Down goes Frazier!

Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Those almost immortal words, spoken by Howard Cosell, at the fight between Joe Frazier and George Foreman. How those words have managed to survive the years along with the legendary status that goes with the life of Joe Frazier and have characterised his life, is something to behold and something to mourn.

I mourn the passing of this man, a fighter, a warrior, a man who for me knew no fear. I wish also to celebrate his life, for his life and the lives of his opponents Ali and Foreman, gave meaning to my life at that time. When my father switched on the TV to watch what is now known as the 'Thriller in Manila", we had no idea what was to come. Who could have?

What we and many others around the world witnessed that night, were two men who were prepared to die rather than be beaten. For several rounds, Joe Frazier hurt Ali - literally. But what we did not know, was that Joe Frazier was already partially blind in his left eye from a training accident in 1964. Then his right eye started to close and essentially his was a sitting duck. A sitting duck for his skilled and deadly opponent Ali. Ali mercilessly pounded the head of Frazier until it was swollen and grotesque.

At the end of round 14 came the unthinkable, the realisation that if he were allowed to go out for the 15th and final round, Joe Frazier could really get hurt. His trainer, Eddie Futch, would not allow that to happen. So Joe Frazier was retired from the fight for his own protection. The irony of it all was that Ali was prepared to quit as well and not come out for the 15th round. This fight would define Ali in so many ways but most importantly, the damage that Frazier inflicted upon Ali that night would in my opinion and the opinion of many others, seriously affect the health of Ali in later years.

Ali is often quoted as saying that the fight was like "the closest he ever felt to death". It is without doubt one of the greatest fights I have had the honour to witness and for me clearly defined who Joe Frazier was - one of the greatest heavyweight boxers from that era.

Sadly, society has not valued the contribution that Joe Frazier made to boxing or our lives and for someone with that much courage and charisma, to spend the last years of his life living in one room above his gym, with a can of beans for dinner, is a sad commentary on the society in which we live now and then. Perhaps it was meant to be that the poor boy from South Carolina was meant to return to his roots as a poor man? His passing is a sharp reminder that however good you are, you are only as good as your next fight, whatever that may be.

The Portal of Healing.