such as Jimmy Ellis, Floyd Patterson, and Jerry Quarry participated in the elimination bouts. But, in a wise move, Yank Durham refused to let Joe take part. Instead, Joe fought the aforementioned Buster Mathis, for what the New York State would recognise as the heavyweight championship. Joe won in 11 rounds and now had at least some claim to the throne. Then, after all the hard work had been done by the eight fighters in the eliminations, Joe challenged the winner, for the right to be called the one, true champ. Jimmy Ellis was the man, and Joe KO'd him in four sensational rounds. He was now the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Or was he?
With the shadow of Muhammad Ali hanging over him, Joe knew he would never be the "real" king until he'd beaten the undefeated former title holder. Fortunately, for both Ali and Frazier and we the fans, Muhammad's boxing licence was reinstated and "The Fight of The Century" was on. The date was March 8, 1971, and the greatest rivalry in boxing history was born. Ali had beaten two men in his comeback. After more than three years out he had conquered both Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonaveva. Both men had been in with Frazier - twice in the case of Oscar, who Joe defeated for a second time, this time on points over rounds, in 1968, two years after their initial and closer encounter (Joe would also box a second match with Quarry in time). And after these two ring returns , Ali felt ready to get in there with Joe. For the first time in history, two unbeaten heavyweight champions would collide. The rest is history, of course. Joe proved to everyone he was indeed the genuine champion, beating Ali over 15 gruelling rounds to retain his championship. The fifteenth and final round knockdown Joe scored is today the stuff of legend. Ali had lost for the very first time.
Retirement could very well have been justified in Joe's case at this time. He'd done everything asked of him, his record was still without a blemish and he had his health and financial security. Who knows, if Frazier had quit then he might be even more highly ranked in the greatest ever heavyweights charts these days. What is for certain is the fact that his peak years had passed, and what followed was, while still more than dignified, a slowly declining career. After a couple of easy wins over relative journeymen, Joe was badly beaten by the division's new star, George Foreman, in January 1973. Six times in as many minutes Joe was sent crashing to the mat. His title was gone, and with it, seemingly, were Ali's hopes of a revenge inducing rematch with him. What actually followed were the two fights for which Ali and Frazier are arguably most well known and respected. First Ali shocked the world in October of 1974 by KO'ing the mighty Foreman (after a points win over Joe in "Super fight Two" in Jan of that year) and then both men met for the third and final time in 1975. The resulting fight, known as "The Thrilla in Manilla" was, of course, the most brutal and thrilling of their trilogy.
Joe Frazier surprised everyone, not least Ali, with his passionate and energy-filled performance. Spurred on by his absolute hatred of the man taunting him incessantly, "Smokin'" Joe fought with greatness for the very last time. Despite his pushing Ali to, "The closest thing to death he knew of" though, his new trainer (Yank Durham passed away in 1973) Eddie Futch tenderly pulled him out after the fourteenth round. Unable to see, due to the pounding Ali's gloves had given both his eyes, Eddie rescued him saying, "Sit down, son, it's over. No-one will forget what you did here today." He was right, of course. People still watch, while open-mouthed, the violence and the guts that were on display that sweltering day in October of'75.
Apart from a foolish attempt to get revenge over "Big" George the following year, in a fight that saw Joe hammered for a second time, Frazier's career was all but over. Although as a thirty-seven year old Joe did box one comeback bout in 1981 - fighting a 10 round draw with Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings. For all intents and purposes, the admirable boxing life of Philadelphia's most courageous fighter ended at the end of the fourteenth round in Manila.
And to think, there is a very strong belief among the principals involved that Joe practically fought his entire career (from the Olympics on) with vision in only one of his eyes - his right. Joe himself first announced this to a shocked world in his autobiography, entitled "Smokin' Joe." If this is indeed true, and I would never accuse Mr. Frazier of being a liar, it is yet one more astonishing testament to the quite unbelievable fighting heart of the man.
"Smokin'" Joe Frazier, born today sixty-three years ago. What a man.
on this day 2010 straycat wrote:1951 - Ezzard Charles TKOs Lee Oma in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
on this day 2010 USMILMAN wrote:Joe Frazier was born on this day in 1944.
Last edited by straycat on Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
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ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote: Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.
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Passed Away On This Day
1956- Sam Langford (born in Weymouth Falls, Nova Scotia March 4, 1883 - January 12, 1956)
Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows," by ESPN. He was rated #2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". Langford was originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was known as the "Boston Bonecrusher", "Boston Terror" or by his most infamous nickname the "Boston Tar Baby," Langford stood only 5 ft 6½ in (1.69 m) and weighed 185 lb (84 kg) in his prime.
Langford was a boxer who fought greats from the lightweight division right up to the heavyweights, beating many champions in the process. However, he was never able to secure a world title for himself. The primary reason for this was that heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, after winning their first match, repeatedly refused rematches against Langford, who was considered by some to be the most dangerous challenger for Johnson's crown, although Johnson cited Langford's inability to meet his $30,000 appearance fee. Despite the fact Langford never received his rightful chance at the heavyweight title because of Jack Johnson's refusal to risk his crown against Langford, Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer rated Langford as one of the ten best heavyweights of all time.
Langford's most memorable fights were his numerous encounters against fellow Black boxers Sam McVey, Battling Jim Johnson and Joe Jeanette, who all experienced similar barriers in their fighting careers. Langford fought Harry Wills on 17 separate occasions. Langford defeated lightweight champion Joe Gans in 1903, drew with welterweight champion Barbados Joe Walcott in 1904, lost to future world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in 1906, and knocked out former light-heavyweight champion Philadelphia Jack O'Brien in 1911, with scores of contender fights in between. His last fight was in 1926, when his failing eyesight finally forced him to retire.
In 1923, Sam Langford fought and won Boxing's last "fight to the finish" for the Mexican Heavyweight title.
Films exist of Langford fighting Fireman Jim Flynn and Bill Lang. One story characterizing his career involved Langford walking out for the 8th round and touching gloves with his opponent. "What's the matter, Sam, it ain't the last round!" said his mystified opponent. "Tis for you son," said Langford, who promptly knocked his opponent out.
Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey said "The hell I feared no man. There was one man I wouldn't fight because I knew he would flatten me. I was afraid of Sam Langford.
Langford eventually went completely blind and ended up penniless, living in Harlem, New York City. In 1944, a famous article was published about his plight and money was donated by fans to help Langford. Eventually funding was obtained to pay for successful eye surgery. Langford was enshrined in the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955. He died a year later in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he had been living in a private nursing home.
1900- Kid McCoy KO 4 Joe Choynski, NYC.
1953- Carmen Basilio W 10 Ike Williams, Syracuse.
1963- Pone Kingpetch W 15 Fighting Harada, Bangkok. Regains World Flyweight Title.
