Smokin' Joe Has Left & Gone Away

The night of the 20th anniversary of Magic Johnson's press conference announcing he had the HIV virus and the same day marking Magic's triumph over the disease, another sports icon, boxing legend Joe Frazier, lost his fight against liver cancer.


Going into his epic battles against the great Muhammad Ali, Joe was clearly the underdog. He was shorter, not as graceful in his boxing style. And yet he had heart and courage. Constantly moving forward, bobbing and weaving, Joe, known to have a killer left knockout punch, was menacing.

I've always been an underdog guy. 
I hate Queen's anthem "We are the champions!"
I have an uneasy feeling about the local high school football team beating up another high school team by a score of  73-0.


I always wanted Joe Frazier to defeat Muhammad Ali. When Howard Cosell proclaimed "Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!" my heart sank and my spirits descended to the canvas with Joe.


But best not to remember Joe's defeats. He was the 1964 Olympic Boxing Heavyweight Gold Medalist, Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame Member.


Smokin' Joe has left and gone away. But his fighting spirit remains with those of us who appreciate the underdog.