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83-702: Cooper came out of Philadelphia and was trained in his early years by ex-champ Joe Frazier , and rose in the rankings with a series of explosive knockouts in the Cruiserweight division. Unable to get a world title shot despite winning the NABF belt and defeating Olympic gold medallist Henry Tillman and future world champion Tyrone Booze , he began boxing in the heavyweight division, knocking out Willie DeWitt in 2 rounds but being stopped in 8 rounds by No. 1 ranked heavyweight contender Carl "The Truth" Williams and in 2 rounds by George Foreman . In 1990, having failed to secure

166-609: A French version published in Paris . In 1976, managing editor of The Ring Johnny Ort, fabricated records of selected boxers, and elevated their rankings, securing them lucrative fights on the American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament orchestrated by promoter Don King . The deception was uncovered by boxing writer Malcolm "Flash" Gordon and ABC staffer Alex Wallau and

249-450: A bit before he could make the bus trip to New York and still have some money in his pocket, so he first went to work at the local Coca-Cola plant. Frazier recalled that the white guy would drive the truck and that he would do the real work stacking and unloading the crates. He worked with Coca-Cola until the government began building houses for the Marines stationed at Parris Island , when he

332-455: A boxer could win The Ring ' s title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between the magazine's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). A vacant Ring championship was filled when the number-one contender in a weight-division battles the number-two contender or the number-three contender (in cases where The Ring determined that

415-406: A brick, and Spanish moss . He hung the makeshift heavybag from an oak tree in the backyard. "For the next 6, 7 years, damn near every day I'd hit that heavybag for an hour at a time. I'd wrap my hands with a necktie of my Daddy's, or a stocking of my Momma's or sister's, and get to it," he remarked. Not long after Frazier started working, his left arm was seriously injured while he was running from

498-504: A brutal fourth round (TKO) of Canadian George Chuvalo . No boxer had ever stopped Chuvalo, but Frazier, despite the stoppage, was unable to floor Chuvalo, who would never be knocked down in his entire career despite fighting numerous top names. By February 1967, Joe had scored 14 wins and his star was beginning to rise. This culminated with his first appearance on the cover of Ring Magazine . That month, he met Ali, who had not yet been stripped of his title. Ali said that Joe would never stand

581-573: A chance of "whipping" him even in his wildest dreams. Later that year, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight title because of his refusal to accept the military draft during the Vietnam War . To fill the vacancy, the New York State Athletic Commission held a bout between Frazier and Buster Mathis , who were undefeated going into the match, with the winner to be recognized as "World Champion" by New York State. Although

664-423: A close decision over rugged contender Oscar Bonavena , despite Bonavena flooring him twice in the second round. A third knockdown in that round would have ended the fight under the three knockdown rule. Frazier rallied and won a close split decision after 10 rounds. The Machen win followed that contest. In 1967, Frazier stormed ahead winning all six of his fights, including a sixth-round knockout of Doug Jones and

747-565: A cruiserweight world title fight, Cooper moved to heavyweight permanently, knocking out top 5-ranked Orlin Norris and claiming his NABF title. He lost the title in his first defense, outpointed over 12 by undefeated Olympic gold medallist Ray Mercer in an explosive brawl. Later the same year he was KO'd in 2 rounds by fast-rising Riddick Bowe and his career looked over. However Cooper bounced back in 1991, stopping Joe Hipp in 5 rounds and then being matched on short notice with Evander Holyfield for

830-624: A farm for a family named Bellamy. They were both white men: Mac was younger and more easy-going, and Jim was rougher and somewhat backward. One day, a black kid about 12 years old accidentally damaged one of the Bellamys' tractors. Jim became so enraged he took off his belt and whipped the boy with his belt right there in the field. Frazier saw the event and went back to the packing house on the farm and told his black friends what he had seen. Soon, Jim saw Frazier and asked him why he told others what he had witnessed. Joe then told Bellamy he did not know what he

