why was joe frazier an uncle tom?

[Kid McCoy]

Because Frazier called him Cassius Clay and said he would go to the Vietnam war if asked unlike Cassius...

The real reason is because Ali wanted to anger him and sell tickets, as was the case in Ali-Patterson and Ali-Terrell. Ali was actually friends with Patterson.

I don't think Ali and Patterson were friends before their first fight. Ali called him the 'Black White Hope' and Patterson promised to defeat 'Clay' and return the title to America. They had made up by their second meeting though, where Ali seemed to go out of his way to atone for what had gone before.

A lot of Ali's antics were just tongue-in-cheek and intended to hype up his fights. But for whatever reason, he did take it too far with Frazier. There's a difference between patting Earnie Shavers on the head and calling him the acorn, and manically belittling Frazier as a gorilla and an Uncle Tom, even when, as Frazier pointed out, every ticket had already been sold.

[TheGreatA]

I don't think Ali and Patterson were friends before their first fight. Ali called him the 'Black White Hope' and Patterson promised to defeat 'Clay' and return the title to America. They had made up by their second meeting though, where Ali seemed to go out of his way to atone for what had gone before.

A lot of Ali's antics were just tongue-in-cheek and intended to hype up his fights. But for whatever reason, he did take it too far with Frazier. There's a difference between patting Earnie Shavers on the head and calling him the acorn, and manically belittling Frazier as a gorilla and an Uncle Tom, even when, as Frazier pointed out, every ticket had already been sold.

3:25

Their relations may have soured later on but you never know whether it might have been just pre-fight talk.



He said this before the second fight:

"He's such a nice guy I even let him call me Mr. Clay."

[TheGreatA]

He went further with his insults against Frazier without a doubt. I think it may have been because Frazier himself got to Ali with some of his pre-fight talk.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1084610/index.htm

Holmes said that he never knew Ali could go so low as he did during the pre-fight talk of Holmes-Ali. He said he knew it was just to get him angry though.

[TheGreatA]

3:25

Their relations may have soured later on but you never know whether it might have been just pre-fight talk.



He said this before the second fight:

"He's such a nice guy I even let him call me Mr. Clay."

Funny to hear Ali use Joe Louis' quote during the pre-fight talk for the first Patterson fight.

"Joe," he asked at dinner one night, "do you think I could have beaten you in your prime?"

"If you even dreamed it," Louis replied, not entirely appreciating the insolent humor, "you should apologize."

[Kid McCoy]

Patterson wrote this article just prior to their first fight. It seems pretty strong for it to be just hype:

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1077772/index.htm

[Carolina Bomber]

I could understand muhammad ali calling ernie terrell and floyd patterson, uncle toms and they deserved that beating they got.

But frazier seemed alright why did muhammad ali call him a gorilla and an uncle tom.

He did it to hype the fight.

[Hawkins]

I love Ali, but he was well aware of how much Frazier did not like the Uncle Tom and the gorilla remarks. Other than his parents, calling him Cassius Clay was a serious infraction. Regardless of all the supposed lightheartedness of the whole pre-fight hysterics and such Ali had a malicious streak when you crossed the line.

[TheGreatA]

Patterson wrote this article just prior to their first fight. It seems pretty strong for it to be just hype:

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.c...7772/index.htm

I remember reading that. To be honest the article seems quite unlike what Floyd Patterson would say (it was in fact written by someone else) but there's no doubt that Patterson (and a lot of other people) questioned and criticized Ali's beliefs before the fight. Patterson used to put a lot of pressure on himself which may have at times affected his performances.

There was surprisingly little disappointment on Patterson's part after the fight however. He said that he could have fought better (without his injured back) but the better man won and that deep down he knows that Ali is a good man.

Ali gave Patterson credit for being tougher than he expected and didn't really go any further.

[MarkScott]

Ali caste all of his opponents in a role, and the Uncle Tom was one of his favorites.

[Thunder Lips]

"Frazier never learned the slickness of black fighters!"