My condolences to the entire Frazier family.
Joe Frazier is an icon and he will always be remembered that way. Bernard Hopkins, the current light heavyweight champion and a native of Philadelphia, where Frazier made his home, said: "He had great discipline and a strong will to win. I talk to his family all the time, we were pretty close, and no one even mentioned that Joe was that sick."īut the tributes to Frazier were not limited to his contemporaries. Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, we were big guys but when we got into a ring with Joe Frazier we had to have respect – and move. He never stood more than 5ft 10 in but he had every big man in boxing afraid of the little guys, he was such a terror. The pair had a troubled relationship, dating back to often racial taunts Ali directed at Frazier in the build-ups to their three fights in the early 1970s, but had been on much better terms in recent years.Īnother memorable opponent, George Foreman, who won both of his bouts against Frazier and in 1973 became the first man to beat him, told the BBC: "Joe Frazier was the most amazing fighter. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones." I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. On Tuesday Ali said: "The world has lost a great champion. But it is his fights with Ali for which Frazier is best remembered.įrazier beat Ali on points in the so-called "Fight of the Century" in 1971, but lost in two further meetings including the epic Thrilla in Manila in 1975.
0 kommentar(er)
