I?VE been meaning to toll the bell for Joe Frazier since last week, but of course I had to address the pressing issues surrounding Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III, so I guess it?s better late than never.
Not that I don?t care much for Smokin? Joe. On the contrary, he has made an indelible imprint on me as one of the fondest childhood memories I have of my late father, Atty. Froilan Quijano, was when he would refer to my favorite pair of shorts as ?Prazyer? trunks.
In the 70s, the vogue then were mid-sized trunks but Frazier wore large, loose-fitting ones (albeit not oversized by today?s standards) to his ring battles.
LORE. Fate might be unkind to Joe as he will forever be remembered as the other half of the Frazier-Ali lore, but undeniably, he was a great fighter by himself.
Master purveyor of the left hook, he threw it with such insouciant single-mindedness, he believed he could destroy almost every opponent with it.
It has been reported that a childhood injury limited movement on his left arm such that he could never really fully extend it, thus resulting in what was labeled as a ?permanently cocked? weapon.
He loved to dictate the pace of the fight, bobbing and weaving, constantly moving forward and throwing hooks, swarming his opponent.
He became a world heavyweight champion in 1970 when he stopped Jimmy Ellis in 5 rounds.
Among those who fell prey to that prodigious left hook were Buster Mathis, Jerry Quarry, George Chuvalo and of course, Muhammad Ali.
TRILOGY. Perhaps it was hard luck for him to be plying his trade in the same era as the fighter generally referred to as ?The Greatest,? but the truth is that they made each other great.
Their styles both contrasted and complemented each other. While Ali loved to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, Frazier preferred to seek and destroy.
Ali also liked to hold his right hand low, which made an easy inviting target for Joe?s primary weapon, the left hook.
Their trilogy will forever be immortalized as probably the greatest and most compelling series in heavyweight history.
In their first fight, both were undefeated titleholders eager to lay claim to the title of undisputed world champion. Frazier won that one by decision, knocking down Ali numerous times.
