Joe Frazier RIP

With today’s untimely death of Smokin’ Joe Frazier, sport itself has lost a true warrior, and one of the most fearsome competitors of all-time.  The 67-year-old has passed away after succumbing to liver cancer overnight.

As a fighter, Frazier had it all.  An Olympic Champion in 1964, he could box as well as brawl, a quality which would define much of his later career.  Frazier’s professional record would be impressive with wins over Muhammad Ali, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavera and Buster Mathis.  His only defeats came twice each to George Foreman and Ali.

Frazier’s battles with ‘The Greatest’ define his career, even though that is something he himself would not be pleased with.  He often spoke of their ongoing animosity, long after their in-ring battles concluded.  Famously, in 1996, after Ali lit the Olympic Torch in Atlanta, Frazier remarked that he wanted to push his rival into the flame.

They first clashed in New York in 1971.  With both men undefeated World Champions at this point, it was the ‘Fight of the Century’ and Frazier would inflict upon Ali the most notable loss of his life, knocking him down in the 15thround en route to a points win.  Ali would win their second contest three years later before the final contest in their trilogy.

The ‘Thrilla in Manila’ is simply 14 rounds of drama.  While Joe Frazier would end up the loser on that balmy morning, above all others this contest would highlight his strongest quality, that enduring spirit.  Even when his eyes were swollen shut, and when his opponent’s jabs would have crushed the will of a weaker man, Frazier kept coming forward and kept fighting on in a brutal war.  Make no mistake; but for the intervention of his trainer Eddie Futch, Frazier would have fought that 15^th round, if given the chance, despite the likely disastrous consequences.  It was the event that would shape his very existence for the next 36 years, and in many ways he came across as bitter as a result, but one must remember the disgusting insults levied at him by his opponent in the previous five years.

Ironically, Muhammad Ali has led the tributes to Frazier today, saying “the world has lost a great champion” and that he will “always remember Joe with respect and admiration.”  All boxing fans will do the same – he may have been the third best heavyweight of his era, but he would have been the very best of most decades, and is likely in the top-ten heavyweights of all-time.

Today’s tributes do not match the outpouring of grief which will likely come when his great rival passes away.  However, that love and respect for Ali might just be due to Frazier.  The Greatest only has that title because he was tested and because he had to overcome so many obstacles, none tougher than the man from Philadelphia.

If Muhammad Ali is “King of the World”, then Joe Frazier did more than anyone else to put that crown upon his head.  It’s not the legacy he wanted, or even one he deserved, but it’s enough to cement his place in boxing folklore forever. 

Quick Jabs 1

I'm hoping to begin writing for another website, http://www.thescore.ie on my first love, namely boxing.  They published my first article on Saturday (it's a little dated now) but here you go.

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There’s no way to disguise that last week was very disappointing for Irish boxing fans.  Two of our own fought for World Titles – unfortunately, both were beaten – however, neither was disgraced.

Willie Casey was always going to find it tough going against Guillermo Rigondeaux.  Despite the advantage of a partisan Dublin crowd, Casey’s inexperience showed against the two-time Olympic Gold Medallist.  Rigondeaux was forced to come to Ireland after his last fight, a snore-fest decision win against Ricardo Cordoba (another man familiar to Irish fans), but in blowing Casey out of the ring in the first round, he is likely to have once again garnered the attention of the US TV Networks.  For Casey meanwhile, it is difficult to see where he can go from here but the Limerick man is affable and can sell tickets, so expect him to return, and possibly again fight for a European title.

Good as RIgondeaux was, Belfast’s Brian Magee arguably faced an even tougher fight when he fought Lucian Bute in Montreal.  Magee survived until the tenth round, before the referee rightly stopped the fight following a massive uppercut which saw him hit the canvas for the third time.  Magee earned a lot of fans with his performance, as he was never expected to trouble the Romanian.  He may now be offered further fights against American and Canadian prospects, against whom he would be expected to provide a stern test.  It’s up to Magee, who turns 35 in June, if this is a road he wants to travel down.

It hasn’t all been doom and gloom for Irish fans, with our amateur stars again leading the way, recording two wins over a China this week in Dungarvan and New Ross.  Of the 24 fights so far, Ireland have won 18 ahead of tonight’s third and final meeting in Dublin.  Katie Taylor will look for a third win over former World Championship Final opponent Cheng Dong – the Bray woman won each of their first two fights this week on a 17-2 scoreline – while former Olympic medallist Kenny Egan will be in action at the National Stadium for the first time since his recent loss to Mullingar’s Joe Ward in the National Championships.

