Hello guys, welcome back to Amolipi channel, where you can learn more interesting information
about your favorite actors and athletes. In today's video,
let's take a look back at the glorious career of Joe Frazier.
Joseph William Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer born on January
12, 1944 in Beaufort, South Carolina and died on November 7, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
aged 67. Frazier was known for his strength, durability, formidable punching power,
and relentless pressure fighting style. Among his myriad achievements, he was the first
boxer to beat Muhammad Ali, and reigned as the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973.
Joe Frazier was born as the twelfth child of sharecropper parents Rubin Frazier and Dolly
Alston-Frazier. At the age of 15, he began working on a farm for a white family named Bellamy.
After witnessing Jim Bellamy beat a young black boy who had accidentally damaged one
of the family's tractors, Frazier realized he needed to leave Beaufort. He went to work
at the local Coca-Cola plant to make some money, and later hopped on a bus
traveling northward. Frazier eventually settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Frazier married Florence Smith in 1963; the couple divorced in 1985. Frazier is known to
have had a total of 11 children. They are sons Marvis, Hector, Joseph Rubin, Joseph Jordan,
Brandon Marcus, and Derek Dennis. His daughters are Jacqui, Weatta, Jo-Netta, Renae, and Natasha.
Among his sons who turned to boxing as a career, Frazier helped train Marvis Frazier,
a challenger for Larry Holmes's world heavyweight title. He also trained his daughter,
Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, who became a WIBA world light-heavyweight champion whose most notable
fight was a close majority decision points loss against Laila Ali, the daughter of his rival.
Frazier had a successful amateur career in boxing, winning three Golden Gloves
Heavyweight Championships from 1962 to 1964. Overall, his amateur record was 38-2. In 1964,
Frazier had further success at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Sent in as a replacement
for the injured Buster Mathis, he won the gold medal in the final against German Hans Huber.
Frazier turned professional in 1965 by defeating Woody Goss by a technical knockout in the first
round. He emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, defeating opponents that included
Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones, George Chuvalo,
and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and he followed
up by defeating Ali by unanimous decision in the highly anticipated Fight of the Century in 1971.
Two years later, Frazier lost his title to George Foreman. Frazier fought on and beat Joe Bugner,
lost a rematch to Ali, and beat Quarry and Ellis again.
Frazier's last world title challenge came in 1975, but he was beaten by Ali in the brutal
rubber match, the Thrilla in Manila. Frazier retired in 1976 after a second loss to Foreman
but made a comeback in 1981. He fought just once before retiring for good, finishing his career
with a record of 32 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. His style was often compared with that of Henry
Armstrong and occasionally Rocky Marciano and was dependent on bobbing, weaving, and
relentless pressure to wear down his opponents. His best-known punch was a powerful left hook,
which accounted for most of his knockouts. In his career, he lost to only two fighters, both former
Olympic and world heavyweight champions: twice to Muhammad Ali and twice to George Foreman.
The International Boxing Research Organization rates Frazier among the
ten greatest heavyweights of all time. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1967,
1970, and 1971, and the Boxing Writers Association of America named him Fighter of the Year in 1969,
1971, and 1975. In 1999, The Ring ranked him the eighth greatest heavyweight.
He is an inductee of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame,
having been a part of the inaugural induction class of 1990 for the IBHF.
Joe Frazier had a net worth of $100 thousand at the time of his death in 2011.
Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011. By November 2011, he was under
hospice care, where he died on November 7 at the age of 67. Upon hearing of Frazier's death,
Muhammad Ali said, "The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect
and admiration. "Frazier's private funeral took place on November 14 at the Enon Tabernacle
Baptist Church in Philadelphia and in addition to friends and family was attended by Muhammad Ali,
Don King, Larry Holmes, Magic Johnson, Dennis Rodman, among others. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
paid for Frazier's funeral services. His body was buried at the Ivy Hill Cemetery.
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