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DID SMOKIN' JOE RIDE THE GRAVY TRAIN ?
The lyrics of a song by Pink Floyd may have summed up the whole
situation. " Have a cigar, you're gonna go far. That's the name of the game
boy...They call it ridin' the gravy train ".
After Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali in their March 8, 1971
classic, in my eyes he was never the same. He had future moments, the win
over Quarry, the " Thrilla In Manila " but for all intents and purposes, Joe
left his soul in that Madison Square Garden ring. I have followed boxing for
close to forty years. In that time I have seen so many game warriors. I've
seen men die in the ring or become disabled or suffer post career dementia.
For all the horrible things I've seen one fight will always stand out for
me. Frazier-Ali I WAS the Fight Of The Century. Please have no doubt about
it. In that fight I have never seen a boxer with such a will to win then Joe
Frazier had that night. He was NOT going to be denied. Ali could have had a
tire iron and a billy club in the ring that night and he still would have
lost. That night Joe Frazier could have held his own with any heavyweight
who ever lived !
What happened after that ? That's easy...Joe was the " Man ". He had
finally shut up the " Louisville Lip ". Remember though that Joe took a
terrible physical beating in that fight. Also all the emotional stress
leading up to that bout took a serious toll on Joe. He needed a rest. He
needed an easy fight. He got one. Enter Terry Daniels. In a phrase that
Bobby Czyz would coin, he was " bright, white and polite ". Well that was
Terry. He was an articulate young man who could fight a little bit but
against Frazier he was totally over matched. He was stopped in four. Next
enter the " Council Bluffs Butcher ", Ron Stander. So many more worthy
besides Ali were passed over but Ronny was considered a more serious
challenge then Daniels.
For two rounds, Frazier-Stander was a competitive bout. As Frazier
would say later, " Ronny came to fight ". Give him that but by the third
round Joe was chopping him up. It was over by round five. Another relatively
easy defense for Joe.
Did the " gravy train " lead to his demise eight months later against
George Foreman ? Look at photos of Joe in the March 8th bout. Then look at
photos of him against Buster Mathis, Oscar Bonavena and Jimmy Ellis. Then he
was a fighting machine. Then you see a somewhat flabby Frazier in the ring
with this fearsome looking fellow named Foreman. It was a " massacre ".
George bounced Joe around like a rubber ball. Yes I know styles make fights
and Joe was made for George. Still I'll always wonder if George could have
beat the Frazier of March 8th, 1971 ?
The lyrics of a song by Pink Floyd may have summed up the whole
situation. " Have a cigar, you're gonna go far. That's the name of the game
boy...They call it ridin' the gravy train ".
After Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali in their March 8, 1971
classic, in my eyes he was never the same. He had future moments, the win
over Quarry, the " Thrilla In Manila " but for all intents and purposes, Joe
left his soul in that Madison Square Garden ring. I have followed boxing for
close to forty years. In that time I have seen so many game warriors. I've
seen men die in the ring or become disabled or suffer post career dementia.
For all the horrible things I've seen one fight will always stand out for
me. Frazier-Ali I WAS the Fight Of The Century. Please have no doubt about
it. In that fight I have never seen a boxer with such a will to win then Joe
Frazier had that night. He was NOT going to be denied. Ali could have had a
tire iron and a billy club in the ring that night and he still would have
lost. That night Joe Frazier could have held his own with any heavyweight
who ever lived !
What happened after that ? That's easy...Joe was the " Man ". He had
finally shut up the " Louisville Lip ". Remember though that Joe took a
terrible physical beating in that fight. Also all the emotional stress
leading up to that bout took a serious toll on Joe. He needed a rest. He
needed an easy fight. He got one. Enter Terry Daniels. In a phrase that
Bobby Czyz would coin, he was " bright, white and polite ". Well that was
Terry. He was an articulate young man who could fight a little bit but
against Frazier he was totally over matched. He was stopped in four. Next
enter the " Council Bluffs Butcher ", Ron Stander. So many more worthy
besides Ali were passed over but Ronny was considered a more serious
challenge then Daniels.
For two rounds, Frazier-Stander was a competitive bout. As Frazier
would say later, " Ronny came to fight ". Give him that but by the third
round Joe was chopping him up. It was over by round five. Another relatively
easy defense for Joe.
Did the " gravy train " lead to his demise eight months later against
George Foreman ? Look at photos of Joe in the March 8th bout. Then look at
photos of him against Buster Mathis, Oscar Bonavena and Jimmy Ellis. Then he
was a fighting machine. Then you see a somewhat flabby Frazier in the ring
with this fearsome looking fellow named Foreman. It was a " massacre ".
George bounced Joe around like a rubber ball. Yes I know styles make fights
and Joe was made for George. Still I'll always wonder if George could have
beat the Frazier of March 8th, 1971 ?
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