1976- Ben Villaflor KO 13 Morito Kashiwaba, Tokyo. Retains Lineal, WBA, and Ring Magazine Junior Lightweight Titles.
1980- Alexis Arguello KO 11 Ruben Castillo, Tucson. Retains WBC Junior Lightweight Title.
1985- Harry Arroyo KO 11 Terrance Alli, Atlantic City. Retains IBF Lightweight Title.
1991- Prince Charles Williams W 12 Mwehu Beya, St. Vincent, Italy. Retains IBF Light Heavyweight Title.
1996- Tim Witherspoon W 10 Al "Ice" Cole, NYC. Heavyweight Bout
1996- Roy Jones Jr. KO 2 Merqui Sosa, NYC. Non-title fight.
2002- Acelino Freitas W 12 Joel Casamayor, Las Vegas. Retains WBO Junior Lightweight Title/Wins WBA Super Featherweight Super Championship. All three judges score 114-112 in favor of Freitas.
2005- Promoter Don King sues Disney, ESPN, ABC Cable Networks, & Advocate Communications for $2.5-billion, claiming false & defamatory statements about King were made on the TV program Sports Century.
Born On This Day
1894- Georges Carpentier (born in Lievin, Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France)
French boxer. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908-26. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood 5 feet 11½ inches (1.816 m) and his fighting weight ranged from 125 to 175 pounds (57 to 79 kg). Carpentier was known for his speed, his excellent boxing skills and his extremely hard punch.
Born in Liévin near Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Carpentier began his career by progressing up through the weight divisions, fighting in every division from welterweight upwards. With his first professional bout at age 14, he was welterweight champion of France and of Europe in 1911, middleweight champion of Europe in 1912, and light heavyweight champion of Europe in 1913. On June 1, 1913, he beat "Bombardier" Billy Wells in Ghent, Belgium to become heavyweight champion of Europe. He defended his title in December against Wells, in January 1914 against Pat O'Keefe and in London on July 16 he beat Ed "Gunboat" Smith to add the "White Heavyweight Champion of the World" to his European title. Carpentier was also a referee during the early stages of his career, supervising a number of fights including the world title bout between Jack Johnson and Frank Moran in June 1914. Carpentier was an aviator during World War I and was awarded two of the highest French military honors, the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire. This served to heighten his already phenomenal popularity, not only in France but in the United States and England as well.
Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier boxed in the first million dollar gate.
Carpentier defended his title twice again in 1919 before dropping down a weight to challenge Battling Levinsky for the light heavyweight championship of the world. The fight took place on October 12, 1920, in Jersey City and Levinsky was knocked out in the fourth. Carpentier's attempt at the heavyweight Championship of the world came on July 2, 1921, again in Jersey City, when he faced Jack Dempsey in front of boxing's first million dollar gate. Carpentier was badly beaten around before suffering a knockout in the second minute of the fourth round. Carpentier never fought again for that title. He lost his world light heavyweight title and his European heavyweight and light heavyweight titles the following year, on September 24, 1922, in a controversial bout with Senegalese fighter Battling Siki. His last truly noteworthy fight was on July 24, 1924, with Gene Tunney at the Polo Grounds in New York; Carpentier lost the bout by TKO after fifteen rounds. He retired from the ring after a final exhibition bout in 1927.
Following his retirement from boxing, Carpentier spent a number of years a vaudeville song-and-dance man, mostly in England and the US. He also appeared in half a dozen motion pictures, starring in both silent films and talkies. He made three films in Hollywood, one for director J. Stuart Blackton in England and two in his native France. His last screen appearance was in 1934. Soon after, he became proprietor of an upmarket bar, Chez Georges Carpentier, in a chic Paris neighborhood. In several different locations, this is the profession he would exercise until shortly before his death.
Beginning in 1921 and continuing throughout the rest of their lives, he and one-time opponent Jack Dempsey would remain close friends, visiting back and forth in New York and Paris, getting together to commemorate anniversary of their famous bout and exchanging birthday greetings.
Carpentier died in Paris in 1975 of a heart attack, and was buried in the Cimetiere de Vaires-sur Marne, Seine-et-Marne, France.
He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
1944- "Smokin’" Joe Frazier (born Joseph William Frazier in Beaufort, South Carolina)
Known as Smokin' Joe is a former Olympic and World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a brief comeback in 1981.
Frazier emerged as a contender in the mid-1960s, defeating Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali 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 launched a comeback, 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, dependent on bobbing, weaving and wearing down his opponents with relentless pressure. His best known punch was a powerful left hook, which accounted for most of his knockouts. Compared to Ali's style, he was close enough to the ideal bruiser that some in the press and media characterized the bouts as the answer to the classic question: "What happens when a boxer meets with a brawler?"
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 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.
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 went 10 rounds with Johnson to win a unanimous decision.
After the Johnson match, Futch became a full-fledged member of the Frazier camp as an assistant trainer and strategist, who also 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 also 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.
When Durham died in 1973, Futch was asked to succeed him as Frazier's head trainer and manager. In fact, Futch was also training heavyweight contender Ken Norton at the time. He was in Norton's corner in March 1973, when Norton broke Ali's jaw and won a split decision. After Norton lost the rematch to Ali in September 1973, Norton's managers, Robert Biron and Aaron Rivkind, demanded that Futch choose between training Frazier and Norton. Futch chose Frazier, but not without regret at being forced to make the choice.
In 1966, Frazier won a disputed decision over Argentine fighter Oscar Bonavena, despite Bonavena flooring him twice in the second round (a third knockdown in that round would have ended the fight).
In 1966, Frazier won all four of his fights, including a sixth-round knockout of Doug Jones and a fourth-round technical knockout (TKO) of George Chuvalo.
By February 1967 Joe had raked up 14 wins, all by KO. His name was starting to appear a lot more often in boxing, with Frazier appearing on the cover of Ring Magazine highlighting this. In this month he met Ali, who hadn't yet been stripped of his title. Ali said Joe would never stand a chance of whopping him, not even in his wildest dreams. Later that year, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight title due to his refusal to be inducted into the military during the Vietnam War. To fill the vacancy, the New York State Athletic Commission held a bout between Frazier and Buster Mathis, with the winner to be recognized as "World Champion" by the state of New York. Although the fight was not recognized as a World Championship bout by some, Frazier won by a knockout in the 11th round and staked a claim to the heavyweight championship. He then defended his title by beating Manuel Ramos of Mexico in two rounds, and closed 1968 by beating Bonavena via a 15-round decision in a hard-fought rematch.
1969 saw Frazier defend his New York title in Texas, beating Dave Zyglewicz by a first-round knockout, and beating Jerry Quarry by TKO in the seventh round. The competitive, exciting match with Quarry was named 1969 Ring Magazine fight of the year.