913-474: A left hook at the spot that they knew Ali's face would be a second later. In a brutal and competitive contest, Frazier lost the first two rounds but was able to withstand Ali's combinations. Frazier was known to improve in middle rounds, which was the case with Ali. Frazier came on strong after the third round by landing hard shots to the body and powerful left hooks to the head. Frazier won a 15-round unanimous decision, with scores of 9–6, 11–4, 8–6–1, and claimed

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996-537: A magazine/rankings organization that awards world titles and belts, De La Hoya says that is not the case. "These magazines will be held in an editorial trust where they will be operating totally independent of any influence from me or others from the Golden Boy Companies as it relates to editorial direction or content". Also there is a 35-member ratings advisory panel, which include many of the media that cover boxing, who would prevent Golden Boy Promotions from using

1079-420: A mile and start walking and say, "Go ahead, big Joe. I'll catch up." Frazier's amateur record was 38–2. In 1964, heavyweight representative Buster Mathis qualified but was injured, and so Frazier was sent as a replacement. At the heavyweight boxing event , Frazier knocked out George Oywello of Uganda in the round of 16, then knocked out Athol McQueen of Australia 40 seconds into the quarter-finals. He

1162-466: A new championship policy. Under the new policy, The Ring title can be awarded when the No. 1 and No. 2 fighters face one another or when the No. 1 and 2 contenders choose not to fight one another and either of them fights No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5, the winner may be awarded The Ring belt. In addition, there are now seven ways for a fighter to lose his title: Many media outlets and members are extremely critical of

1245-461: A record for the number of title defenses in the light-heavyweight division. Frazier (26–0) retained his title by twice flooring the hard-punching Foster in the second round. The second knockdown was delivered by a devastating left hook, and Foster could not beat the count. Then came what was hyped as the " Fight of the Century ", his first fight with Muhammad Ali , who had launched a comeback in 1970 after

1328-555: A stock boy, Weston purchased the magazine that gave him his first job. He not only resurrected the magazine from its imminent collapse, he re-established the publication as the definitive source for boxing news. An outstanding boxing artist, Weston painted 57 covers for The Ring with his first cover, a painting of Billy Conn , for the December 1939 issue. Weston was also a photographer who, according to his own estimate, shot over 100,000 boxing photos‍—‌the majority of which are housed in

1411-482: A successful comeback after eight years out of the ring, a sixth-round knockout of Corey Winfield in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His hometown was Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania , United States. He was 5'11" (180 cm) tall. He died on May 10, 2019, from pancreatic cancer at the age of 53. Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944 – November 7, 2011), nicknamed " Smokin' Joe ",

1494-728: A supervisor with the US Postal Service , and flew to Philadelphia to work with Frazier during the final preparations for all of his fights. After Durham died of a stroke on August 30, 1973, Futch was asked to succeed him as Frazier's head trainer and manager. He was training the heavyweight contender Ken Norton , who lost a rematch against Ali less than two weeks before Durham's death. Then, Norton's managers, Robert Biron and Aaron Rivkind, demanded that Futch choose to train either Frazier or Norton, with Futch choosing Frazier. Now in his second year, in September 1966 and somewhat green, Frazier won

1577-501: A technical knockout in the first round. He won three more fights that year, all by knockout and none going past the third round. Later that year, he was in a training accident that left him legally blind in his left eye. During pre-fight physicals, after reading the eye chart with his right eye, when prompted to cover his other eye, Frazier switched hands but covered his left eye for a second time, and state athletic commission physicians seemed not to notice or act. Frazier's second contest

1660-405: A technical knockout when Ellis's trainer Angelo Dundee would not let him come out for the fifth round following two fourth-round knockdowns, the first knockdowns of Ellis's career. Frazier's decisive win over Ellis was a frightening display of power and tenacity. In his first title defense, Frazier traveled to Detroit to fight World Light Heavyweight Champion Bob Foster , who would go on to set

