A Legend Lost: The Death of Joe Frazier

The sports world lost a legend yesterday with the passing of Smokin' Joe Frazier at the age of 67. Frazier is remembered as one of the most recognizable names in Boxing history, along with those of Rocky Marcicano and Muhammad Ali. He was both an Olympic and World Heavyweight champion. A victim of liver cancer, Frazier is probably best remembered for his "contract" that he signed along with Muhammad Ali to have a rubber match in 1975. Little did people know at the time that the 3rd and final bout between the two legends would turn out to be even more vicious and brutal than their previous 2 fights. With the passing of Smokin' Joe, the boxing world has certainly taken a hit as it has lost a legend who survived what many consider to be the greatest boxing match of all-time.

"The Thrilla in Manila", as it has come to be known over the years involved the two greatest boxers of their time dueling it out over the course of 15, 3 minute rounds. As previously mentioned, the bout turned out to be one of the most vicious boxing matches of all-time with each fighter matching the other one shot for shot until the 14th round when the fight finally had to be called. Frazier could see nothing out of either eye and looked like he was on the verge of dying. Upon the calling of fight, Ali simply sank to the ground, offering nothing in the way of a celebration. The actions of both men after the fight is what truly signifies "The Thrilla in Manila" as the greatest boxing match of all time, two men with mutual hatred for each brutally beating the other for 14 rounds.

Boxing losing Joe Frazier is like basketball after the death of Wilt Chamberlain or the hockey world losing Wayne Gretzky. Whenever a sport loses a legend, the sport enters into a mourning period as they remember all the great memories provided by that person during the time they were involved with the sport. The boxing world will always be left with the lasting image of "The Thrilla in Manila", their 2 greatest icons coming together for one final bout in the ring.

 Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Frazier family as they cope with the loss of a loved one.

On a side note, if interested in learning more about "The Thrilla in Manila", I would recommend checking out the 2005 book titled "Ghosts of Manila" written by Mark Kram who is also remembered for writing one of the greatest sports journalism pieces of all time, a deep and thoughtful essay about "The Thrilla in Manila".