Note - Egan was one of four Irish boxers to win on Friday night, but Ireland lost out to the Chinese.

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It’s been another good week for Floyd Mayweather.  The man they call ‘Money’ hit the jackpot in Las Vegas, with a massive bet on an NBA Basketball game.  According to his twitter page, Mayweather cashed in a slip worth over $37,000 following the Chicago Bulls’ win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. 

No doubt, the money will come in very useful.  It’s reported this week that, for a third time, talks on a proposed superfight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have fallen by the wayside, this time because of Floyd’s financial demands.  It’s claimed he was seeking a ridiculous $100m to take on boxing’s biggest potential fight, making one wonder if he wants it to happen at all.

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After last weekend’s plethora of pugilism, this weekend is a much tamer affair though there are some interesting fights ahead.  Tomorrow afternoon, Russian middleweight Dmitry Pirog enters the ring for the first time since he captured the vacant WBO title with a stunning knockout win against Daniel Jacobs last July.  Pirog faces off against Argentine Javier Francisco Maciel in his homeland in a fight that will be televised here on Setanta Sports 1 on Saturday afternoon.

Also this weekend, the under-rated Yuriorkis Gamboa defends his World Featherwieght titles against Mexican Jorge Solis and Albert Sosnowski has an interesting defence of his European Heavyweight Title against Alexander Dimitrenko in Hamburg.  Neither of those fights will be televised in Ireland.

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This Week In Boxing History

On March 24^th 1975, Muhammad Ali fought the relative unknown Chuck Wepner for the World Title, a fight which lasted the full 15 rounds despite the perceived gulf in class between the fighters.  Wepner was knocked out in the final round, but was deemed to have floored Ali in the ninth, despite the champion’s assertion that his foot had been stood on.

The fight is also notable in that it served as the inspiration for a young Sylvester Stallone, who, after watching it, locked himself in a room to write Rocky.

Mucho Excitismo!

OK, so my Spanish isn't all that, but I'm quite excited today after learning that my friend Laura wasn't taking the mick when she told me that Muhammad Ali, yes, THE Muhammad Ali, is on his way to Ireland. And not just to Ireland but to Clare, his ancestry home, which is within half an hour of where I live.. The first of September is marked off in my calendar already. Anyone wanna come with?

The Beginning Of The Greatest's Tale

I tried to post this on the relevant day but gremlins in my browser stopped me. Apologies for the delay.

It's forty five years today (February 24) since the then Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston to claim the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Clay became Ali, Ali became The Greatest. It started on that day. I've sometimes claimed that Round 5 of that fight was the most important moment of the twentieth century - had Clay not evaded Liston in the 'blind round' then all that came after it would not have. No Vietnam resistance, no Rumble, no Thrilla. An integral part of the Civil Rights Movement would not have existed in such a vociferous form.

It was also the fight that launched the personality that would eventually become one of the greatest athletes of all time. I've got my problems with Muhammad as a man, but he is the most famous man of all time in what is undoubtedly my favourite sport, and for that I shall mark this day with one of my favourite Ali poems.

Clay comes out to meet Liston
and Liston starts to retreat,
if Liston goes back an inch farther
he'll end up in a ringside seat.

Clay swings with a left,
Clay swings with a right,
just look at young Cassius
carry the fight.

Liston keeps backing
but there's not enough room,
it's a matter of time
until Clay lowers the boom.

Then Clay lands with a right,
what a beautiful swing,
and the punch raised the bear
clear out of the ring.

Liston still rising
and the ref wears a frown,
but he can't start counting
until Sonny comes down.

Now Liston disappears from view,
the crowd is getting frantic
and our radaring stations have picked him up
somewhere over the Atlantic.

Who on Earth thought,
when they came to the fight,
that they would witness the launching
of a human satellite.

Hence the crowd did not dream,
when they laid down their money,
that they would see
a total eclipse of Sonny.

Time To 'Execute' Racism in Boxing

You have to learn one thing. You have to learn that slickness that black fighters have and then you'll really be a great champion.

Bernard Hopkins, speaking to Kelly Pavlik after winning their non-title 170 pound fight on Saturday.