On February 16, 1970, Frazier became the undisputed world champion when he defeated WBA champion Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden by a fifth-round knock-out. Ellis had beaten Jerry Quarry in the final bout of a WBA elimination tournament for Ali's vacated belt, but Frazier had declined to participate.
In his first title defense, Frazier travelled to Detroit to fight world light-heavyweight champion Bob Foster, who had set a record for the number of defenses in the light-heavyweight division. Frazier (26-0) retained his title by knock-out in two rounds. Then came what was quickly dubbed the "Fight Of The Century", his first fight with Ali. This would be the first meeting of two undefeated heavyweight champions, 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.
On March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden, Frazier and Ali met in the first of their three bouts which was widely called the "Fight of the Century" in pre-bout publicity and the press feeding frenzy. With a worldwide television audience, and an in-house audience that included luminaries such as Frank Sinatra (as a photographer for Life magazine to get a ringside seat), comedian Woody Allen, singer Diana Ross, and actors Dustin Hoffman and Burt Lancaster (who served as "color commentator" with fight announcer Don Dunphy), the two undefeated heavyweights met in the kind of media-frenzied atmosphere not seen since Joe Louis' youth.
Many factors came together for Frazier in this fight. He was 27 years old and at his lifetime peak both physically and mentally, while Ali, 29, was coming back from a three-year absence, taking on Frazier soon after a bruising battle with Oscar Bonavena, whom Ali had defeated by a TKO in 15. Frazier had exhaustively trained specifically for Ali under the tutelage of famed coach Eddie Futch, who had developed a strategy based on Ali's tendency to throw the right-hand uppercut from a straight standing position after dropping the hand in preparation to throw it with force. Futch instructed Frazier to watch Ali's right hand and, at the moment Ali dropped it, to throw a left hook at the spot where they knew Ali's face would be a second later. Frazier's staggering of Ali in the 11th round and his knock-down of Ali in the 15th round were both executed precisely in this way.
Frazier lost a number of early rounds but took Ali's combinations without backing down. As Ali started to slow in the middle rounds, Frazier came on strong, landing hard shots to the body as well as the powerful left hooks to the head by virtue of Futch's instructions.
Consequently, Frazier won a clear, 15-round, unanimous decision. Ali was taken to the hospital immediately after the fight to have his badly swollen jaw x-rayed, and Frazier spent time in the hospital during the ensuing month, the exertions of the fight having been exacerbated by his existing health problems, such as hypertension and a kidney infection.
In 1972, Frazier successfully defended the title twice, beating Terry Daniels and Ron Stander, both by knockout, in the fourth and fifth rounds respectively.
It was Frazier's turn to lose his undefeated record of 29-0 and position as undisputed world champion at the hands of powerful puncher George Foreman on January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica. Foreman towered over the shorter, more compact champ, and soon dominated the brief bout despite Frazier being the favorite. Two minutes into the first round, Frazier was knocked down. This led to Howard Cosell's famous call for HBO, "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" Foreman continued to tee off on Frazier, who was knocked down again with just under thirty seconds in the round. After he got up again Foreman went back on the attack, and before the first round was over the champion was on his back for a third time. However, since the three-knockdown rule was not in place for this fight and Frazier kept getting up, the fight was allowed to continue. Foreman continued to press Frazier in the second round, and dropped the champion three more times. After being knocked down a sixth time, referee Arthur Mercante would not allow Frazier to continue and awarded the victory to Foreman by technical knockout.
After his loss to Foreman, now 29-1, Frazier won his next fight, a 12-round decision over Joe Bugner in London to begin his quest to regain the title.
Frazier's second fight against Ali took place in 1974, in New York, with Ali winning a 12-round unanimous decision. Frazier finished that year with another rematch, knocking out Jerry Quarry in five rounds.
1975 was, once again, a year of rematches for Frazier, but this time they involved more overseas travel. He met Jimmy Ellis, the man from whom he had originally taken the WBA title, in Melbourne, Australia, knocking him out in nine rounds. That win made him once again the number-one challenger for the world crown, now held by Ali after an eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle".
Ali and Frazier met for the third and final time in Quezon City (a district within the metropolitan area of Manila), the Philippines, on October 1, 1975: the "Thrilla in Manila". Ali took every opportunity to mock Frazier, again calling him The Gorilla, and generally trying to irritate him.
The fight for Ali's title, which was attended by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, caused another media frenzy and was seen live around the world. It was far more action-filled than the previous encounter (there was no belt at stake in the second fight), and was a punishing display that ended when Eddie Futch stopped the fight before the 15th and final round with Frazier sitting on his stool.
In 1976, Frazier (32-3) fought and again lost to George Foreman, this time by fifth-round knockout, and retired.
Frazier made a cameo appearance in the movie Rocky later in 1976 and dedicated himself to training local boxers in Philadelphia, where he grew up, including some of his own children.
[edit] 1980s comeback and coaching career
In 1981, Frazier attempted a comeback that lasted only one fight, drawing in 10 rounds with Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings in Chicago, Illinois. He then retired for good.
Since then, Frazier has 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 trains his daughter, Jackie Frazier-Lyde, whose most notable fight to date was against Laila Ali, the daughter of his rival.
Frazier's overall record is 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 is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
In 1986, Frazier appeared as the "corner man" for Mr. T against Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 2 at Madison Square Garden. In 1989, Frazier joined Ali, Foreman, Norton and Holmes for the tribute special Champions Forever.
Frazier lives in Philadelphia where he owns and manages a boxing gym but Frazier put the gym up for sale in mid 2009. He has diabetes and high blood pressure. He and his nemesis, Muhammad Ali, have alternated over the years between public apologies and public insults.
Frazier appeared as himself in an episode of The Simpsons ("Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?") in 1992, in which he would be beaten up by Barney Gumble. Frazier's son objected and was instead shown beating up Gumble and putting him in a trash can. He appeared in another episode of The Simpsons ("Homer's Paternity Coot") in 2006. Since the debut of the Fight Night series of games, Frazier appeared in Fight Night 2004, Fight Night Round 2, Fight Night Round 3 and Fight Night Round 4, games made by EA Sports.
Frazier's autobiography is titled Smokin' Joe and he was widely criticized by Ali fans for relating many of Ali's actions that he considered offensive. Some feel that Frazier has hurt himself with his unrelenting bitterness toward Ali. In 1996, when Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Frazier told a reporter that he would like to throw Ali into the fire. Frazier made millions of dollars in the 70's, but the article cited mismanagement of real-estate holdings as a partial explanation for his economic woes.
Frazier is still training young fighters, although he needed multiple operations for back injuries sustained in a car accident. It has been reported that he and Ali recently attempted a reconciliation, but as of October 2006 Frazier still claimed to have won all three bouts between the two. He declared to a Times reporter, when questioned about his bitterness toward Ali, "I am what I am."
