Joe Frazier Interview Part 1

Graham Bensinger Interviews Joe Frazier at his gym in Philadelphia for ESPN in October 2007

[@KrnSniper01]

Joe Frazier was a gentleman with a tremendous heart who overcame physical disadvantages. RIP legend

[@Quidtucenam]

"Well I was sad because uh, it didn't look like I was gonna have a chance to beat him up" Goddamn what a legend.

[@rhompus]

'If im gonna be a champion, i better start now.' Its hard to apreciate just how much wisdom and respect Joe frazier has. He beat Ali, he was willing to die for it. Ali was begging to quit.

[@afsanaparvez6112]

I'm so happy Joe got his first win Ali may be the greatest but it doesn't do justice bout the things he said bout Joe Joe is a good guy that helped Ali out but than after the epic battles Ali praises Joe calls him a great fighter/toughest opponent on Howard cosell show goes on to apologise later and said he was to wrap up in promoting the fight so I hope it wasn't anything personal

[@charlesmelonson1912]

Joe u are one of the VERY BEST RIP MY BRATHA

[@ChrisG.Georgas]

I always liked Joe Frazier, a great fighter, a great champion. R.I.P. Champ

[@thegiantpigeon]

hes my favourite boxer hes got a good sense of humour too

[@Ffeoli1039]

I'll always miss Smokin Joe. I hope he knew how much we loved him.

[@yourroyalhighness7662]

Alex Hleb: you are so right. He said “therefore” a LOT! And he also said “You better believe it” quite a bit.

[@alexhleb6575]

smokin joe loved to use the adverb therefore, he used it more than anyone i can ever recall

[@mrp3263]

So what

[@MultiGreat1]

then he said i have never threw a fight in in my life

[@justboy101]

joe frazier was more of a gentleman than ali will ever be basically fought him blind in 1 eye in thriller in manilla through a cataract in his eye still took him the distance

[@MalEl731]

GREAT CHAMP, GONE TOO SOON. R.I.P. JOE!

[@MultiGreat1]

sony liston said after the first fight that ali could hit really hard and everybody thinks the second fight was setup when if you watch the fight slowly liston got caught with a punch he couldnt see and it shocked his spine.

[@tristantopambudi3186]

What a great champ, thank you for the entertainment you've given Us, I guess ill definitely missed Ali Fraizer 4 up there. But I'll find out soon ,who's the bum and who's the new champ. RIP, miss you champ

[@Whyavier]

I've heard that excuse plenty of times. Ali had different weaknesses in his prime. Against Henry Cooper he barely survived, and only because Angelo Dundee. He was much tougher when he came back from the layoff. He completely underestimated Frazier's speed and accuracy in the first fight, just watch his prefight antics.

[@afsanaparvez6112]

yeh man Joe was smoking march 8 Joe owned Ali

[@charlesmelonson1912]

I went to see this fight fight with my lady and there were sooo many fights while waiting for the fight to begin.

[@Whyavier]

Sure, the official record says he beat Joe twice. But in terms of fighting spirit and heart, it's easy for me to decide who won the Thrilla in Manilla. Ali wanted to stop and Joe wanted to keep going.

[@active.7universal]

no quit in Ali or joe man , joe frazier was getting beat up swinging at air catching combo after combo ...

[@allymalatji9940]

It Joe however who was severely punished. We can say whatever we like but Ali was a better fighter than Joe and indeed he was the greatest.

[@Whyavier]

I enjoy seeing Joe floor Ali during the Fight of the Century. With his demeaning attitude, Ali had it coming as well as the beating he got during the Thrilla in Manilla. Right before Joe's manager threw in the towel, Ali was pleading with his trainer to do the same, while Joe protested and begged to be allowed back in the ring.

[@DORSEY12100]

how bad does a hog love slop ,ohhhhhh I love you you Joe

[@atkinjyio]

if ever i had a hero in boxing it was smokin joe

[@Whyavier]

He fought Cooper in 63... younger and fresher. Everyone holds up Ali's fight against Cleveland Williams as his big-punching, smooth dancing, brilliant victory, but God knows why. Williams was nothing and had a bullet in him... and that's Ali's prime. Furthermore, it doesn't matter when his prime was... when the two men came together in the ring, Frazier kicked more ass. That's not to mention Kenny Norton who outboxed Ali 2/3 times.

[@uncjim]

Love You Champ!

[@maganajariche]

@dropway9 Godbless you 4 putting the record straight. long live frazier.

[@Whyavier]

Certainly not saying Ali doesn't have heart.. all I'm saying is, Joe had more, and I believe he was the better man out of the ring.

