Joe Frazier finally knocked out an opponent who’d previously handed him two defeats.
At his sparkling best, ‘Smokin’ was an absolute monster, drowning his opponents under unrelenting waves of pressure.
And it wasn’t just inside the ring that the American excelled. Frazier once had a brawl with Muhammad Ali during a television interview.
And ‘The Greatest’ wasn’t the only fighter with whom the icon shared an intense rivalry.
Sheesh: George Foreman says one boxer hit him harder than Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier defeated Buster Mathis at the third attempt
Buster Mathis beat Joe Frazier on two occasions in the amateurs, notably winning a major encounter at the Olympic trials.
However, despite the result, the victor couldn’t head to the 1964 games in Tokyo due to injury, opening the door for his nemesis to take his place and win the gold medal.
With that in mind, it comes as no major surprise that the pair had to settle their feud in the professional ranks.
On March 4, 1968, the pair went to war inside Madison Square Garden, New York, USA.
Like many others, Mathis looked strong in the early rounds, landing snappy jabs. However, slowly but surely, his opponent began to grind him down.
In the eleventh round, Frazier unleashed an almighty left hook that sent his adversary hurtling towards the canvas.
While the fighter returned to his feet, the referee deemed he was in no fit state to continue.
Joe Frazier’s plans to reclaim the heavyweight world title were ruined by shock boxer
With the victory over Mathis, Frazier claimed the NYSAC heavyweight world championship, writing his name into the history books forever.
He’d later win the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine belts. However, after his first loss to George Foreman, he never reclaimed the throne.
In 1981, five years after his initial retirement, he made a comeback with the intent of recapturing his glory days.
Alas, things went drastically wrong when Frazier was held to a draw in a massive upset.