1743-484: A three-year suspension from boxing. It would be the first meeting of two undefeated heavyweight champions (and the last until Mike Tyson faced Michael Spinks in 1988) since Ali (31–0) had not lost his title in the ring but been stripped because of his refusal to be conscripted into the armed forces. Some considered him to be the true champion, and the fight would crown the one true heavyweight champion. On March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden , Frazier and Ali met in

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1826-525: A unanimous decision. Johnson had apparently bet all his purse that he would survive to the final bell, noted Ring Magazine , and he somehow achieved it. However Johnson was known in the trade as "impossibly durable". After the Johnson match, Futch became a full-fledged member of the Frazier camp as an assistant trainer and strategist, who advised Durham on matchmaking. It was Futch who suggested that Frazier boycott

1909-524: Is a city within Metro Manila , the Philippines , on October 1, 1975. Prior to the fight, Ali took opportunities to mock Frazier by calling him a '"gorilla" and generally trying to irritate him. The fight was a punishing display on both sides under oppressively-hot conditions. During the fight, Ali said to Frazier, "They said you were through, Joe." Frazier said, "They lied." Ali repeatedly held Frazier around

1992-429: Is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing-oriented publication. The magazine is currently owned by Saudi businessman Turki Al-Sheikh . Ring began publishing annual ratings of boxers in 1924. With its November/December 2022 issue,

2075-594: Is entertaining and it is clean." In 1972, following Fleischer's death, his son-in-law and managing editor Nat Loubet took over as publisher. In 1977, Loubet launched three international editions of the magazine. The Spanish version, Ring En Español , was published in Venezuela and distributed to all Spanish-speaking countries and the United States (U.S.) until 1985. There was also a Japanese version published in Tokyo and

2158-461: Is gonna be another Joe Louis ", he remarked. The words made an impression on Joe. His classmates at school would give him a sandwich or a quarter to walk with them at final bell so that bullies would not bother them. Frazier said, "Any 'scamboogah' [disrespectful, low-down and foul person] who got in my face would soon regret it; Billie Boy could kick anybody's ass." The day after his uncle's comment, Frazier filled an old burlap sack with rags, corncobs,

2241-507: Is referred to by others) as "The Bible of Boxing." During the Fleischer years, the contents page or indicia of every issue carried the claim: " The Ring is a magazine which a man may take home with him. He may leave it on his library table safe in the knowledge that it does not contain one line of matter either in the text or the advertisements which would be offensive. The publisher of The Ring guards this reputation of his magazine jealously. It

2324-737: The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) 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. His style was often compared with that of Henry Armstrong and occasionally Rocky Marciano and

2407-698: The 1967 WBA Heavyweight Elimination Tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali after the Heavyweight Champion was stripped of his title for refusing to be inducted into the military, although Frazier was the top-ranked contender at the time. Futch proved invaluable to Frazier as an assistant trainer and helped modify his style. Under Futch's tutelage, Frazier adopted the bob-and-weave defensive style by making him more difficult for taller opponents to punch and giving Frazier more power with his own punches. Futch remained based in Los Angeles, where he worked as

2490-439: The 1990s, then reintroduced their titles in 2002. The Ring stated that their title was "intended to reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given weight class ". It echoed many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies in charge of boxing championships had undermined the sport by pitting undeserving contenders against undeserving "champions" and forcing

2573-653: The American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament , orchestrated by promoter Don King . The scandal was uncovered by boxing writer Malcolm "Flash" Gordon and ABC staffer Alex Wallau . After Gordon and Wallau's evidence was presented to ABC executive Roone Arledge , the United States Championship tournament was cancelled. The scandal would lead to the eventual resignation of New York State Boxing Commissioner James A. Farley Jr. , who had lent his name to

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2656-493: The Championship fights. The Ring has its own championship belt in a given weight class where The Ring champion holds a lineal reign to the throne, the man who beat the man. The Ring began awarding championship belts in 1922. The first Ring world title belt was awarded to heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and the second was awarded to flyweight champion Pancho Villa. The Ring stopped giving belts to world champions in

