Smokin' Joe--A tribute to Joe Frazier

p Joe Frazier was a man.nbsp; Joe Frazier was a worker.nbsp; Joe Frazier was 16 hour days in slaughterhouses and under the hot sun.nbsp; Joe Frazier was black and beautifulmdash;black and proudmdash;still span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="sayin’" data-scaytid="3"sayinrsquo;/span it loud.nbsp; Joe Frazierrsquo;s heart was in the shape of the motherland, his face was the history of his people going back--far, far back--before the white manrsquo;s history.nbsp; Joe Frazier was the calloused veins and resistance of South Carolina sharecroppers.nbsp; Joe Frazier was a young boy watching Henry Armstrong, Joe Louis, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Ezzard" data-scaytid="5"Ezzard/span Charles and Jersey Joe span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Walcott" data-scaytid="7"Walcott/span on a small black and white./p p nbsp;/p p Joe Frazier was a burlap sack stuffed with torn rags, corn cobs, old clothesmdash;swinging from the ceiling.nbsp; Joe Frazier was a left hook that could knock down a brick wall.nbsp; Joe Frazier was black migration going far south to far north.nbsp; Joe Frazier was cold dark streets in Philly.nbsp; Joe Frazier was working the slaughterhouses, hitting sides of beef, developing his left hook and right hand long before span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="anybody’d" data-scaytid="1"anybodyrsquo;d/span ever heard of Rocky./p p nbsp;/p p Joe Frazier was the brick layer, the ironworker, the street sweeper, the cement masonmdash;the fire that keeps it all going.nbsp; Joe Frazier was motion, bobbing and weaving, never taking a backward step, never denied, never defeated.nbsp; Joe Frazier was the marrow of our bones, our spirit, our rage, our angermdash;displayed at its bestmdash;never backing up, finding the right opening and going for broke.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p Joe Frazier was the ass whipping our fathers gave us when we got out of line.nbsp; Joe Frazier was the definition of the word bad.nbsp; Ali was the fastest going backward but Frazier was the fastest coming forward.nbsp; Joe Frazier was the brother who wore flashy clothes that were suited for the stage because the world is but a stage.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p Joe Frazier was the best fighter in the world in Madison Square Garden, March 18, 1971, when he faced Ali.nbsp; Joe Frazier was cataracts and hypertension fighting 15 of the greatest rounds in ring history, never taking a backward step.nbsp; Joe Frazier grabbed Ali, pulling him off the ropes and said, ldquo;Letrsquo;s fightrdquo;./p p nbsp;/p p Joe Frazier was the winner of that fight, the fight of the century.nbsp; He was the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world.nbsp; Joe Frazier, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="“Smokin’" data-scaytid="11"ldquo;Smokinrsquo;/span Joerdquo;, the guy who loaned Ali money when Ali couldnrsquo;t get a license to fight after being stripped of his title for refusing induction into the US Army.nbsp; Joe Frazier, the guy Ali called an uncle tom and lots of other thingshellip;to promote the fight./p p nbsp;/p p Joe Frazier, losing to George Foreman, knocked down 6 times in the process but not counted out.nbsp; He was Joe Frazier, he couldnrsquo;t be counted out.nbsp; Joe Frazier, the guy who fought Ali again in rsquo;74, then again in rsquo;75 in the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="“Thriilla" data-scaytid="9"ldquo;Thriilla/span in Manilardquo;.nbsp; That fight was 2 warriors giving their best to each other and to the creatormdash;the human spirit shown at its best.nbsp; Joe Frazier, not allowed to come out for round 15.nbsp; Joe Frazier would never again fight for the title.nbsp; Joe Frazier, in the shadow of Ali./p p nbsp;/p p Joe, in the highlight reels always shown getting hit by Ali, Joe always shown in a light that wasnrsquo;t quite right.nbsp; Ali, Ali, Ali, the people chanted, but what about Joe?nbsp; Joe was quiet, he was humble, he did what he had to do and made no excuses.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p Joe, hardworking, honorable--his fire, his heart--the embodiment of the human spirit at its best. nbsp;Not ignorant, an uncle Tom, ugly or whatever else Ali said at the time.nbsp;nbsp; Rest in peace Joe.nbsp;/p