Smoking Joe Frazier dead at 67

Smoking Joe Frazier, a truly great heavyweight, died today of liver cancer. After winning Olympic gold as an amateur, he turned pro in 1965 and powered his way to the top of the heap, winning his first major title in only his 20th fight, the NYSAC heavyweight title. That was in 1968. By 1970, he had unifying the title by adding the WBA and WBC titles. In 1971, he established himself as the linear heavyweight championship by defeating Muhammad Ali, punctuating his unanimous points victory by knocking Ali down in the 15th and final round. Frazier's reign came to an end in 1973 at the hands of Big George Foreman. He was knocked down six times in that fight. But it must be remembered that he got up six times. He would fight for the title in 1975 against Ali, but succumb in the 14th round after a brutal war. He took Ali to a higher level in their epic trilogy. The first and third fights are arguably the greatest heavy championship fights of all time. All in all he engaged in 11 world title fights, losing only two of them, both against all-time greats.