Let me tell you, it was truly an amazing experience. He was very clear and lucid in his speech. It's rare to hear boxers from that era who are completely clear in the way that they talk.
I started off by thanking him for the opportunity to speak with him and called him Mr. Frazier. He told me to call him "Smoke" so I made that adjustment.
We spoke for about 20 minutes, touching on everything from life, to the secret to happiness, to why he doesn't watch modern boxing.
I asked him if he still sings, and he answered by belting out the first four lines of Heart Break Hotel. The man can sing a little.
I asked him about fights like Marciano, he said it was a good thing they didn't meet because it would have been a scary war.
He said he woulda kicked Larry Holmes' ass just like in sparring when he broke his ribs. He said he woulda chewed Mike Tyson up and spit him out.
Overall, it was a real highlight of my career in boxing. We said our good byes and he said something along the lines of "I'm out, boogie."
The true definition of cool.
I started off by thanking him for the opportunity to speak with him and called him Mr. Frazier. He told me to call him "Smoke" so I made that adjustment.
We spoke for about 20 minutes, touching on everything from life, to the secret to happiness, to why he doesn't watch modern boxing.
I asked him if he still sings, and he answered by belting out the first four lines of Heart Break Hotel. The man can sing a little.
I asked him about fights like Marciano, he said it was a good thing they didn't meet because it would have been a scary war.
He said he woulda kicked Larry Holmes' ass just like in sparring when he broke his ribs. He said he woulda chewed Mike Tyson up and spit him out.
Overall, it was a real highlight of my career in boxing. We said our good byes and he said something along the lines of "I'm out, boogie."
The true definition of cool.
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