[@afsanaparvez6112]

amen to that it's like I respect Ali fans I think he is the greatest but I hate the Ali bandwagon wen they deny the fact that he got defeated by Joe

[@franktheo2055]

Smokin Joe Frazier the giant slayer, a player of the game and not the hater. RIP.

[@Mugenat0r]

Legend

[@Casablancas88]

The Legend! Best left hook in boxing history! Smooooking' Jooooooooe Frazier!

[@Pingaheimer]

@bandit7498 How do you mean Frazier revels in Ali's handicap?

[@jakekiser17]

@HellsHighwayTrooper thats a good way to put it brother!!

[@atkinjyio]

go joe

[@MultiGreat1]

@upthera5 ok lets say your right then how did ali get all his muscles he was quite big and built.

[@rodeo9598]

Just as good as ali man i lvoe ali but this guy 41 rounds with ali and was even all the way what a fighter.

[@bandit7498]

@bigboss25262 Well, I've seen several interviews with Joe where he says things like, "look at me and look at him, and you tell me who won." And he says those things with a smile. Then again sometimes I've actually seen him cry over Ali. Very strange. I think a big part of it is Joe, like many boxers before and after him, is still caught up in the past and doesn't live beyond 1971. Those days must have been such an impact on him that he wants so bad to be back there but can't, so he's still angry

[@MultiGreat1]

you lot seem to forget ali was not in his prime he was flatfooted he would have slapped around frazierr if he did not get imprisoned

[@afsanaparvez6112]

Ali said that if he fought Frazier earlier in his prime Frazier he would of woop him quicker cos Ali had less punching power than he did during fight of the century plus Frazier in the the sixties would have been prime and could beat prime Ali

[@kennethjohnson5179]

Ali was a great fighter but don’t make excuses for the man. He was known for backing up his big talk. He talked the talk but this time he didn’t back it up. He constantly told everyone he was The Greatest. The Greatest wasn’t him that night. News flash!! Being flat footed isn’t a sin!! Many of flat footed boxers are great champions.

[@haftir]

oh thats what i meant :P

[@dropway9]

@bandit7498 Ali did not "make" Frazier. Joe Frazier is a self made man who pulled himself up through sheer force of will and determination and brutal, hard work. He was the world champion when he gave Ali the opportunity to fight for the crown in 1971. This was after he gave Ali $ and went to the boxing board and petitioned on Ali's behalf to have his license to box reinstated. Then he demolished Ali in the ring in the fight of the century. Joe is humble. Ali is vainglorious. That's all.

[@afsanaparvez6112]

amen

[@moohoward]

Agree in a way. They were both iconic fighters, had heart, trained for months for their fights and represented a sport that should have been outlawed from the beginning. In my opinion Frazier made Ali.

[@Whyavier]

I'm not giving you anything. Don't worry. Also, if you saw the fights, you'd know Ali was in fact floored in the 15th round of the first fight. A very famous knockdown..

[@MultiGreat1]

@upthera5 im talking about muscles like batista or hulk hoagan u dont get them naturally but u do get naturally strong peopl i might sound stupid but im one of them

[@MultiGreat1]

no the mafia were on his mangers side and were very angry and wanted t o know if he threw it and his manager asked him he said dont ever ask me something like that

[@Pingaheimer]

@nastylefthook1 I sorta agree, Ali was IMO a very mean-spirited, obnoxious, conceited individual. But that's not to say he wasn't an amazing athlete. One of the best of course.

[@noureddineamine2941]

Aaa. Aaaa. Aa baby

[@MultiGreat1]

@upthera5 you are wrong ali was built like that because he did lots of training and thats things like loots of pushups and pull ups running speed ball and your wrong about natural muscles you can get big body naturally but not all the muscles just the body structure as like me i have just turned 15 and im 6 ft and around 200 i am not fat but i have broad shoulders and big boned and not very muscly and i dont do wieghts with ali he was the same but all the training he did built the muscle he had.

[@MultiGreat1]

one minute that wasnt alis prime his prime was 65-67 and no in those years he hardly had weaknesses.