While Ali's characteristic taunts of his opponent began typically enough, after regaining his title, his taunts of Smokin' Joe eventually turned mean-spirited and racist. Joe was painted by Ali as the white man's hope and as an "Uncle Tom" interjecting an element of racism into an already contentious and controversial series of great bouts. (The early controversy was whether Ali should be allowed to fight at all.)
Joe Frazier petitioned President Nixon to have Ali's right to box reinstated setting up the whole series of matches. Frazier boycotted the 1967 WBA heavyweight elimination tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali, when the champion was 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.
Trivia
* Some of the most memorable moments in the 1976 boxing-themed feature film, Rocky - such as Rocky's carcass-punching scenes and Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as part of his training regimen - are taken from Joe's real-life exploits, for which he received no credit.
"But he never paid me for none of my past. I only got paid for a walk-on part. Rocky is a sad story for me."
* Joe had his Olympic gold medal cut up into eleven separate pieces to divide it between his eleven children.
* In March, 2007, a Joe Frazier action figure was released as part of a range of toys based on the Rocky film franchise, developed by the American toy manufacturer, Jakks Pacific.
* When Joe was young, his family was poor so he couldn't afford a punchbag. He had to improvise, so he got the outline of a punchbag made of leather, and made it so it could be suspended from the ceiling. He put bricks in the middle of the improvised punchbag and thick foam on the outside, and he honed his boxing skills on this.
Since retiring Frazier has made cameo appearances in several Hollywood movies, and two episodes of The Simpsons. His son Marvis also became a boxer - trained by Frazier himself - although was unable to emulate his father's success. Frazier continues to train fighters in his gym in Philadelphia. His later years have also seen the continuation of his bitter rivalry with Ali, in which the two periodically exchange insults, interspersed with brief reconciliations.
Frazier is a Christian.
1969- Paea Wolfgramm (born in Vava'u, Tonga)
Former Tongan boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Wolfgramm has 6 children - 4 boys and 2 girls, and 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He resides in South Auckland New Zealand, where he is a hostel parent at a well-known New Zealand school, Wesley College.
At 6'4" and 325 pounds, the huge Wolfgramm turned pro that same year but had limited success. He lost a decision to journeyman Marion Wilson in 1998. Although he was able to beat former Cuban Olympian Jorge Luis Gonzalez by decision to set up a fight with Wladimir Klitschko, he was crushed in the first round in a rematch of their 1996 Super Heavyweight Olympic finals bout. The loss to Klitschko would end any hopes of future success for Wolfgramm. He later lost a decision to Eliecer Castillo, but beat Jimmy Thunder to set up a fight with Corey Sanders in late 2001. Sanders won via 9th round TKO, and Wolfgramm announced his retirement shortly after this fight. In 2003 Wolfgramm fought in an exhibition match where he lost to Niu Paea
Amateur highlights
* 1994 3rd place at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.
* 1995 won the Oceanian Championships in Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
* 1996 Representing Tonga, Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight Silver Medal at the Atlanta Olympics. Results were:
o Defeated Serguei Lyakhovich (Belarus) PTS (10-9)
o Defeated Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) PTS (17-12)
o Defeated Duncan Dokiwari (Nigeria) PTS (7-6)
o Lost to Vladimir Klitschko (Ukraine) PTS (3-7)
1956- Sam Langford (born in Weymouth Falls, Nova Scotia March 4, 1883 - January 12, 1956)
Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows," by ESPN. He was rated #2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". Langford was originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was known as the "Boston Bonecrusher", "Boston Terror" or by his most infamous nickname the "Boston Tar Baby," Langford stood only 5 ft 6½ in (1.69 m) and weighed 185 lb (84 kg) in his prime.
Langford was a boxer who fought greats from the lightweight division right up to the heavyweights, beating many champions in the process. However, he was never able to secure a world title for himself. The primary reason for this was that heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, after winning their first match, repeatedly refused rematches against Langford, who was considered by some to be the most dangerous challenger for Johnson's crown, although Johnson cited Langford's inability to meet his $30,000 appearance fee. Despite the fact Langford never received his rightful chance at the heavyweight title because of Jack Johnson's refusal to risk his crown against Langford, Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer rated Langford as one of the ten best heavyweights of all time.
Langford's most memorable fights were his numerous encounters against fellow Black boxers Sam McVey, Battling Jim Johnson and Joe Jeanette, who all experienced similar barriers in their fighting careers. Langford fought Harry Wills on 17 separate occasions. Langford defeated lightweight champion Joe Gans in 1903, drew with welterweight champion Barbados Joe Walcott in 1904, lost to future world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in 1906, and knocked out former light-heavyweight champion Philadelphia Jack O'Brien in 1911, with scores of contender fights in between. His last fight was in 1926, when his failing eyesight finally forced him to retire.
In 1923, Sam Langford fought and won Boxing's last "fight to the finish" for the Mexican Heavyweight title.
Films exist of Langford fighting Fireman Jim Flynn and Bill Lang. One story characterizing his career involved Langford walking out for the 8th round and touching gloves with his opponent. "What's the matter, Sam, it ain't the last round!" said his mystified opponent. "Tis for you son," said Langford, who promptly knocked his opponent out.
Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey said "The hell I feared no man. There was one man I wouldn't fight because I knew he would flatten me. I was afraid of Sam Langford.
Langford eventually went completely blind and ended up penniless, living in Harlem, New York City. In 1944, a famous article was published about his plight and money was donated by fans to help Langford. Eventually funding was obtained to pay for successful eye surgery. Langford was enshrined in the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955. He died a year later in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he had been living in a private nursing home.
1900- Kid McCoy KO 4 Joe Choynski, NYC.
1953- Carmen Basilio W 10 Ike Williams, Syracuse.
1963- Pone Kingpetch W 15 Fighting Harada, Bangkok. Regains World Flyweight Title.
1976- Ben Villaflor KO 13 Morito Kashiwaba, Tokyo. Retains Lineal, WBA, and Ring Magazine Junior Lightweight Titles.
1980- Alexis Arguello KO 11 Ruben Castillo, Tucson. Retains WBC Junior Lightweight Title.
1985- Harry Arroyo KO 11 Terrance Alli, Atlantic City. Retains IBF Lightweight Title.
1991- Prince Charles Williams W 12 Mwehu Beya, St. Vincent, Italy. Retains IBF Light Heavyweight Title.
1996- Tim Witherspoon W 10 Al "Ice" Cole, NYC. Heavyweight Bout
1996- Roy Jones Jr. KO 2 Merqui Sosa, NYC. Non-title fight.
2002- Acelino Freitas W 12 Joel Casamayor, Las Vegas. Retains WBO Junior Lightweight Title/Wins WBA Super Featherweight Super Championship. All three judges score 114-112 in favor of Freitas.
2005- Promoter Don King sues Disney, ESPN, ABC Cable Networks, & Advocate Communications for $2.5-billion, claiming false & defamatory statements about King were made on the TV program Sports Century.
