EARLY last week, the curtains were drawn on the life of one of the greatest fighters of his generation, American Joe Frazier, who was more popularly known in boxing circles around the world as Smokin' Joe, because of his non-compromising and all-out attacking fighting style.Having reportedly battled liver cancer diagnosed early in the year, the former world heavyweight champion finally lost the fight and died at the age of 67. Expectedly, his death has attracted tributes from across the world, including different generations of boxing greats.Born on January 12, 1944 in Beaufort, South Carolina in the United States, Frazier was raised in Philadelphia, where he began his professional career with a first round knock-out of Woody Goss on August 16, 1965, less than a year after representing his country at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, and winning the gold medal in the heavyweight category. He won his first four fights, all at home in Philadelphia within five months, with none of his opponents lasting beyond three rounds.He won his first 11 professional fights and 26 of his first 29 all via knock-outs, and it soon became obvious that his 'opportunistic' Olympic gold medal was no fluke after all. Frazier had lost in the final bout of USA's Olympic qualifiers to Buster Mathis, and only made the U.S. Olympics contingent because Mathis was nursing an injury.Frazier seized his chance with both hands, won the Olympic gold, and later became so established in the professional class such that when he faced Mathis in a heavyweight title bout for the vacant New York World Heavyweight title on March 4, 1968, Frazier won decisively, via an 11th round knock-out.Four more knock-out victories in as many fights, including winning the vacant World Heavyweight title (vacated by the exiled holder Muhammad Ali) at the expense of Jimmy Ellis (Ali's training partner) with a fifth round knock-out, meant the unbeaten Frazier was always destined to have an ultimate face-off with the back-from-forced-exile but unbeaten Muhammad Ali.The inevitable match-up between the two unbeaten claimants, for the rightful ownership of the undisputed heavyweight champion, caught the imagination of the whole world, while the massive build-up to the scheduled March 1, 1971 date at the 'Mecca' of boxing, Madison Square Garden, New York, tagged the 'Fight of the Century,' marked the beginning of a rivalry that shaped professional boxing forever, and took the Heavyweight class to previously unreachable heights.The fight was so big that it attracted a role-call of the world's biggest showbiz celebrities and sporting legends. Indeed the greatest, wealthiest, and most influential of the assemblage of superstars, singer Frank Sinatra, opted to be an accredited ringside photographer so he could monitor the whole action 'blow-by-blow.'The world's most lucrative pay day-ever ($2.5 million for each fighter) was even almost irrelevant. It was the biggest show on earth, and as it turned out, the fight itself did not disappoint, with Frazier winning it on points, and becoming the first man ever to defeat the famous Muhammad Ali.Despite his hard-fought victory, however, Frazier was not exactly a toast of the boxing world, which appeared to have fallen madly in love with arguably the most famous and most charismatic sports personality of all time.But even the most die-hard of Ali's fans the world over, agreed that it is not possible to talk or write about Ali's inimitable career without mentioning Joe Frazier.Both men brought out the best in each other; and the third and last of their three memorable fights, tagged 'Thrilla in Manila' on October 1, 1975, is still being referred to as the greatest fight of all time. Despite the seeming bitterness surrounding their rivalry, Ali was the first to pay Frazier a tribute on hearing the sad news of his former arch-rival's demise.Admitting that Frazier was his toughest-ever opponent, after describing his experience in the famous Thrilla in Manila as 'the closest thing to death,' Ali, reacting on his death, said: 'The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.'The whole world joins Ali in paying tribute to a man who was an epitome of professionalism, share dint of determination, will-to-win, and an indomitable courage, which made him succeed against all odds.The sports authorities in Nigeria should create an enabling environment for our youth to develop their hidden talent, not just in football, but other sports disciplines as well. Just as Jamaica's Usain Bolt did not have to be a cricketer to put his country's name on top of the world's map as the fastest man on the planet, neither did Frazier have to play Baseball or Basketball to be a legendary champion; our very own Late Dick Tiger and Hogan Bassey did not have to excel on the football field before earning Nigeria a massive worldwide popularity.Do potential Fraziers, Dick Tigers, Hogan Basseys, Roger Federers, indeed Usain Bolts, and world champions in other sports abound in Nigeria' Obviously they do. But we need to fish them out, while not neglecting our 'darling' football. After all, the multi-sports Olympics, the biggest sporting spectacle on planet Earth is around the corner as London 2012 beckons.Smokin' Joe's legacy can never die. May his soul rest in peace!
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