No Doubt About It... We Owe You, Joe!

R.I.P. Joseph William Frazier

January 12, 1944 - November 7, 2011

This morning, the life and legacy of Joe Frazier was remembered with elegance and passion in a two-hour ceremony at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA. "Smokin' Joe", as he was affectionately known, died last Monday of liver cancer. He was 67 years old. Even Muhammad Ali, who was his "arch nemesus" in the boxing ring many years ago, was present and paid his final respects to the former heavyweight champion. Fellow boxers Bernard Hopkins, Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, and Mike Tyson, among others, were also there.

By all accounts, Joe was a humble, reserved, and God-fearing man, according to those who knew him personally. The white casket was placed in front of the alter, draped in tapestry, and adorned by various bouquets of flowers. The heavyweight tile belt he won by defeating Ali in the 1971 "Fight of the Century" sat on top of the casket. A 100-member choir sang hymns, while the preachers urged the crowd to rise from their seats to their feet in celebration of his life.

Rev. Jesse Jackson addressed those who attended, along with other religious leaders from the Philadelphia area. In his remarks, Rev. Jackson chastised the city for not having a statue of Joe Frazier. He questioned why the city so eagerly celebrated the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa and not Joe Frazier. He went on to say... "Tell them Rocky was not a champion, but Joe Frazier was! Tell them Rocky's fist were frozen in stone, but Joe's fists were smokin'!" He incited a large cheer from the crowd as he demanded a statue of Joe to be erected in Philadelphia.

Ironically or coincidentally (whichever you choose to believe), it was reported on last Friday that Mayor Nutter said the city was "in discussion" with the family regarding a lasting memorial for our former heavyweight champion. Oh? Well, excuse me, Mayor Nutter... but, I seem to remember that it was also reported last year that the city was "in discussion" about a statue for Joe Frazier and then, it appeared the ball was eventually dropped. No more was ever reported or said about it that I can recall. What happened?

I've always admired Joe Frazier and I, too, feel that Philadelphia should be ashamed for not erecting a statue in his honor while he was still alive to see it. We truly failed him in this area and I'll be the first one to admit it. But, I really wish people, including Rev. Jesse Jackson (no disrespect intended), would stop making references to the Rocky statue in order to make this point. The two are completely unrelated and one has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

Contrary to popular opinion, the city of Philadelphia didn't erect a statue in Rocky's honor. The statue, which was a prop specifically created for and used in Rocky III, was actually given to the city as a gift after the movie was completed. By that time, three of the movies were filmed here and since that time, two more were filmed here... Rocky V and Rocky Balboa. Like it or not, the Rocky movies are a part of Philadelphia "film" history and there's nothing wrong with our city being proud of that fact or displaying the statue. The mistake is constantly comparing a (movie prop) statue to the life and legacy of a real man.

So please, let's just acknowledge that we failed to give a true champion his just-due while he was here to appreciate it and work together to fix it. I know it's a lot easier and tempting to blame a lifeless object than acknowledge a gross oversight... but, given the kind of guy Joe Frazier was, I'm sure he forgave us for our unintentional negligence before he left this side of heaven. All we need to do now is stop comparing apples and oranges, forgive ourselves, and get this statue project done... but, for no other reason than we owe it to "Smokin' Joe".

I'm proud to say that I'm old enough to remember every time Frazier and Ali fought. I've also seen every Rocky movie made to date. And, if memory serves me correctly, "Smokin' Joe" actually appeared as himself in Rocky II and was happy to do it... that's just the kind of guy he was. So, for me, all of this kind of talk is pointless. The hearts and minds in the City of Brotherly Love should be big enough to hold the legacy of the man (Frazier) and the memory of the movies (Rocky) without a problem... the important thing is knowing and understanding the difference between the two of them.