Former champ Frazier's flying visit
RETURNING to Australia, where he recorded the last victory of his career 30 years ago, former world champion Joe Frazier reckons the current heavyweight boxing scene is crazy.
Now 61, `Smokin Joe' recorded his 32nd and final professional win in March 1975 at Melbourne's Junction Oval over compatriot Jimmy Ellis.
In his next bout seven months later, Frazier took part in the `Thrilla In Manilla' which completed his epic trilogy with Muhammad Ali, the fighter with whom he will always be inextricably linked.
Frazier gave his opinions about Ali, controversial former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and the current state of boxing during a flying visit to Sydney, where he was a guest at last night's Sir Roden Cutler Medal dinner.
With the heavyweight title fractured into several different pieces with different belts worn by Vitali Klitschko, John Ruiz, Chris Byrd and Lamon Brewster, Frazier freely admits he doesn't know who the champion is since Lennox Lewis stepped down.
It is a far cry from 1970, when Frazier became undisputed champion by beating Ellis in their first fight.
"Today I don't know who the champion is they change so fast," Frazier said.
"When I was there, there was only one sanctioning (body) so that makes it a little greater than it is now we have two or three sanctions.
"We don't know who the champion is. I wouldn't know who is the champion after Lewis. It's crazy, it's running wild.
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"I fought for three or four million, these guys are doing 12 rounds, for 15 or 20 million dollars and they don't go one or two rounds. I'd like to see them fight more regular and get the job done."
Frazier's out of ring relationship with Ali always appeared fractious as they exchanged jibes.
However, Frazier was adamant there was no ongoing feud, though he still objected to Ali calling himself the greatest.
"I didn't have no patching up to do, it was mostly his word against everybody else's word, that he thought he was the greatest," Frazier said.
"No man on this earth could be the (greatest), there's only one lord is the (greatest). He (Ali) portrays himself to be the greatest, but we all like patched it up, put it together."
Ali won their last two bouts, but Frazier became the first professional to beat him when he earned a unanimous decision in New York in 1971.
"You remember that old bible battle with David and Goliath? I was David, I had a repeat slingshot and every time he tried to get out from me, I tried to load that slingshot up to take him out," Frazier said.
Frazier felt former champion Mike Tyson needed to learn more respect.
"The guy (Tyson) needs home training, the guy needs gym training, the guy needs to have respect training, in more ways than one. I think if he can go with these things, I think he'll be a good guy, he can get back to where he needs to be," Frazier said.
This Frazier is a jealous fornicate!!
