Joe Frazier: Smokin' Joe n'est plus

Trop jeune pour me souvenir de ses débuts ou de ses premiers combats, je ne me rappelle que très vaguement le "Thrilla in Manila". Il est difficile d'imaginer l'histoire de Frazier sans celle d'Ali. La relation entre les deux hommes fut ponctuée de moments très durs (Ali qualifiant Frazier d'"Uncle Tom"), mais également de respect. C'est Frazier qui écrira au Président Nixon pour qu'on redonne à Ali l'autorisation de boxer (après avoir refusé de servir au Vietnam, Ali avait perdu son titre et sa licence). La réaction d'Ali à l'annonce du décès: "The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration."

Anecdote: vous remarquerez à la fin de l'article que Frazier nous révèle son côté "Rocky"...

"The son of a South Carolina sharecropper, Frazier boxed during the glory days of the heavyweight division, going up against greats George Foreman, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Bugner and Jimmy Ellis. He made his name by winning a gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo.
But it was his three much-hyped fights against Ali that helped seal his legend.
Frazier bested Ali at 1971's "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden. In the 15th round, Frazier landed perhaps the most famous left hook in history, catching Ali on the jaw and dropping the former champ for a four-count, according to Frazier's bio at the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Frazier left the ring as the undisputed champ and handed Ali his first professional loss.
Ali won a 12-round decision in a January 1974 rematch, setting the stage for the classic "Thrilla in Manila" just outside the Philippine capital in 1975.
Ali took the early rounds, but Frazier rebounded before losing the last five rounds. By the end of the 14th, Frazier's eyes were nearly swollen shut, and his corner stopped the bout, according to the biography.
Later, Ali said, "It was the closest I've come to death."
Frazier was a two-time heavyweight champion for nearly three years until he lost in January 1973 to George Foreman.
He lived in Philadelphia, where he operated a boxing gym for many years.
"I don't mind working with the kids," Frazier told CNN's Don Lemon in 2009. "The kids is tomorrow. And if we don't do what we're supposed to do for them now, how are you going (to) expect them to carry on?"
Asked whether he was similar to Rocky Balboa, the title character in the "Rocky" series, Frazier replied, "Sure. I worked at the slaughterhouse. I'm the guy that ran in the streets of Philadelphia.""