Born On This Day
1894- Georges Carpentier (born in Lievin, Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France)
French boxer. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908-26. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood 5 feet 11½ inches (1.816 m) and his fighting weight ranged from 125 to 175 pounds (57 to 79 kg). Carpentier was known for his speed, his excellent boxing skills and his extremely hard punch.
Born in Liévin near Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Carpentier began his career by progressing up through the weight divisions, fighting in every division from welterweight upwards. With his first professional bout at age 14, he was welterweight champion of France and of Europe in 1911, middleweight champion of Europe in 1912, and light heavyweight champion of Europe in 1913. On June 1, 1913, he beat "Bombardier" Billy Wells in Ghent, Belgium to become heavyweight champion of Europe. He defended his title in December against Wells, in January 1914 against Pat O'Keefe and in London on July 16 he beat Ed "Gunboat" Smith to add the "White Heavyweight Champion of the World" to his European title. Carpentier was also a referee during the early stages of his career, supervising a number of fights including the world title bout between Jack Johnson and Frank Moran in June 1914. Carpentier was an aviator during World War I and was awarded two of the highest French military honors, the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire. This served to heighten his already phenomenal popularity, not only in France but in the United States and England as well.
Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier boxed in the first million dollar gate.
Carpentier defended his title twice again in 1919 before dropping down a weight to challenge Battling Levinsky for the light heavyweight championship of the world. The fight took place on October 12, 1920, in Jersey City and Levinsky was knocked out in the fourth. Carpentier's attempt at the heavyweight Championship of the world came on July 2, 1921, again in Jersey City, when he faced Jack Dempsey in front of boxing's first million dollar gate. Carpentier was badly beaten around before suffering a knockout in the second minute of the fourth round. Carpentier never fought again for that title. He lost his world light heavyweight title and his European heavyweight and light heavyweight titles the following year, on September 24, 1922, in a controversial bout with Senegalese fighter Battling Siki. His last truly noteworthy fight was on July 24, 1924, with Gene Tunney at the Polo Grounds in New York; Carpentier lost the bout by TKO after fifteen rounds. He retired from the ring after a final exhibition bout in 1927.
Following his retirement from boxing, Carpentier spent a number of years a vaudeville song-and-dance man, mostly in England and the US. He also appeared in half a dozen motion pictures, starring in both silent films and talkies. He made three films in Hollywood, one for director J. Stuart Blackton in England and two in his native France. His last screen appearance was in 1934. Soon after, he became proprietor of an upmarket bar, Chez Georges Carpentier, in a chic Paris neighborhood. In several different locations, this is the profession he would exercise until shortly before his death.
Beginning in 1921 and continuing throughout the rest of their lives, he and one-time opponent Jack Dempsey would remain close friends, visiting back and forth in New York and Paris, getting together to commemorate anniversary of their famous bout and exchanging birthday greetings.
Carpentier died in Paris in 1975 of a heart attack, and was buried in the Cimetiere de Vaires-sur Marne, Seine-et-Marne, France.
He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
1944- "Smokin’" Joe Frazier (born Joseph William Frazier in Beaufort, South Carolina)
Known as Smokin' Joe is a former Olympic and World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a brief comeback in 1981.
Frazier emerged as a contender in the mid-1960s, defeating Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali 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 launched a comeback, 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, dependent on bobbing, weaving and wearing down his opponents with relentless pressure. His best known punch was a powerful left hook, which accounted for most of his knockouts. Compared to Ali's style, he was close enough to the ideal bruiser that some in the press and media characterized the bouts as the answer to the classic question: "What happens when a boxer meets with a brawler?"
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 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.
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 went 10 rounds with Johnson to win a unanimous decision.
After the Johnson match, Futch became a full-fledged member of the Frazier camp as an assistant trainer and strategist, who also 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 also 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.
When Durham died in 1973, Futch was asked to succeed him as Frazier's head trainer and manager. In fact, Futch was also training heavyweight contender Ken Norton at the time. He was in Norton's corner in March 1973, when Norton broke Ali's jaw and won a split decision. After Norton lost the rematch to Ali in September 1973, Norton's managers, Robert Biron and Aaron Rivkind, demanded that Futch choose between training Frazier and Norton. Futch chose Frazier, but not without regret at being forced to make the choice.
In 1966, Frazier won a disputed decision over Argentine fighter Oscar Bonavena, despite Bonavena flooring him twice in the second round (a third knockdown in that round would have ended the fight).
In 1966, Frazier won all four of his fights, including a sixth-round knockout of Doug Jones and a fourth-round technical knockout (TKO) of George Chuvalo.
By February 1967 Joe had raked up 14 wins, all by KO. His name was starting to appear a lot more often in boxing, with Frazier appearing on the cover of Ring Magazine highlighting this. In this month he met Ali, who hadn't yet been stripped of his title. Ali said Joe would never stand a chance of whopping him, not even in his wildest dreams. Later that year, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight title due to his refusal to be inducted into the military during the Vietnam War. To fill the vacancy, the New York State Athletic Commission held a bout between Frazier and Buster Mathis, with the winner to be recognized as "World Champion" by the state of New York. Although the fight was not recognized as a World Championship bout by some, Frazier won by a knockout in the 11th round and staked a claim to the heavyweight championship. He then defended his title by beating Manuel Ramos of Mexico in two rounds, and closed 1968 by beating Bonavena via a 15-round decision in a hard-fought rematch.
1969 saw Frazier defend his New York title in Texas, beating Dave Zyglewicz by a first-round knockout, and beating Jerry Quarry by TKO in the seventh round. The competitive, exciting match with Quarry was named 1969 Ring Magazine fight of the year.
On February 16, 1970, Frazier became the undisputed world champion when he defeated WBA champion Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden by a fifth-round knock-out. Ellis had beaten Jerry Quarry in the final bout of a WBA elimination tournament for Ali's vacated belt, but Frazier had declined to participate.
In his first title defense, Frazier travelled to Detroit to fight world light-heavyweight champion Bob Foster, who had set a record for the number of defenses in the light-heavyweight division. Frazier (26-0) retained his title by knock-out in two rounds. Then came what was quickly dubbed the "Fight Of The Century", his first fight with Ali. This would be the first meeting of two undefeated heavyweight champions, 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.
On March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden, Frazier and Ali met in the first of their three bouts which was widely called the "Fight of the Century" in pre-bout publicity and the press feeding frenzy. With a worldwide television audience, and an in-house audience that included luminaries such as Frank Sinatra (as a photographer for Life magazine to get a ringside seat), comedian Woody Allen, singer Diana Ross, and actors Dustin Hoffman and Burt Lancaster (who served as "color commentator" with fight announcer Don Dunphy), the two undefeated heavyweights met in the kind of media-frenzied atmosphere not seen since Joe Louis' youth.
