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9 unusual facts about Joe Frazier


1975 in the Philippines

October 1 – The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

Abby Lockhart

Their baby, a son named Joseph (after Luka's father), or Joe, for short (after Joe Frazier, the boxer whom Abby's long-disappeared father was a fan of) is born by emergency C-section at the beginning of season 13.

Celestino Piatti

In 1971 Piatti was commissioned by the American Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to design a 39" x 45" poster to promote the closed circuit viewing at the State Armoury in Harlem of the March 8 Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier fight at Madison Square Garden.

Eddie Futch

Champions who worked under Futch's tutelage include Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Michael Spinks, Alexis Arguello, Marlon Starling, Wayne McCullough, Montell Griffin, and his first world champion fighter, Don Jordan, who was crowned world welterweight champion in 1958.

Greatest Heavyweights

The game features eight of the most famous and successful heavyweight boxers in history: Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and Floyd Patterson.

Liberty, North Carolina

Liberty is home to the mother church of the Southern Baptist Religion (Sandy Creek Baptist Church), World Skeet Shoot Champion Craig Kirkman, and is the birthplace of professional baseball player Joe Frazier.

Luka Kovač

The baby (whom Abby and Luka decide to name Josip, after Luka's father, but call "Joe" because Abby's father was a fan of boxer Joe Frazier) was born prematurely; consequently, he had underdeveloped lungs and several other serious problems.

Smoking Joe

Joe Frazier, a former Olympic (1964) and World Heavyweight Boxing Champion

Stephan Reimertz

The novel features the 1971 New York fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, the so-called Fight of the Century.


Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI

The break-in was perpetrated on the day of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali's Fight of the Century, in the hope that any security guards would be glued to their radios.

International Amphitheatre

In December 1981, Joe Frazier had his final boxing match at the Amphitheatre against Floyd Cummings, which resulted in a draw.

Rocky Balboa

Balboa was also inspired by other fighting legends: Joe Frazier, for his Philadelphia origin, training methods and victory against Muhammad Ali (The inspiration of Apollo Creed), and Jake LaMotta, for his Italian-inner city roots, ability to absorb many blows and his rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson, which heavily resembled Rocky and Apollo's.

Rogelio Borja Flores

When working for the Times Journal for which he covered events such as the Thrilla in Manila boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, the 1977 World Chess Championships and World Amateur Golf at Wack Wack in 1977.

Stan Isaacs

He covered multiple historic sporting events, including Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World, Roger Maris' chase of Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, bouts between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and the New York Islanders multiple Stanley Cup victories in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Cherry Street Tavern

Along with the regular clientele, the Cherry Street Tavern has attracted some celebrity customers, including basketball Hall-of-Famer Larry Bird, former heavyweight champion boxer Joe Frazier, actor Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man), Philadelphia Flyers hockey player Scott Hartnell, and former Philadelphia Phillies' center fielder Gary Maddox.


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