2739-460: The Ring's defunct sister magazine Boxing Illustrated took over as editor. In 1989 The Ring was purchased by Stanley Weston 's G.C. London Publishing (later known as Kappa Publishing Group ), which also published KO Magazine and a number of wrestling publications. KO senior writer Steve Farhood became The Ring's editor. Weston was a sentimentalist and 52 years after joining The Ring magazine as

2822-433: The United States Championship tournament was cancelled by ABC. In 1979, the magazine was purchased from Loubet by a group led by Dave DeBusschere and Bert Sugar took over as editor. In 1983 Sugar was succeeded by future New York boxing commissioner Randy Gordon . By 1984 the publication was reported to be over $ 1 million in debt and a number of top salaried employees, including Gordon, were let go. Nigel Collins of

2905-412: The archives of The Ring magazine. Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC, a subsidiary of Oscar De La Hoya 's Golden Boy Enterprises , acquired The Ring , KO Magazine , and World Boxing in 2007. The magazine's rankings are recognized as "official" by some in the U.S. media, particularly ESPN . While some may see a conflict of interest in a boxing promoter being paymaster of what is essentially

2988-426: The back of his neck with his right hand, a violation of the rules that went unpunished by the referee. After 14 grueling rounds, Ali returned to his corner demanding they cut his gloves and end the bout. However, Dundee ignored Ali. This proved fortuitous, as across the ring, Futch stopped the fight out of concern for his charge. Frazier had a closed left eye, an almost-closed right eye, and a cut. Ali later said that it

3071-490: The bout was a non-title fight, with Ali winning a 12-round unanimous decision. The fight was notable for the amount of clinching . After the fight Tony Perez, when asked about the violation from Ali, he replied that the only violation is if you hold and hit at the same time, although Ali was holding Frazier but he was not hitting. Five months later, Frazier again battled Jerry Quarry in Madison Square Garden by winning

3154-424: The boxing public to see mismatches for so-called "world championships". The Ring attempts to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. However, many boxing journalists complained that The Ring ignored

3237-502: The brutal rubber match , the Thrilla in Manila . Frazier retired in 1976 after a second loss to Foreman but made a comeback in 1981, before retiring for good with a record of 32 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. 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

3320-919: The editor of the wrestling magazine as well. In 2024 it was sold from Golden Boy Promotions to Turki Al-Sheikh , head of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority , for US$ 10 million. Some of the boxers featured on the magazine covers have included Tommy Ryan , Salvador Sánchez , Jack Dempsey , Pancho Villa , Max Schmeling , Joe Louis , Sugar Ray Robinson , Jake LaMotta , Rocky Marciano , Willie Pep , Muhammad Ali , Alexis Argüello , Wilfred Benítez , Wilfredo Gómez , Roberto Durán , Larry Holmes , Marvin Hagler , Sugar Ray Leonard , Bud Taylor , Mike Tyson , Evander Holyfield , Floyd Mayweather Jr. , Thomas Hearns , Naoya Inoue , Roy Jones Jr. , Bernard Hopkins , Julio César Chávez , Félix Trinidad , Manny Pacquiao , Oscar De La Hoya , Mauro Mina and Ricardo Mayorga . In 1978, boxer Cathy "Cat" Davis became

3403-406: The family's 300-pound hog. One day, Frazier poked the hog with a stick and ran away. The gate to the pigpen was open, however, and the hog chased him. Frazier fell and hit his left arm on a brick. His arm was torn badly, but as the family could not afford a doctor, the arm had to heal on its own. He was never able to keep it fully straight again. When Frazier was 15 years old, he had been working on

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3486-602: The fight in the fifth round with a strong left hook to the ribs. In March 1975, Frazier fought a rematch with Jimmy Ellis in Melbourne , Australia, and knocked him out in nine rounds. The win again established Frazier as the top heavyweight challenger for the title, which Ali had won from Foreman in the famous " Rumble in the Jungle " five months earlier. Muhammad Ali and Frazier met for the third and final time in Cubao, Quezon City , which