Many factors came together for Frazier in this fight. He was 27 years old and at his lifetime peak both physically and mentally, while Ali, 29, was coming back from a three-year absence, taking on Frazier soon after a bruising battle with Oscar Bonavena, whom Ali had defeated by a TKO in 15. Frazier had exhaustively trained specifically for Ali under the tutelage of famed coach Eddie Futch, who had developed a strategy based on Ali's tendency to throw the right-hand uppercut from a straight standing position after dropping the hand in preparation to throw it with force. Futch instructed Frazier to watch Ali's right hand and, at the moment Ali dropped it, to throw a left hook at the spot where they knew Ali's face would be a second later. Frazier's staggering of Ali in the 11th round and his knock-down of Ali in the 15th round were both executed precisely in this way.
Frazier lost a number of early rounds but took Ali's combinations without backing down. As Ali started to slow in the middle rounds, Frazier came on strong, landing hard shots to the body as well as the powerful left hooks to the head by virtue of Futch's instructions.
Consequently, Frazier won a clear, 15-round, unanimous decision. Ali was taken to the hospital immediately after the fight to have his badly swollen jaw x-rayed, and Frazier spent time in the hospital during the ensuing month, the exertions of the fight having been exacerbated by his existing health problems, such as hypertension and a kidney infection.
In 1972, Frazier successfully defended the title twice, beating Terry Daniels and Ron Stander, both by knockout, in the fourth and fifth rounds respectively.
It was Frazier's turn to lose his undefeated record of 29-0 and position as undisputed world champion at the hands of powerful puncher George Foreman on January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica. Foreman towered over the shorter, more compact champ, and soon dominated the brief bout despite Frazier being the favorite. Two minutes into the first round, Frazier was knocked down. This led to Howard Cosell's famous call for HBO, "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" Foreman continued to tee off on Frazier, who was knocked down again with just under thirty seconds in the round. After he got up again Foreman went back on the attack, and before the first round was over the champion was on his back for a third time. However, since the three-knockdown rule was not in place for this fight and Frazier kept getting up, the fight was allowed to continue. Foreman continued to press Frazier in the second round, and dropped the champion three more times. After being knocked down a sixth time, referee Arthur Mercante would not allow Frazier to continue and awarded the victory to Foreman by technical knockout.
After his loss to Foreman, now 29-1, Frazier won his next fight, a 12-round decision over Joe Bugner in London to begin his quest to regain the title.
Frazier's second fight against Ali took place in 1974, in New York, with Ali winning a 12-round unanimous decision. Frazier finished that year with another rematch, knocking out Jerry Quarry in five rounds.
1975 was, once again, a year of rematches for Frazier, but this time they involved more overseas travel. He met Jimmy Ellis, the man from whom he had originally taken the WBA title, in Melbourne, Australia, knocking him out in nine rounds. That win made him once again the number-one challenger for the world crown, now held by Ali after an eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle".
Ali and Frazier met for the third and final time in Quezon City (a district within the metropolitan area of Manila), the Philippines, on October 1, 1975: the "Thrilla in Manila". Ali took every opportunity to mock Frazier, again calling him The Gorilla, and generally trying to irritate him.
The fight for Ali's title, which was attended by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, caused another media frenzy and was seen live around the world. It was far more action-filled than the previous encounter (there was no belt at stake in the second fight), and was a punishing display that ended when Eddie Futch stopped the fight before the 15th and final round with Frazier sitting on his stool.
In 1976, Frazier (32-3) fought and again lost to George Foreman, this time by fifth-round knockout, and retired.
Frazier made a cameo appearance in the movie Rocky later in 1976 and dedicated himself to training local boxers in Philadelphia, where he grew up, including some of his own children.
[edit] 1980s comeback and coaching career
In 1981, Frazier attempted a comeback that lasted only one fight, drawing in 10 rounds with Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings in Chicago, Illinois. He then retired for good.
Since then, Frazier has 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 trains his daughter, Jackie Frazier-Lyde, whose most notable fight to date was against Laila Ali, the daughter of his rival.
Frazier's overall record is 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 is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
In 1986, Frazier appeared as the "corner man" for Mr. T against Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 2 at Madison Square Garden. In 1989, Frazier joined Ali, Foreman, Norton and Holmes for the tribute special Champions Forever.
Frazier lives in Philadelphia where he owns and manages a boxing gym but Frazier put the gym up for sale in mid 2009. He has diabetes and high blood pressure. He and his nemesis, Muhammad Ali, have alternated over the years between public apologies and public insults.
Frazier appeared as himself in an episode of The Simpsons ("Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?") in 1992, in which he would be beaten up by Barney Gumble. Frazier's son objected and was instead shown beating up Gumble and putting him in a trash can. He appeared in another episode of The Simpsons ("Homer's Paternity Coot") in 2006. Since the debut of the Fight Night series of games, Frazier appeared in Fight Night 2004, Fight Night Round 2, Fight Night Round 3 and Fight Night Round 4, games made by EA Sports.
Frazier's autobiography is titled Smokin' Joe and he was widely criticized by Ali fans for relating many of Ali's actions that he considered offensive. Some feel that Frazier has hurt himself with his unrelenting bitterness toward Ali. In 1996, when Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Frazier told a reporter that he would like to throw Ali into the fire. Frazier made millions of dollars in the 70's, but the article cited mismanagement of real-estate holdings as a partial explanation for his economic woes.
Frazier is still training young fighters, although he needed multiple operations for back injuries sustained in a car accident. It has been reported that he and Ali recently attempted a reconciliation, but as of October 2006 Frazier still claimed to have won all three bouts between the two. He declared to a Times reporter, when questioned about his bitterness toward Ali, "I am what I am."
While Ali's characteristic taunts of his opponent began typically enough, after regaining his title, his taunts of Smokin' Joe eventually turned mean-spirited and racist. Joe was painted by Ali as the white man's hope and as an "Uncle Tom" interjecting an element of racism into an already contentious and controversial series of great bouts. (The early controversy was whether Ali should be allowed to fight at all.)
Joe Frazier petitioned President Nixon to have Ali's right to box reinstated setting up the whole series of matches. Frazier boycotted the 1967 WBA heavyweight elimination tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali, when the champion was 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.
Trivia
* Some of the most memorable moments in the 1976 boxing-themed feature film, Rocky - such as Rocky's carcass-punching scenes and Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as part of his training regimen - are taken from Joe's real-life exploits, for which he received no credit.
"But he never paid me for none of my past. I only got paid for a walk-on part. Rocky is a sad story for me."
* Joe had his Olympic gold medal cut up into eleven separate pieces to divide it between his eleven children.
* In March, 2007, a Joe Frazier action figure was released as part of a range of toys based on the Rocky film franchise, developed by the American toy manufacturer, Jakks Pacific.
