Joe Frazier, Quintessential Bully Fighter, Dies at 67
Frazier after knocking down Ali in the 15th round of their first meeting
Boxing jargon is a field ripe for the long winded to wax poetic, with every word holding historical and emotional connotation. But, whenever I’m asked to explain the term “bully fighter,” I do so in three words: “Smokin’ Joe Frazier.”
Early yesterday evening, the greatest inside pressure fighter in the history of the sweet science had his final bout against liver cancer called, and he passed into the annals of the sport’s history. Frazier’s legacy is inextricably tied to that of fellow heavyweight champion, Mohammed Ali. Some have gone so far as to say that the toughest fight of Smokin’ Joe’s career was to get out from under Ali’s shadow.
But, while Frazier may forever be known as Ali’s foil, the Louisville Slugger’s career can never be mentioned without Joe Frazier taking center stage. It was together that their trilogy of bouts captured the public imagination more than any combat sports event since the days of Jack Johnson.
The political turmoil surrounding their tilts was an easy artifice to construct. Joe Frazier’s fighting style was far more raw than any rivalry or national conflict. Projecting other, more refined concepts onto him was a simple matter of creating context. Because, when Joe Frazier took the ring, he was elemental.
Unlike his famous partner across the squared circle, Joe Frazier had no time for play or deception. He marched.
No matter who was in front of him, he marched his man down. Every attack, a chance to slip and get closer. In his prime, Frazier offered no escape, no respite, not even any trash talk. As time itself is unrelenting, so must be Joe Frazier.
Once on the inside, Frazier’s forward march continued in the pocket, forcing his opponents’ onto their back foot as he chopped them down. Sure, he took some hits, but he gave them back much worse, and no one thing could stop his momentum.
The two defining moment of Frazier’s career both came against Ali. The first was when they met at the Fight of the Century. After 15 rounds of brutal and pitiless combat, Frazier’s unyielding onslaught finally put Ali to the canvas, earning Frazier the heavyweight title.
The second came during the Thrilla in Manilla. In a bout even more brutal than their first, Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch had to tackle him to hold him back from answering the last round bell while completely blind.
The fire inside Joe Frazier was something primal, not entirely born of man. It was a fire that powered him through war after war long past the point where body and will fail. And, ultimately, he gave it as a gift to the boxing fan and even to Ali. On November 7, 2011, boxing lost a great champion.