3569-542: The fight was not recognized as a World Championship bout by some, Frazier won by a knockout in the 11th round and staked a claim to the Heavyweight Championship. Frazier first defended his claim by beating hard-hitting prospect Manuel Ramos of Mexico . His victory came in only two rounds. He closed 1968 by again beating Oscar Bonavena via a 15-round decision in a hard-fought rematch. Bonavena fought somewhat defensively and allowed himself to be often bulled to

3652-548: The final bout of the WBA elimination tournament for Ali's vacated belt. Frazier had declined to participate in the WBA tournament to protest their decision to strip Ali. Ellis held impressive wins over Oscar Bonavena and Leotis Martin , among others. Beforehand, Ali had announced his retirement and relinquished the Heavyweight title, allowing Ellis and Frazier to fight for the undisputed title, but both lacked any lineal claim. Frazier won by

3735-404: The first of their three bouts which was called the "Fight of the Century". With an international television audience and an in-house audience that included singers and actors and with Burt Lancaster (who served as "color commentator" with the fight announcer, Don Dunphy ), both undefeated heavyweights met in a media-frenzied atmosphere. Several factors came together for Frazier in the fight. He

3818-487: The first woman ever to be on a cover of The Ring , and she held the distinction of being the only woman featured on the cover of the magazine until January 2016, when Ronda Rousey joined her and also became the first mixed martial arts fighter featured on its cover. The Ring has used cover artwork created by famed artists such as LeRoy Neiman and Richard T. Slone . In their book Iron Ambition: My Life With Cus D'Amato , Mike Tyson and Larry Sloman, while depicting

3901-561: The kind of impact that he had managed in previous bouts. He won a 3–2 decision. After Frazier won the only American 1964 Olympic boxing gold medal, his trainer Yancey "Yank" Durham helped put together Cloverlay, a group of local businessmen (including a young Larry Merchant ) who invested in Frazier's professional career and allowed him to train full time. Durham was Frazier's chief trainer and manager until Durham's death in August 1973. Frazier turned professional in 1965 by defeating Woody Goss by

3984-455: The lineal title. Ali was taken to a hospital immediately after the fight to check that his severely-swollen right-side jaw was not actually broken. Frazier also spent time in hospital during the ensuing month, the exertions of the fight having been exacerbated by hypertension and a kidney infection. Later that year, he fought a three-round exhibition against hard-hitting veteran contender Cleveland Williams . In 1972, Frazier successfully defended

4067-464: The magazine for self gain. The Ring was headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania until 2011 when it was relocated to Los Angeles . The magazine had a sister publication named The Ring Wrestling which came about due to professional wrestling writer Bob Leonard contacting the magazine and expressing that it was too focused on boxing and not giving wrestling enough coverage. Nat Loubet served as

4150-407: The magazine stopped publication of its regular monthly print issues and will remain a digital publication, offering occasional special interest print issues. The Ring , founded and published by future International Boxing Hall of Fame member Nat Fleischer , has perpetrated boxing scandals, helped make unknown fighters famous worldwide, and covered boxing's biggest events of all time. Dan Daniel

4233-562: The more compact champion along with an 8 in. reach advantage and dominated from the start. Over the course of two rounds, Foreman managed to knock Frazier down six times en route to a technical knockout victory. Frazier won his next fight, a 12-round decision over Joe Bugner , in London to begin his quest to regain the title. Frazier's second fight against Ali took place on January 28, 1974, in New York City. In contrast to their previous meeting,

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4316-458: The new championship policy and state that if this new policy is followed The Ring title will lose the credibility it once held. They then later changed the policy so vacant belts can only be awarded to the winner of No. 1 vs No. 2 or if No. 3 is deemed worthy by The Ring's editorial board. The purchase of The Ring magazine by Golden Boy Promotions in 2007, the dismissal of editor-in-chief Nigel Collins and several editorial staff in 2011 and

4399-469: The number-two and number-three contenders were close in abilities and records). The ratings are compiled by the magazine's editorial board, with the participation of The Ring Ratings Panel of boxing journalists from around the world. A fighter could not be stripped of the title unless he lost, decided to move to another weight division, or retired. In May 2012, citing the number of vacancies in various weight classes as primary motivation, The Ring unveiled