* When Joe was young, his family was poor so he couldn't afford a punchbag. He had to improvise, so he got the outline of a punchbag made of leather, and made it so it could be suspended from the ceiling. He put bricks in the middle of the improvised punchbag and thick foam on the outside, and he honed his boxing skills on this.
Since retiring Frazier has made cameo appearances in several Hollywood movies, and two episodes of The Simpsons. His son Marvis also became a boxer - trained by Frazier himself - although was unable to emulate his father's success. Frazier continues to train fighters in his gym in Philadelphia. His later years have also seen the continuation of his bitter rivalry with Ali, in which the two periodically exchange insults, interspersed with brief reconciliations.
Frazier is a Christian.
1969- Paea Wolfgramm (born in Vava'u, Tonga)
Former Tongan boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Wolfgramm has 6 children - 4 boys and 2 girls, and 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He resides in South Auckland New Zealand, where he is a hostel parent at a well-known New Zealand school, Wesley College.
At 6'4" and 325 pounds, the huge Wolfgramm turned pro that same year but had limited success. He lost a decision to journeyman Marion Wilson in 1998. Although he was able to beat former Cuban Olympian Jorge Luis Gonzalez by decision to set up a fight with Wladimir Klitschko, he was crushed in the first round in a rematch of their 1996 Super Heavyweight Olympic finals bout. The loss to Klitschko would end any hopes of future success for Wolfgramm. He later lost a decision to Eliecer Castillo, but beat Jimmy Thunder to set up a fight with Corey Sanders in late 2001. Sanders won via 9th round TKO, and Wolfgramm announced his retirement shortly after this fight. In 2003 Wolfgramm fought in an exhibition match where he lost to Niu Paea
Amateur highlights
* 1994 3rd place at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.
* 1995 won the Oceanian Championships in Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
* 1996 Representing Tonga, Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight Silver Medal at the Atlanta Olympics. Results were:
o Defeated Serguei Lyakhovich (Belarus) PTS (10-9)
o Defeated Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) PTS (17-12)
o Defeated Duncan Dokiwari (Nigeria) PTS (7-6)
o Lost to Vladimir Klitschko (Ukraine) PTS (3-7)
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>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote: Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.
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KSTAT124
- TTR Rankings & Results Editor
- Posts: 24051
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:22 pm
- Location: Valley Stream, New York
FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY:
January 12, 2008-
Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium-
Jackson Osei Bonsu retained the EBU European welterweight title with a 12-round, unanimous decision over French champion Brice Faradji.
Borbon, Cebu, Philipines-
Future WBO Interim junior flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero won a 6-round, technical decision over then fellow prospect Rogen Flores.
January 12, 2008-
Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium-
Jackson Osei Bonsu retained the EBU European welterweight title with a 12-round, unanimous decision over French champion Brice Faradji.
Borbon, Cebu, Philipines-
Future WBO Interim junior flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero won a 6-round, technical decision over then fellow prospect Rogen Flores.
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KSTAT124
- TTR Rankings & Results Editor
- Posts: 24051
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:22 pm
- Location: Valley Stream, New York
FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY:
January 12, 2007-
Tacoma, Washington, USA-
Future IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage won a 10-round, split decision over Chris Smith.
Bundrage would win the IBF title by stopping defending champion Cory Spinks in the 5th round on August 7, 2010. To date, he's made one successful title defense, winning a 12-round, unanimous decision over Sechew Powell on June 25, 2011.
January 12, 2007-
Tacoma, Washington, USA-
Future IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage won a 10-round, split decision over Chris Smith.
Bundrage would win the IBF title by stopping defending champion Cory Spinks in the 5th round on August 7, 2010. To date, he's made one successful title defense, winning a 12-round, unanimous decision over Sechew Powell on June 25, 2011.
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DBO
- Only DBO & Marciano have won All 3 Challenges
- Posts: 15143
- Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 4:17 pm
- Location: CT, USA
1996- Roy Jones Jr. KO 2 Merqui Sosa, NYC. Non-title fight.
Prior to this fight, Sosa was unofficially labeled the toughest man in boxing with the best chin. Jones wobbled him, but he stayed on his feet. The referee stopped the fight because he said Sosa's knees were buckling. However, if you have ever seen Sosa fight, you know he was knock-kneed and he walked very wobbly to begin with. Regardless, he was not beating Jones no matter how tough he was, but he should not have been stopped so early.
Prior to this fight, Sosa was unofficially labeled the toughest man in boxing with the best chin. Jones wobbled him, but he stayed on his feet. The referee stopped the fight because he said Sosa's knees were buckling. However, if you have ever seen Sosa fight, you know he was knock-kneed and he walked very wobbly to begin with. Regardless, he was not beating Jones no matter how tough he was, but he should not have been stopped so early.
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KSTAT124
- TTR Rankings & Results Editor
- Posts: 24051
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:22 pm
- Location: Valley Stream, New York
FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY:
January 12, 1962-
A trio of future Hall of Famers, Fighting Harada, Sugar Ramos, and Carl "Bobo" Olson, were in action.
Tokyo, Japan-
Harada won a 10-round, unanimous decision over bantamweight Kozo Nagata. He would go on to reign as the world flyweight champion from October 10, 1962 until January 12, 1963 (see straycat's 1/12/11, 5:48 AM post above) and as the world bantamweight title from May 18, 1965 until February 27, 1968. Harada was the only professional fighter to defeat the great Eder Jofre and he did it twice!
Los Angeles, California, USA-
Ramos stopped junior lightweight Eddie Garcia in the 9th round. Ramos would reign as world featherweight champion from March 21, 1963 (his tragic bout against Davey Moore) until September 26, 1964.
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA-
Former world middleweight champion Olson outpointed Tiger Al Williams over 10 rounds in a bout fought in the light heavyweight division. Olson had reigned as the ruler of the 160-pounders from October 21, 1953 until December 9, 1955.
January 12, 1962-
A trio of future Hall of Famers, Fighting Harada, Sugar Ramos, and Carl "Bobo" Olson, were in action.
Tokyo, Japan-
Harada won a 10-round, unanimous decision over bantamweight Kozo Nagata. He would go on to reign as the world flyweight champion from October 10, 1962 until January 12, 1963 (see straycat's 1/12/11, 5:48 AM post above) and as the world bantamweight title from May 18, 1965 until February 27, 1968. Harada was the only professional fighter to defeat the great Eder Jofre and he did it twice!
Los Angeles, California, USA-
Ramos stopped junior lightweight Eddie Garcia in the 9th round. Ramos would reign as world featherweight champion from March 21, 1963 (his tragic bout against Davey Moore) until September 26, 1964.
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA-
Former world middleweight champion Olson outpointed Tiger Al Williams over 10 rounds in a bout fought in the light heavyweight division. Olson had reigned as the ruler of the 160-pounders from October 21, 1953 until December 9, 1955.
