Smokin' Joe Frazier

[wserra]

Smokin' Joe Frazier, died today. He was heavyweight boxing champ for 5 years, back in an era when there was only a single championship belt, no Don King

No Don King? He was the 900-lb gorilla. He promoted and named the Rumble in the Jungle. He promoted and named the Thrilla in Manila. And lots and lots of others.

I put this here, because I know some of your parents watched Joe fight

(1) Kindly re-think that statement.
(2) That isn't a very nice thing to say.
(3) Smile when you say that.
(4) What did you say?!
(5) Fuck you, asshole.

RIP to the brave guy who fought the best in his business (including Ali and Foreman, two of the best ever) with essentially one working eye.

[Pottapaug1938]

I remember the fight in March of 1971,because I was a sophomore at Norwich University, located in a valley just south of Montpelier. Our location meant that radio reception was iffy at best; and the local radio stations weren't interested in up-to-the-minute updates on the fight. Our campus radio station, a 10-watt FM broadcaster, was located on the fourth (top) floor of the university HQ; and I was broadcasting a radio show that night.

Being up there gave us a bit of an edge on radio reception; so one cadet sat in the non-broadcast studio and listened to the fight while I did my show. After each song was over, I updated everyone on the progress of the fight; and listenership was high, partly because of all the pools going on (I had Frazier, in the first two minutes of the 6th round).