4482-460: The referee took a dim view of them. In the second round, the referee had gone so far as to penalize Joe two points for hitting below the belt. "In a three-round bout a man can't afford a points deduction like that," Frazier said. He then returned to Philadelphia and felt as low as he had ever been and even thought of giving up boxing. Duke Dugent and his trainer, Yank Durham, were able to talk him out of his doldrums and even suggested that Frazier make

4565-553: The rise of the International Boxing Club of New York and D'Amato's battle with the organization, allege that the magazine and its then-owner and editor-in-chief Nat Fleischer were under control of the IBC and the rankings were heavily favorable towards the fighters it controlled. In the 1970s, managing editor of The Ring Johnny Ort fabricated records of selected boxers to elevate them, thereby securing them lucrative fights on

4648-454: The ropes, which let Frazier build a wide points margin. Ring Magazine showed Bonavena afterwards with a gruesomely bruised face. It had been a punishing match. In 1969, Frazier defended his NYSAC title in Texas and beat Dave Zyglewicz, who had lost only once in 29 fights, by a first-round knockout. Then, he beat Jerry Quarry in a seventh-round stoppage. The competitive, exciting match with Quarry

4731-497: The title twice by knocking out Terry Daniels and Ron Stander in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. Daniels had earlier drawn with Jerry Quarry and Stander had knocked out Earnie Shavers . Frazier lost his undefeated record of 29–0 and his world championship, at the hands of the unbeaten George Foreman on January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica . Despite Frazier being the overall favorite, Foreman towered 10 cm (4 in.) over

4814-456: The trip to Tokyo as an alternate in case something happened to Mathis. Frazier agreed and was a workhorse there, sparring with any of the Olympic boxers who wanted some action. " Middleweight , light heavyweight , it didn't matter to me, I got in there and boxed all comers," he said. In contrast, Mathis was slacking off. In the morning, when the Olympic team would do their roadwork, Mathis would run

4897-438: The two highest rated light-heavyweights) as the beginning of the new lineage, The Ring awarded their newly reintroduced title to Roy Jones . In 2002, The Ring editor, Nigel Collins, acknowledged that if their championship policy was in place in 1997, Dariusz Michalczewski , who defeated Hill, "probably would have been The Ring Champion." Under the original version of the championship policy, there were only two ways that

4980-459: The undisputed heavyweight championship after two opponents dropped out. Cooper came off the floor in the first round to stun Holyfield in the 3rd round (scoring the first knockdown of Holyfield in the process), the two exchanging big blows before the referee Mills Lane stopped the fight in the 7th. The fight made Cooper a big name and he would be matched in many high-profile fights over the years. In June 1992 he boxed undefeated Michael Moorer for

5063-463: The vacant WBO title, knocking Moorer down twice but also going down twice himself before being stopped in the 5th. Cooper's career went downhill from this point, being outpointed by veteran Mike Weaver for the obscure National Boxing Association Heavyweight title in China and then losing to prospects like Corrie Sanders , Chris Byrd , Fres Oquendo , and Joe Mesi . On June 18, 2010, Cooper, aged 44, made

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5146-624: The white folks, then leave home because I don't want anything to happen to you." The train fare from Beaufort to the cities up north was costly, and the closest bus stop was in Charleston, 75 miles (121 km) away. In 1958, a Greyhound Lines bus called "The Dog" by locals in Beaufort, made Beaufort a stop on its South Carolina route. Frazier had a brother, Tommy, in New York, and was told that he could stay with Tommy and his family. Frazier had to save up

5229-563: The world championship lineage when they started awarding titles again. A controversy described by Cliff Rold of BoxingScene.com is for example, the "world" light-heavyweight title was considered vacant from the time Michael Spinks went up to heavyweight in 1985 until 1996. While the Cyber Boxing Zone and the International Boxing Research Organization considers Virgil Hill 's defeat of Henry Maske (who were