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DBO
- Only DBO & Marciano have won All 3 Challenges
- Posts: 15143
- Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 4:17 pm
- Location: CT, USA
1996- Tim Witherspoon W 10 Al "Ice" Cole, NYC. Heavyweight Bout
This was actually a decent heavyweight scrap. Terrible Tim looked good. Cole was new to the division then and destined for journeyman status after being one of the best cruiserweights in history. Only Evander Holyfield is a clear superior to him IMO in terms of resume.
This was actually a decent heavyweight scrap. Terrible Tim looked good. Cole was new to the division then and destined for journeyman status after being one of the best cruiserweights in history. Only Evander Holyfield is a clear superior to him IMO in terms of resume.
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KSTAT124
- TTR Rankings & Results Editor
- Posts: 24051
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:22 pm
- Location: Valley Stream, New York
SIXTY YEARS AGO:
January 12, 1952-
Boxing before a crowd of 15,000 in Brussels, Belgium, Karel Sys, who turned pro as an 18-year-old lightweight in 1932, outpointed defending champion Hein Ten Hoff of Germany over 15 rounds to regain the title. Sys had previously held the European heavyweight title in the mid-40's but was not able to get a shot at the world title because Joe Louis was serving in the U. S. Army. After winning a non-title bout against Dorus Elten in April of 1944, Sys did not fight again until 1949.
In 1946, Sys, who had fought in Germany a number of times, was, mainly because of his past ties to German promoters, charged with having collaborated with the enemy and sentenced to a year in prison. Unable to box in his native Belgium after his release, Sys eventually moved his base of operations to Argentina. He fought in Argentina 14 times, compiling a 12-0-2 record in those bouts. The draws came against former two-time world heavyweight title challenger Arturo Godoy and, in the 14th bout there, against future world light heavyweight champion and future Hall of Famer Archie Moore. After his 1951 stalemate with Moore, Sys' license to box in Belgium was restored.
Sys' second reign as European heavyweight champ ended with his first defense as he dropped a 15-round decision to Heinz Neuhaus. He outpointed the previously unbeaten Neuhaus in a non-title, 10-round return bout but was unable to duplicate that feat when they fought again with the title on the line. Neuhaus again won on points after 15 rounds.
Sys retired in 1954 after being stopped by then #1 ranked heavyweight contender Nino Valdes.
Sys' final record was 117-15-10 with one No Decision and 58 wins by knockout.
January 12, 1952-
Boxing before a crowd of 15,000 in Brussels, Belgium, Karel Sys, who turned pro as an 18-year-old lightweight in 1932, outpointed defending champion Hein Ten Hoff of Germany over 15 rounds to regain the title. Sys had previously held the European heavyweight title in the mid-40's but was not able to get a shot at the world title because Joe Louis was serving in the U. S. Army. After winning a non-title bout against Dorus Elten in April of 1944, Sys did not fight again until 1949.
In 1946, Sys, who had fought in Germany a number of times, was, mainly because of his past ties to German promoters, charged with having collaborated with the enemy and sentenced to a year in prison. Unable to box in his native Belgium after his release, Sys eventually moved his base of operations to Argentina. He fought in Argentina 14 times, compiling a 12-0-2 record in those bouts. The draws came against former two-time world heavyweight title challenger Arturo Godoy and, in the 14th bout there, against future world light heavyweight champion and future Hall of Famer Archie Moore. After his 1951 stalemate with Moore, Sys' license to box in Belgium was restored.
Sys' second reign as European heavyweight champ ended with his first defense as he dropped a 15-round decision to Heinz Neuhaus. He outpointed the previously unbeaten Neuhaus in a non-title, 10-round return bout but was unable to duplicate that feat when they fought again with the title on the line. Neuhaus again won on points after 15 rounds.
Sys retired in 1954 after being stopped by then #1 ranked heavyweight contender Nino Valdes.
Sys' final record was 117-15-10 with one No Decision and 58 wins by knockout.
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straycat
- TTR Superfights Challenge #9 Champion
- Posts: 27556
- Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:31 pm
- Location: We Miss You Buddy, Though You're Gone You Are Not Forgotten!
- Contact:
Re: JANUARY 12th
Ĩ ÁM ŚŤŔÁŶČÁŤ ÁŃĎ Ĩ ÁPPŔŐVĔ ŤĤĨŚ MĔŚŚÁĞĔ
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote: Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.
Re: JANUARY 12th
they fought on january 20th
Lots of errors in the lists almost daily, i'll try to spot hem so we can take em out
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KSTAT124
- TTR Rankings & Results Editor
- Posts: 24051
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:22 pm
- Location: Valley Stream, New York
Re: JANUARY 12th
SIXTY YEARS AGO:
January 12, 1956:
Los Angeles, California-
Charley "Tombstone" Smith improved to 15-3 by stopping Italy's Giancarlo Garbelli, who dropped to 37-3-5, in the seventh round of their scheduled 10-round welterweight contest.
Lake Worth, Florida-
Lightweight Rocky Randell, weighing 136, outpointed Mexico's Tomas Castillo (139) over ten rounds. Randell upped his record to 52-12-6 while Castillo slipped to 28-10-6.
Flint, Michigan-
Up-and-coming welterweight/middleweight Yama Bahama of the Bahamas improved to 37-4-2 by halting Leffie Walker (9-3) in the seventh round of their scheduled ten-rounder. Bahama, a perennial contender in the late '50s and early '60s, would go on to beat, among others, Gil Turner, Isaac Logart, Del Flanagan, Kid Gavilan, Joe Miceli, Rudell Stitch, Wilf Greaves, Phil Moyer, Stan Harrington, Giancarlo Garbelli, Joey Giambra, Jose Gonzalez, and Farid Salim.
January 12, 1956:
Los Angeles, California-
Charley "Tombstone" Smith improved to 15-3 by stopping Italy's Giancarlo Garbelli, who dropped to 37-3-5, in the seventh round of their scheduled 10-round welterweight contest.
Lake Worth, Florida-
Lightweight Rocky Randell, weighing 136, outpointed Mexico's Tomas Castillo (139) over ten rounds. Randell upped his record to 52-12-6 while Castillo slipped to 28-10-6.
Flint, Michigan-
Up-and-coming welterweight/middleweight Yama Bahama of the Bahamas improved to 37-4-2 by halting Leffie Walker (9-3) in the seventh round of their scheduled ten-rounder. Bahama, a perennial contender in the late '50s and early '60s, would go on to beat, among others, Gil Turner, Isaac Logart, Del Flanagan, Kid Gavilan, Joe Miceli, Rudell Stitch, Wilf Greaves, Phil Moyer, Stan Harrington, Giancarlo Garbelli, Joey Giambra, Jose Gonzalez, and Farid Salim.