[5] His style was often compared with that of Henry Armstrong and occasionally Rocky Marciano and was dependent on bobbing, weaving, and relentless pressure to wear down his opponents.

[7] Rubin Frazier had his left hand and part of his forearm amputated in a tractor accident the year that his son was born.

[9] In the early 1950s, Frazier's father bought a black and white television, and the family and others nearby came to watch boxing matches on it.

Frazier had to save up a bit before he could make the bus trip to New York and still have some money in his pocket, so he first went to work at the local Coca-Cola plant.

Duke Dugent and his trainer, Yank Durham, were able to talk him out of his doldrums and even suggested that Frazier make the trip to Tokyo as an alternate in case something happened to Mathis.

In the morning, when the Olympic team would do their roadwork, Mathis would run a mile and start walking and say, "Go ahead, big Joe.

The match ended when the Soviet's handlers threw in the towel at 1:49 in the second round, and the referee raised Frazier's injured hand in victory.

With Futch's assistance, Durham arranged three fights in Los Angeles against journeyman Al Jones, veteran contender Eddie Machen and George "Scrap Iron" Johnson.

After the Johnson match, Futch became a full-fledged member of the Frazier camp as an assistant trainer and strategist, who advised Durham on matchmaking.

In 1967, Frazier stormed ahead winning all six of his fights, including a sixth-round knockout of Doug Jones and a brutal fourth round (TKO) of Canadian George Chuvalo.

Later that year, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight title because of his refusal to accept the military draft during the Vietnam War.

It would be the first meeting of two undefeated heavyweight champions (and the last until Mike Tyson faced Michael Spinks in 1988) since Ali (31–0) had not lost his title in the ring but been stripped because of his refusal to be conscripted into the armed forces.

Frazier lost his undefeated record of 29–0 and his world championship, at the hands of the unbeaten George Foreman on January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica.

Five months later, Frazier again battled Jerry Quarry in Madison Square Garden by winning the fight in the fifth round with a strong left hook to the ribs.

The win again established Frazier as the top heavyweight challenger for the title, which Ali had won from Foreman in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" five months earlier.

Frazier made a cameo appearance in the movie Rocky later in 1976 and dedicated himself to training local boxers in Philadelphia, where he grew up, including some of his own children.

In 1984, Frazier was the special referee for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes at Starrcade '84.

He appeared on-screen in the 8th series of The Celebrity Apprentice (USA) television show as a guest-attendee at a Silent Auction event held for the season finale (won by Joan Rivers).

"[28] According to an article from The New York Times, "over the years, Frazier has lost a fortune through a combination of his own generosity and naïveté, his carousing, and failed business opportunities.

In a 2006 HBO documentary on the fight in Manila, Frazier was interviewed living in his one-room apartment on the second floor of his gym in Philadelphia.

[29] His daughter Jacqui Frazier-Lyde is a lawyer and worked on her father's behalf in pursuit of money they claimed he was owed in a Pennsylvania land deal.

Bryant Gumbel joined the pro-Ali anti-Frazier bandwagon by writing a major magazine article that asked, "Is Joe Frazier a white champion with black skin?"

[33] When told by Michael Parkinson that Frazier was not an Uncle Tom, he responded by saying, "Then why does he insist on calling me Cassius Clay when even the worst of the white enemies recognize me as Muhammad Ali?

"[35] As a result of Ali's campaign, Frazier's children were bullied at school, and his family was given police protection after receiving death threats.

Jesse Jackson, who spoke during the service, asked those in attendance to stand and "show your love" and reportedly Ali stood with the audience and clapped "vigorously".

[53] Frazier continued to train young fighters, although he needed multiple operations for back injuries sustained in a car accident.

Notably popular for singing "Mustang Sally", Frazier teamed up with Welsh Rock Solo artist Jayce Lewis to release his repertoire in the UK, later visiting the Welshman there to host a string of after-dinner speeches and music developments.

"[58][59][60] On November 14, Frazier's private funeral was held at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia and was attended by Muhammad Ali, Don King, Larry Holmes, Magic Johnson, Dennis Rodman, his friends and family, and others.

Nowlan died unexpectedly, and ultimately a statue sculpted by Philadelphia sculptor Stephen Layne was erected at Xfinity Live!

Joe toured widely in the US and Europe including Ireland, where among other places he performed in Donegal and Athy, County Kildare with his band.