5312-484: Was 27 and mentally and physically at his peak. Ali was 29 and coming back from a three-year absence. He had had two good wins in his comeback, including a bruising, fifteen-round technical knockout win over Oscar Bonavena . Frazier and Futch noticed Ali's tendency to throw a right-hand uppercut from a straight standing position after dropping the hand in preparation to throw it with force. Futch instructed Frazier to watch Ali's right hand and, once Ali dropped it, to throw

5395-585: Was a co-founder and prolific contributor to The Ring through most of its history. Another founding partner was John L. "Ike" Dorgan (April 15, 1879–December 27, 1960), a bookbinder, boxing manager (for Harry Ebbets and Charles Francis "Frank" Moran , known as "The Fighting Dentist"), press agent (for boxing promoter George L. "Tex" Rickard ), and publicity manager for the Madison Square Garden . He remained with this influential publication until his retirement in 1930. The Ring refers to itself (and

5478-526: Was a toddler "over the 10 acres of farmland" the Fraziers worked as sharecroppers "to the still where he made his bootleg corn liquor, and into town on Saturdays to buy the necessities that a family of 10 needed." He was affectionately called "Billie Boy". Rubin Frazier had his left hand and part of his forearm amputated in a tractor accident the year that his son was born. Rubin Frazier and his wife, Dolly, had been in their car when their friend Arthur Smith, who

5561-474: Was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fighting style and was the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali . Frazier won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics as an amateur , held the NYSAC heavyweight title from 1968 to 1973, and

5644-467: Was damaged, but he was unsure as to the extent. "In the midst of the fight, with your adrenaline pumping, it's hard to gauge such things. My mind was on more important matters. Like how I was going to deal with Yemelyanov for the rest of the fight." The match ended when the Soviet's handlers threw in the towel at 1:49 in the second round, and the referee raised Frazier's injured hand in victory. Now that Frazier

5727-487: 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. Frazier continued to train fighters in his gym in Philadelphia. His attitude towards Ali in later life

5810-490: Was drunk, made a move for Dolly but was rebuffed. Stefan Gallucci, a local barkeep, recounted the experience. When the Fraziers drove away, Smith fired at them several times and hit Dolly in the foot and Rubin several times in his arm. Smith was convicted and sent to prison but did not stay long. Dolly said, "If you were a good workman, the white man took you out of jail and kept you busy on the farm." Frazier's parents worked their farm with two mules: Buck and Jenny. The farmland

5893-427: Was eager to get back at Mathis for his only amateur loss and knocked out two opponents to get to the finals. However, once again when the dust settled, the judges had called it for Mathis, undeservedly Joe thought. "All that fat boy had done was run like a thief- hit me with a peck and backpedal like crazy," he would remark. Mathis had worn his trunks very high so that when Frazier hit Mathis with legitimate body shots,

5976-685: Was hired on a work crew at Parris Island. Nine months eventually passed since he got the boot from the Bellamy farm. With no fanfare and no tearful goodbyes, Frazier packed quickly and got the first bus heading north, where he settled in Philadelphia . "I climbed on the Dog's back and rode through the night. It was 1959; I was 15 years old and I was on my own," he later said. During Frazier's amateur career, he won Golden Gloves heavyweight championships in 1962, 1963, and 1964. His only loss in three years as an amateur

6059-581: Was into the final, he mentioned his broken thumb to no one. He went back to his room and soaked his thumb in hot water and Epsom salts . "Pain or not, Joe Frazier of Beaufort, South Carolina, was going for gold," he proclaimed. He went on to fight German Hans Huber , eight years his senior. Frazier was now used to fighting bigger guys, but not with a damaged left hand. When the opening bell sounded on fight night, Joe came out, started swinging punches, and threw his right hand more than usual that night. Every so often, he would use his left hook, but nothing landed with

