Joseph William Frazier was born Jan. 12, 1944, in Beaufort, South Carolina. He became one of boxing’s defining heavyweight champions and a central figure in the sport’s most prominent rivalry.
Known as “Smokin’ Joe,” Frazier fought professionally from 1965 to 1981 and built a reputation for strength anda powerful left hook and a pressure-fighting style built on bobbing and weaving.
Frazier grew up in Laurel Bay, a rural community in Beaufort County, as the 12th child of Dolly Alston-Frazier and Rubin Frazier. His family worked as sharecroppers. As a boy, he began following boxing after his father bought a black-and-white television and neighbors gathered to watch fights. He created an improvised heavy bag in his yard and trained on it for years. As a teenager, he worked locally, including at a Coca-Cola plant and on a work crew at Parris Island. In 1959, at age 15, he left South Carolina and settled in Philadelphia.
As an amateur, Frazier won Golden Gloves heavyweight championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964. His amateur record was 38-2, with one of his losses coming to Buster Mathis. Mathis initially qualified for the 1964 U.S. Olympic boxing team but was injured, and Frazier went to Tokyo as a replacement. Frazier won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics and turned professional the next year.
Frazier debuted as a professional in 1965 and emerged as a top contender in the late 1960s. He held the New York State Athletic Commission heavyweight title from 1968 to 1973 and became the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973. In 1971, he became the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali, winning a unanimous decision in the “Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden. The victory came when both fighters were undefeated heavyweights and the bout drew major international attention.
Frazier’s championship reign ended in 1973 when George Foreman defeated him and took the title. Frazier later faced Ali two more times. Ali won a 12-round decision in their 1974 rematch. Frazier’s final world-title challenge came Oct. 1, 1975, in their third bout, the “Thrilla in Manila,” when Ali won after Frazier’s corner stopped the fight following 14 rounds.
Frazier retired in 1976 after a second loss to Foreman, then returned once in 1981 before retiring for good with a record of 32-4-1. He lost only to Ali and Foreman during his career. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1967, 1970 and 1971, and the Boxing Writers Association of America gave him the same honor in 1969, 1971 and 1975. The International Boxing Research Organization rated him among the 10 greatest heavyweights of all time. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 1990 and is also a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
After his fighting career, Frazier trained fighters at his gym in Philadelphia. He died Nov. 7, 2011, at 67, after being diagnosed with liver cancer.
