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It was a short fight that lasted only 7 minutes, but it was a classic, because it shocked the world. Frazier was supposed to win. Instead the boxing World finally had to admit that Foreman's punches were devastating.George Foreman, and Joe Frazier are two world class boxers who's careers extended through the end of the golden age of boxing. They both gave credit to our Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation when they were at the height of their careers, and never wavered from their faith. So, it's only fitting I share this classic boxing match on my blog for...

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The decade of 1970s is widely regarded as the Golden Age of Heavyweight Boxing. More world-class, highly skilled heavyweights were active during this time than at any other decade in boxing history. Names like Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Quarry, Lyle, Shavers, Bugner, Ellis, Young, Holmes, Spinks, Patterson and Bonavena were known throughout the sporting world. The decade started off with Joe Frazier winning universal recognition as heavyweight champion when he stopped Jimmy Ellis after four spirited rounds in their long-awaited showdown at Madison Square Garden on February 16th, 1970. Muhammad Ali had been stripped of his title and shorn of...

Joe Frazier, who was a key member of the Chad Mitchell Trio during their most popular years, died on Friday at the age of 77. According to sources, his passing was unexpected. While he had some age-related illnesses, he had been getting stronger in recent weeks.

When boxing great Joe Frazier died last week, the media managed to say nice things about Smokin' Joe without ever detailing how they and their chosen one of the moment, Muhammad Ali, conspired to ruin Frazier's life. I got a sense of this in March 1971, when my friends from grad school and I drove from Purdue to watch a large screen presentation of the first Ali-Frazier fight. Given the imperatives of student poverty, we headed not south to Indianapolis, which was 40 miles closer, but north to Gary, which was five dollars cheaper. The moment we walked into the...

It is appropriate to set aside this journal’s customary business now and then to pay tribute to class and loss away from baseball. If you think that boxing is a profession, if not necessarily a sport, to which class is an unwelcome intruder, you may not have known Joe Frazier, who died of liver cancer at 62 on Monday. Or, at least, you may not really think that class was beaten out of the profession once and for all by the third and last of his showdowns with Muhammad Ali. “I heard somethin’ once,” Ali told Sports Illustrated‘s Mark Kram,...

‘Don’t you know I’m God?” taunted Muhammad Ali, in the first of the epic trilogy of heavyweight prizefights with Joe Frazier that defined the early 1970s. Ali even took to accompanying each word — Don’t — you — know — I’m — God? — with a swing of his fists, unleashing another flurry of his lightning-fast punches. Frazier, undaunted, singularly unaffected by Ali’s sophomoric doggerel and sophisticated psy-ops, kept boring in on his opponent, a steady, bobbing, weaving machine, and spat back through his bloodied mouthpiece: “Well, God, you gonna get whupped tonight!” And very near the end of that...

(CNN) -- Joe Frazier, the hard-hitting boxing heavyweight who handed the legendary Muhammad Ali his first defeat, died Monday, shortly after being diagnosed with liver cancer, his family said in a statement. The former heavyweight champion, who was 67, became a legend in his own right and personified the gritty working-class style of his hard-knuckled hometown, Philadelphia -- a fitting setting for the "Rocky" film series, starring Sylvester Stallone as hardscrabble boxer Rocky Balboa. "You could hear him coming, snorting and grunting and puffing, like a steam engine climbing a steep grade," Bill Lyon wrote in a Philadelphia Inquirer column...

PHILADELPHIA - November 7, 2011 (WPVI) -- Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier has lost his battle with liver cancer, his family tells Action News.

He beat Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century, battled him nearly to the death in the Thrilla in Manila. Then Joe Frazier spent the rest of his life trying to fight his way out of Ali's shadow. That was one fight Frazier never could win. He was once a heavyweight champion, and a great one at that. Ali would say as much after Frazier knocked him down in the 15th round en route to becoming the first man to beat Ali at Madison Square Garden in March 1971. But he bore the burden of being Ali's foil, and...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier has liver cancer and is under hospice care. The 67-year-old boxer was diagnosed four or five weeks ago, Frazier's personal and business manager said Saturday. Leslie Wolff told The Associated Press that doctors have not yet told Frazier how long he has to live.

Legendary boxer Smokin’ Joe Frazier is in the final fight of his life. Frazier, who gave the boxing world the “Thrilla in Manila,” and many other classic memories, is deathly ill with advanced liver cancer. "He’s in serious shape, we’re looking for a miracle," a source close to the former heavyweight champ told The New York Post. "They’re only giving him a short time to live. We need to have as many people as possible praying for Joe right now."

Joe Frazier arrested for assault PHILADELPHIA - Former boxing heavyweight champion Joe Frazier was arrested on Friday and charged with assaulting a woman. The victim was described in police documents as the mother of Frazier's son, department spokesman Corporal Jim Pauley said. The 44-year-old woman was not seriously injured and refused medical treatment, police said. Advertisement The 60-year-old boxing great was awaiting arraignment on charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment. Frazier was the world champion from 1970 to 1973, and fought Muhammad Ali in three classic heavyweight bouts, winning once and losing twice. He was also the heavyweight gold...