6142-563: Was largely characterized by bitterness and contempt but was interspersed with brief reconciliations. Frazier was born January 12, 1944, the twelfth child of Dolly Alston-Frazier and Rubin in Beaufort, South Carolina . He was raised in Laurel Bay, South Carolina , a rural community in Beaufort County, South Carolina . Frazier said that he was always close to his father, who carried him when he

6225-421: Was more restrained than usual and avoided walking into big shots like he had done in their first match. However, Foreman lobbed a tremendous left hook that lifted Frazier off his feet. After a second knockdown, the fight was stopped in the fifth round. Shortly after the fight, Frazier announced his retirement. The Ring (magazine) The Ring (often called The Ring magazine or Ring magazine )

6308-412: Was named Ring Magazine fight of the year in 1969. Frazier showed he could do a lot more than just slug by using his newly honed defensive skills to slip, bob, and weave a barrage of punches from Quarry despite Quarry's reputation as an excellent counter-punching heavyweight. On February 16, 1970, Frazier faced WBA Champion Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden . Ellis had outpointed Jerry Quarry in

6391-806: Was of interest in that he was decked by Mike Bruce. Frazier took an "8" count by referee Bob Polis but rallied for a TKO over Bruce in the third round. In 1966, as Frazier's career was taking off, Durham contacted Los Angeles trainer Eddie Futch . The two men had never met, but Durham had heard of Futch, who had a reputation as one of the most respected trainers in boxing. Frazier was sent to Los Angeles to train before Futch agreed to join Durham as an assistant trainer. With Futch's assistance, Durham arranged three fights in Los Angeles against journeyman Al Jones, veteran contender Eddie Machen and George "Scrap Iron" Johnson . Frazier knocked out Jones and Machen but surprisingly went through 10 rounds with Scrap Iron Johnson to win

6474-510: Was talking about. But Jim did not believe Frazier, and he told Frazier to get off the farm before he took off his belt again. Frazier told him to keep his pants up because he was not going to use his belt on him. Jim then analyzed Frazier for a bit and eventually said, "Go on, get the hell outta here." Joe knew from that moment it was time for him to leave Beaufort, and he could see only hard times and low rent for himself. Even his mother could see it. She told Frazier, "Son, if you can't get along with

6557-407: Was the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973. Frazier emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970. In 1971, he defeated Ali by unanimous decision in the highly anticipated Fight of the Century . Two years later, Frazier lost his title to George Foreman . Frazier's last world title challenge came in 1975, but he was beaten by Ali in

6640-404: Was the "closest thing to dying that I know of." In 1977, Ali told interviewer Reg Gutteridge that he felt this third Frazier fight was his best performance. When Gutteridge suggested his win over Cleveland Williams, Ali said, "No, Frazier's much tougher and rougher than Cleveland Williams." In 1976, Frazier (32–3) fought George Foreman for a second time, shaving his head for the fight. Frazier

6723-480: Was the only American boxer left at the semi-final stage, facing the 6'2", 214-lb Vadim Yemelyanov of the Soviet Union. "My left hook was a heat-seeking missile, careening off his face and body time and again. Twice in the second round I knocked him to the canvas. But as I pounded away, I felt a jolt of pain shoot through my left arm. Oh damn, the thumb, " Frazier said. He knew immediately the thumb of his left hand

6806-466: Was to Buster Mathis . Mathis would prove to be Joe's biggest obstacle to making the 1964 U.S. Olympic boxing team. They met in the final of the U.S. Olympic trials at the New York World's Fair in the summer of 1964. Their fight was scheduled for three rounds and they fought with 10-oz gloves and with headgear, but the boxers who made it to Tokyo would wear no headgear and would wear 8-oz gloves. Frazier

6889-550: Was what country people called "white dirt, which is another way of saying it isn't worth a damn." They could not grow peas or corn on it, only cotton and watermelons. In the early 1950s, Frazier's father bought a black and white television, and the family and others nearby came to watch boxing matches on it. Frazier's mother sold drinks for a quarter as they watched boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson , Rocky Marciano , Willie Pep , and Rocky Graziano . One night, Frazier's uncle, Israel, noticed his stocky build. "That boy there... that boy

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