“Smokin'” Joe Frazier is a legend of heavyweight boxing who can boast an achievement that nobody else can.
The former World Heavyweight Champion was the first man to stop Muhammad Ali during their first legendary fight and went on to have an iconic trilogy with his rival.
With his relentless left hook proving a dangerous weapon, Joe Frazier was known for his incredible strength and durability during a fantastic time in boxing.
Here is everything you need to know about Joe Frazier.
- READ MORE – Joe Frazier defended world title with devastating left hook to set up Muhammad Ali rivalry
How old is Joe Frazier?
Joe Frazier was born on January 12, 1944, in Beaufort, South Carolina, USA, and would have been 81 years old if he were alive today. He was raised in a poor farming family and was the youngest of 12 children.
How did Joe Frazier die?
“Smokin’ Joe” passed away at the age of 67 in 2011 after suffering from liver cancer. He was diagnosed with the illness just months before his death in a hospice facility in Philadelphia. Floyd Mayweather Jr paid for the entire funeral service.
Who was Joe Frazier’s wife?
Frazier was married to Florence Smith for a number of years. However, they split up, and he spent the last 40 years of his life with Denise Menz, with whom the couple had 11 children.
Joe Frazier’s last fight
Frazier’s final fight came 5 years after his loss to George Foreman when he came out of retirement to face Floyd Cummings.
After back-to-back losses to Ali and Foreman, Frazier made his comeback in Chicago on December 3, 1981. At 37 years old and overweight compared to usual, Frazier was sluggish in the 10-round bout and struggled against his fellow American opponent.
The fight was scored as a draw, although it seemed to be a sentimental decision. Cummings was the better man during the bout and should have been awarded in Frazier’s final fight.
Joe Frazier’s boxing record
| Record (W-L-D) | (T)KO |
| 32-4-1 | 27-3 |
Joe Frazier vs Muhammad Ali
Frazier’s most famous fights were against Muhammad Ali, where he defeated the legendary boxer while helping to build up the former champion’s legacy.
They fought three fights over the course of 5 years, each one going down in history as some of the biggest of all time.
In 1971, Frazier became the first person to beat Ali when he won by unanimous decision in their fight at Madison Square Garden.
Ali fought back in the rematch three years later, getting his own unanimous decision victory to put the scores at 1-1, primed for the rubber match to end all rubber matches.
This third and final fight is known as the “Thrilla in Manila” and is widely considered to be one of the all-time great fights. It took place in the Philippines and was known for its brutality and estimated worldwide audience of 1 billion people.
Ali put away Frazier in 14 rounds, dominating his opponent and forcing the corner to throw in the towel. The bout was named from one of Ali’s famous rhymes, where he boasted that he would be “a killa and a thrilla and a chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manila”
Joe Frazier’s Olympic gold medal
Frazier replaced the injured Buster Mathis in the 1964 Olympic Games as the American representative in the heavyweight boxing competition.
He won four fights in a row to claim the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. He knocked out the first two opponents in the first round before a second-round stoppage against the Soviet Union’s Vadim Yemelyanov.
The final pitted Frazier against German Hans Huber. Despite breaking his hand in the semi-final, Frazier managed to go the distance while favoring his weaker right hand, taking the gold 3-2 due to a judges’ decision.