Biography

Joseph William Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable punching power, and relentless pressure fighting style and was the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali. Frazier reigned as the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973 and as an amateur won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

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He turned to boxing during his school years, married at the age of 15, and then moved to Philadelphia with his family. During his amateur career, Frazier won the gold medal in heavyweight boxing at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Frazier began his professional boxing career in 1965, where he won all of his first 18 fights. The left hook became his particular specialty. In 1968 he defeated Buster Mathis in the eleventh round, which gave him the NYSAC world title, i.e. the champion title according to the New York version, in the heavyweight division.

Frazier was able to defend this title in four subsequent fights. In February 1970 he also won the WBA and WBC heavyweight world championship titles by defeating Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden in New York. In March 1971, Frazier also won a legendary fight against Muhammad Ali: it was the first defeat in Ali's professional career. He was able to defend his world championship title two more times, but he lost it again in 1973 with a defeat against George Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica. In January 1974, Frazier also suffered a loss to Muhammad Ali. The following year he lost to Ali in Manila by a technical knockout. in the 14th round.

Another defeat against Foreman followed in 1976. Frazier was in the ring for the last time in December 1981: he emerged from the encounter with Jumbo Cummings with a draw. Frazier achieved 32 wins in a total of 37 fights during his professional career, 27 of which were by knockout. After retiring from professional boxing, the former world champion took care of the training of his son Marvis, who also temporarily became a boxer.

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Joe Frazier is an American professional boxer. He reigned as the heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973, and as an amateur won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Joe Frazier was known for his strength, formidable punching power, relentless pressure fighting style.

Frazier emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, defeating opponents that included Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones, George Chuvalo, and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali by unanimous decision in the highly anticipated Fight of the Century in 1971. Two years later, Frazier lost his title when he was defeated by George Foreman. He fought on, 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 rubber match, the Thrilla in Manila. He retired in 1976 following a second loss to Foreman. He made a comeback in 1981, fighting just once before retiring for good, finishing his career with a record of 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Frazier among the ten greatest heavyweights of all time. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1967, 1970 and 1971, while the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1969, 1971 and 1975. In 1999, The Ring magazine ranked him the eighth greatest heavyweight. BoxRec ranks him as the 18th greatest heavyweight 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 and Rocky Marciano, dependent on bobbing, weaving and relentless pressure to wear down his opponents. His best-known punch was a powerful left hook, which accounted for most of his knockouts. In his career, he lost to only two fighters, both former Olympic and world heavyweight champions: twice to Muhammad Ali, and twice to George Foreman.

After retiring, Frazier made cameo appearances in several Hollywood movies and two episodes of The Simpsons (1989). Joe Frazier continued to train fighters in his gym in Philadelphia.

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