[@FijneWIET]

@upthera5 sure, he wanted Ali to become the world champion so he could go down the hill.. makes sense :/

[@MultiGreat1]

well he denied it and his own manager asked him then sonny said do you believe me, i never threw the fight, it says this in the book,l then he said damn could that boy hit

[@haftir]

they fought eachother, and ali lost his title from a knock out from frazier, But then they had a rematch and ali knocked out frazier

[@HellsHighwayTrooper]

Ali isn't retarded it just seem's that way because his speech and facial movements have been affected so in the end I spose he just gave up on showing much emotion due to the fact he can't. But you can still find the humorous arrogant Ali still in there :D

[@bandit7498]

@bigboss25262 2) That sort of thing happens to fighters a lot. But I do wish Joe could let the grudge go. I know Ali hurt him. But both men are immortalized in the annals of boxing. They both shared THE single greatest sporting event in our nation's history. As good as Joe was, if not for Ali we would not be talking about Joe today. So as good as Frazier was for Ali, Ali was 10 times better for Joe. Ali MADE Joe. If he'd patch things up with Ali he'd be a lot happier person.

[@afsanaparvez6112]

they both made each other Ali may be the greatest but that cos Frazier took him the distance and Ali said brought out the vest I'm him and vice versa

[@Art3615]

I respect Joe Frazier a lot more than the draft dodger. Ali was a good fighter but a lousy USA citizen.

[@Whyavier]

Didn't you see Round 15 of the fight of the century? Look again. A left hook puts him down.

[@HellsHighwayTrooper]

@jakekiser17 Aha yeah :D

[@bandit7498]

@bigboss25262 Ali said and did a lot of shitty things. But it's kinda hard to hold it against him. A black man of his mindset coming up in the 50s and 60s, gold medal winner for the U.S. but told you can't be served in a restaurant because you're black. Ali was a revolutionary. He did as much for blacks in his time as Malcom X or Martin Luther King. He can't be remembered as just an athlete. He's apologized for many of his mistakes. Frazier revels in Ali's handicap. Who's worse in that respect?

[@afsanaparvez6112]

no doesn't revel in his handicap he's sadden by it and he said he feels he won bouts cos of Ali Parkinson he took more damage

[@barneymiller844]

If ali didn’t lose that three and a half years joe would never would be champ

[@MultiGreat1]

ok he was hungry but ali caught him with a shot he never saw and liston went down then he realised if he got back up he would get battered so he fell back down but he was still dazed and shocked so if he got up he would have crumbled back down, so he realised, shit this guy knocked me down so quick i dont want to be humiliated. then with the muslims and the set up ,that was bullshit because as soon as people saw liston loose again they no way there has to be an excuse "oh the fight was fixed".

[@FijneWIET]

@rhompus duuude, Frazier nearly died that night.. yes he won but he came close to death

[@afsanaparvez6112]

he was in hospital for high blood pressure even a doctor confirm it

[@Art3615]

Hmm. Frazier didn't fall to the canvas. The loser did. If Frazier got close to death, the loser came came back from death after kissing Frazier's shoes while lying at Frazier's feet.

[@MultiGreat1]

i know u know ali was the greatest and that ali in his prime was unbeatable so i aint gonna argue and i also know u hate ali so i aint gonna bother

[@michaelyouth]

@dropway9 Saying that Frazier demolished Ali in the Fight of the Century is bullshit. Ali dominated a few rounds and it was close. Frazier did still won, I think because of Ali's absence, his style its crucial to fight a lot, laying 3 years off doesn't help your style. But ''demolish'' hahahah. If Joe Frazier would not go at it with Muhammad Ali 3 times, he would just be an ordinary fighter who got demolished by George Foreman. Ali, Foreman, Frazier and even Norton made each other.

[@afsanaparvez6112]

Ali in the first fight did get demolish he was strong in early rounds but Joe dominated the middle ones round 9 Ali summons a reserve equals Frazier but than Frazier comes back make him stagger on the ropes from all the blows and in the 15 Frazier launched a devastating left hook swelled jaw to a balloon Frazier went hospital for high blood pressure even doctor confirm not related to the fight. Ali yes did lost the speed in his legs however had to warm up fights including the tough Oscar and won. Ali still had fast hand movement and Frazier was able to slip and slide dodge punches and even take Ali hardest punch where as Frazier punch took Ali to the floor Frazier was the tougher and stronger of the two. ALI THE GOAT BUT FRAZIER JUST BEHIND HIM

[@tumatauenga4518]

How many were completely self taught??? Just Smokin Joe.

[@MultiGreat1]

@upthera5 ali hit pretty hard believe it or not thats why he never used weights cause he believed he hit hard

[@sinbadelbedour6122]

Without the Ali bouts ...no body will remember Frazier or Norton ...they will be one of the fighters George forman bulldozed through in the first rounds

[@abbas224]

Poor guy took WAY too many hits to the head.

[@MultiGreat1]

stop that bullshit people just want to ruin ali's legacy so they start the bullshit "oh the fight was fixed", "oh liston took a dive " he lost fair and square

[@felixrox9837]

For me he was just a bum