Joe Frazier Tags Muhammad Ali
“SMOKIN’ JOE” THE HUMBLE ONE
San Francisco, CA– In an appearance on “Ring Talk Worldwide,” “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier, World heavyweight champion from 1968 to 1973, defeated Muhammad Ali in 1971 at Madison Square Garden in what was simply the greatest boxing match in the annals of sports history. Turning professional after winning the Gold Medal in the 1964 Olympics, Frazier went 32-4-1, 27 KOs with nine title defenses. In this conversation, the now 67-year old champion covered topics from Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson and more.
Ring Talk– I remember reading one time that you ran over your foot with a powered lawnmower. How’s your foot?
Joe Frazier– Well, I pulled the lawnmower back too far and it cut the whole toe off. It was just one of those things. But I’m able to still move well. My wheels are turning all right today.
RT– Years ago Joe, you trained a heavyweight named Vaughn Bean, a guy perceived by many as lazy and lacking motivation. Did Bean’s work ethic, or the minds of some, lack there of, did it get “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier stamp of approval?
JF-You know I’m a hard working guy Pedro. If “Shake & Bake” Bean wasn’t giving me his all, I wouldn’t have been there. Working with Bean was not nearly as hard as working with his promoter and my partner Butch Lewis.
RT-One of the best Joe Frazier stories I ever heard was from featherweight champ Calvin “Silky” Grove who said you lost your temper one day and cleared the gym out. Some guys ran out clad only in towels and their trunks and didn’t come back until the next day.
JF– (Laughing) For what? That must have been the day the fire alarm went off. I know those guys in the gym, you know I’ve been there for about 30 years or more.
RT– Is there still, and will there always be bad blood between you and Muhammad Ali?
JF– I would say over the years he has said some different things, I have said some things. But now, we’re over that hill. All that was in the past. A while back I did go on Howard Stern’s show and said some things I apologized for. I said something wrong and I hope my apology was accepted. But now it’s over. The guy is not feeling well. Right now he needs more love than any bad talk.
RT-The ABC Wide World of Sports telecast where you and Ali were wrestling around and Ali said he thought it was a joke. You were dead serious, weren’t you?
JF-I was dead serious, but that was then. You’re talking 40 years ago.
RT-Did Mike Tyson remind you any of Joe Frazier?
JF- I would say Mike did a good job when it comes to his punching power, but Mike wasn’t active as me as far as the legs, if you know what I mean. He moved his hands fast, but I had everything moving at the same time, my head, hands and my legs.
RT-There are those who say you would have taken Tyson out?
Ali, Don King, Frazier 1975
JF– I wouldn’t have any problems against him throwing the smoke., but he may have been able to throw a little water on the smoke. Still, I think I would have beaten him.
RT-Who had a better left hook than you?
JF-I don’t think anybody had a better hook than me. Besides the hook, I kept everything moving, and it was hard, and it was hard to get your timing with me bobbing and weaving,
RT-How did you feel when you knocked Ali done in the 15th round, and then being hailed as the undisputed World heavyweight champion?
JF-I thanked God and my first trainer Yank Durham. But I used to sit down with Yank who used to say, ’God damn it. You just get in his chest and keep pumping, and you’ll whip this sucker. He won’t be able to handle the heat. Yank was right, I miss both him and my second trainer Eddie Futch.
RT-Last question, I’ve seen some guys overreacting, or acting in my mind, when it comes to low blows. From my own experience, if the protective cup is fitted right, I never suffered tremendous pain from a low blow. Do you agree?
JF- It hurts, but I don’t think it’s as bad as guys make it out to be. If the equipment is worn right, there should not be much of a problem. When they invented the cup, they used to test them with baseball bats and guys were still standing, so I would say there is some acting gong on today in boxing.
Pedro Fernandez