What can you say about Bernard Hopkins? From the moment he entered the ring in Atlantic City on Saturday night, wearing (for the first time in many a year) his trademark Executioner mask, we should have known something was up.


What a performance.


For those of you who didn't see it, B-Hop dominated Pavlik from start to finish with a comfortable unanimous decision. I had it 118-107 but in truth it didn't matter - this was a (surprising) whitewash.


However, his comments after the fight (shown above, taken from Dan Rafael's account of the fight on espn.com) are sickening. Coming from the man who said he would 'never lose to a white boy' before he fought Joe Calzaghe, this is another racist statement which should not be tolerated.


I have no problem with Bernard as a fighter. Sure, he's not the most exciting to watch, but to see him mentally as well as physically deconstruct an opponent is a great sight. It is art. Yet for this statement to go virtually unnoticed is a disgrace.


Bernard - you are a first ballot Hall of Famer. In a time when boxing shoots itself in the foot with alphabet soup organisations and too many champions, you were for many years an undisputed champion in one of it's key divisions. In terms of dominance and superiority, you were a throwback to halycon fighters such as Sugar Ray Robinson and Carlos Monzon. Yet statements such as this, as well as your chequered history, make you unlikeable as a human being.


Now, more then ever, boxing needs strong leaders in the ilk of Ali, Louis and Marciano. MMA, though I don't rate it myself, has become a threat. It is taking money and attention out of boxing. Yet it is struggling as well, and in the fight of the pugilistic disciplines, 'faces' would go a long way. These men need to be likable, these men need to be exciting and, Bernard, it makes no difference if they're black or white.

Looking Back On Liston

Sonny Liston is still the heavyweight king. God save the king. God save boxing.


That was the opening of the Sports Illustrated report on Sonny Liston's win over Floyd Patterson which took place 45 years ago today. To call it a fight would be an insult - Liston knocked Patterson out in just over 2 minutes and had him on the deck three times. It was to be the only successful defence of his short reign s World Heavyweight Champion. In February 1964, Liston met a young fighter named Cassius Clay and the rest, as they say, is the greatest story in the history of sport.

Tonight I want to talk about Liston. The Big Bear is, for me, the most fascinating character ever to grace the ring. No other fighter has drawn the scorn given to him. In life, and in death, he is an enigmatic man who deserves more than the footnote currently given to him in the annals of boxing history.

I'm not defending Sonny Liston. His links to the mob are undeniable and the fifth round against Ali in Miami in February 1964 was not the only time that he used a dirty trick in the ring. However, I am saying that boxing should remember Liston, and realise that we should remember him as much more than a brutish thug.

The rematch in Knoxville, Kentucky is a case in point. The common consensus is that Liston threw the fight, taking a dive in the first round after Ali threw the so-called 'phantom' punch. However, let's suppose for a moment that the punch caught Liston off balance and knocked him to the canvas. Would you get up if this was the scene waiting for you?? Liston did, after Ali was sent to a neutral corner (a rule which is staandard today but was new at the time) before he got up and fought on for 20 seconds. At that point journalist Nat Fleischer told referee Jersey Joe Walcott that Liston had been off his feet for more than ten seconds, prompting Walcott to end the fight there and then. Liston may have taken a dive, but if he did not, then he was robbed in this fight.

His death was also strange. He died in suspicious circumstances Las Vegas in December 1970, as a pauper. Once feared (rather then revered), he was buried in a pauper's funeral in the town where only years earlier, millions had been bet on his fights. However, as a boxer, his professional career got an even less respectful passing that night in Lewiston. Sure, he fought on for five more years, but for all intents and purposes Liston was never to be the same fighter again.

I've always wanted to make/see a film about Liston's life. It would be a fascinating story, one that could put a human face on the man who has been characterized as a villian. It could tell us of a man who wanted to be accepted, who cried when he was neither applauded nor even respected as the Heavyweight Champion of the World. We could learn of a boxer who never could shake off the 'born on the wrong side of the tracks' tag, not even in death.

Liston once said that "Some day they're gonna write a Blues for fighters. It'll just be for slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell." Mark Knopfler has already written one for Sonny alone.

The writers didn't like him

The fight game jocks

With his lowlife backers

And his hands like rocks

They didn't want to have A bogey man

They didn't like him

And he didn't like them