Joe Frazier
Titles: Heavyweight champion 1970-1973
Record: 32-4-1
Born: January 12, 1944 in Beaufort, South Carolina (USA)
Years active: 1965-1981
Nickname: Smokin' Joe
In his early days Frazier was called the Black Marciano and with good
reason. He put his head in his opponents chest and swung with frightening
power to the body and head all the while bobbing and weaving when not in
range for his hooks. Frazier was the seventh of thirteen children and
dropped out of school at the age of 7 and working on the family farm later
to be married at the age of 15. Frazier wandered into a gym after he
thought himself to be pudgy and a boxing career followed. In 40 amateur
bouts he only lost twice, both at the hands of a pro victim Buster Mathis.
Yet he went on to win a Gold Medal in the 1964 Olympics. 17 knockouts in
his first 19 fights over good opposition like Doug Jones, Eddie Machen,
Oscar Bonavena and George Chuvalo made him the number 1 contender and a
force to be dealt with. Before he had a chance to win the title Ali was
stripped of it and thus left Frazier less respected than he should have
been. Old amateur rival Buster Mathis was defeated for the title by Frazier,
after a tight first 6 rounds Frazier broke the huge Mathis down with body
shots. The fight was stopped in the 11th round. Four title defenses
followed and then a win over Ernie Terrell the WBA champion secured Frazier
the title of undisputed heavyweight champion. A year after unifying the
title Frazier was matched with Ali in the fight of the century. Make no
mistake the Frazier that won the fight on this night was a match for any
heavyweight of any time including the prime Ali. Frazier defeated Ali and
capped the victory with a 15th round knockdown that was viewed by 300
million people world wide. Two more low key defenses followed before
Frazier met his bogey man in George Foreman. The Frazier style was made
for Foreman and he knocked out Joe with relative ease......twice. The much
reported losses to Ali in return fights included perhaps the perhaps the
best heavyweight fights of all time in the "Thrilla in Manilla". After
losing again to Foreman her retired in 1976. A one fight comeback in 1981
did not generate any excitement and Frazier returned to his gym to teach
others his great skills.
Joe Frazier
Career record: 32 W, 4 L, 1 D (27 K.O's)
DATE OPPONENT RESULT VENUE
Aug. 16,1965 Woody Goss KO 1 Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 20,1965 Mike Bruce KO 3 Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 28,1965 Ray Staples KO 2 Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 11,1965 Abe Davis KO 1 Philadelphia, PePA
Jan. 17,1966 Mel Turnbow KO 1 Philadelphia, PA
March 4,1966 Dick Wipperman KO 5 New York City
April 4,1966 Charley Polite KO 2 Philadelphia, PA
April 28,1966 Don (Toro) Smith KO 3 Pittsburgh, PA
May 19,1966 Chuck Leslie KO 3 L.A, California
May 26,1966 Memphis Al Jones KO 1 L.A, California
July 25,1966 Billy Daniels KO 6 Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 21,1966 Oscar Bonavena W 10 New York City
Nov. 21,1966 Eddie Machen KO 10 L.A, California
Feb. 21,1966 Doug Jones KO 6 Philadelphia, PA
April 11,1967 Jeff Davis KO 5 Miami Beach, Florida
May 4,1967 George Johnson W 10 L.A, California
July 19,1967 George Chuvalo KO 4 New York City
Oct. 17,1967 Tony Doyle KO 2 Philadelphia, PA
Dec. 18,1967 Marion Connors KO 3 Boston, Massachusetts
March 4,1968 Buster Mathis W 11 Madison Square Garden, N.Y.C
June 24,1968 Manuel Ramos TKO 2 New York City
Dec. 10,1968 Oscar Bonavena W 15 Spectrum, PA
April 22,1969 Dave Zyglewicz KO 1 Houston, Texas
June 23,1969 Jerry Quarry TKO 7 Madison Square Garden
Feb. 16,1970 Jimmy Ellis TKO 4 Madison Square Garden
(Wins world heavyweight title)
Nov. 18,1970 Bob Foster KO 2 Cobo Arena, Detroit
(Retains heavyweigh title)
March 8,1971 Muhammad Ali W 15 Madison Square Garden
(Retains heavyweigh title)
Jan. 15,1972 Terry Daniels KO 4 Rivergate Auditorium
(Retains heavyweigh title)
May 25,1972 Ron Stander KO 4 Civic Auditorium, Omaha
(Retains heavyweigh title)
Jan. 22,1973(World) George Foreman KOby 2 National Stadium, Jamaica
(Looses heavyweigh title)
July 2,1973 Joe Bugner W 12 London
Jan. 28,1974 Muhammad Ali L 12 New York City
June 17,1974 Jerry Quarry KO 5 New York City
March 1,1975 Jimmy Ellis KO 9 Melbourne
Oct. 1,1975 Muhammad Ali L 14 Araneta Stadium, Manila
June 15,1976 George Foreman KOby 5 Uniondale, New York
Dec. 3,1981 Jumbo Cummings D 10 Chicago, Illinois
