Smoking Joe Frazier & His life changing left hook
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January 12th, 1944 Beaufort, SC Joe Frazier was born and so was my personal favorite combat sports athlete ever. Considering his achievements being my guy surely ranks on the lowest rung of that list. The trilogy with Ali is widely brought up as “The peak of boxing” however Joe is usually the afterthought. Brushed to the wayside understandably under the might of the greatness that was Muhammad Ali. However, that greatness never applied to my 6-year-old brain when I watched Joe press forward, swaying his arms in front of his face and gently bouncing at the waist and swaying his head with the same tempo as his arms. Such a simple maneuver to the naked eye, But I was captivated. I asked my father why that “man in the cool green shorts” looked so different compared to Ali? My father gave me an answer but I couldn’t hear him over the sheer awe I was in. I was amazed that someone could fight so “weird” and be so successful. This interest would grow into a love for all things weird/awkward/different in regards to combat sports. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that fight. I could tell you however that I much like most kids who saw that fight (& Definitely if you’re from Philly and stumbled into a boxing gym) immediately spent hours and hours looking into a mirror, Sloppily “bobbing & weaving” left and right then winging a left hook to the head as hard as your child frame would allow. Smoking Joe was and is a boxing legend and I encourage everyone who finds this article of value to give him a film study & “learn a thing or two about a thing or two”. Throughout his career, all of those who challenged Joe were fearful of his “Life-Changing Hook”. They knew what the Philadelphia people knew. Allow Joe to dictate the rhythm/tempo/pace of the fight & you would be knocked out no questions asked. How did he do this? Three things. Pressure, unorthodoxy, & diversions.
“A diamond earns its sparkle from the pressure it endures.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo
One look at Joe Frazier would tell you that he is undoubtedly a pressure fighter & you would be right in saying so. Pressure in a combat sports context implies moving forward often through blows and sort of wading forward into range to land shots. The old adage of “Take one to give one” is often associated with this. Think early Justin Gaethje prodding forward being hit nonstop and attempting to melt his opponent like a snowflake. However, while Joe to the naked eye moves forward under fire it is always done so in a calculated way. A distinctly shorter man than many of his foes Joe employed a number of strategies to move himself into position to strike. I am going to highlight two of my favorites in the interest of keeping this article short and concise. I will touch specifically on Joe’s footwork(Or lack thereof), & hinge. I spoke earlier on how Joe sparked my love for the awkward and weird in combat sports and his footwork is the quintessential example. When you are a beginner boxer and enter a gym, The first thing they will teach you is how to stand and how to move forward and backward. And just like a baby deer you will cross your legs and shuffle your feet and possibly fall on your face.(If you’re anything like I was) Your trainer will eventually teach you how to move forward using your front foot and having your “trail leg” drag behind it. This is conventional wisdom. However, in Joe Frazier’s case, this just wouldn’t do. When slowing down Fraziers fights (Which is something everyone should do before talking about a fight on Twitter) it becomes apparent that Joe would move back foot first. As one could imagine this makes it almost impossible to time slick counters vis-a-vis Ali Frazier 1. Joe was able to plod forward in a way that was unique and beautiful to those in the know. While being awkward this also lent itself to the true mystique behind Smoking Joe, The hinge. On day 2 of your boxing career, you will most likely be taught to bend your knees and bob slightly and “remain on your toes”. Once again Joe would have none of this. Joe found success hinging at the waist and moving back foot first very similarly to a traditional freestyle wrestling stance. This paired along with his unique rhythm and criminally underrated head movement he moved forward in the 15th round and knocked down Muhammad Ali. This however like any other style of fighting had its drawbacks. Riding high on his win over Muhammad Ali Joe Frazier took on the hardest puncher of the era George Forman. In that fight, Joe was battered and bruised and was taken as close to a complete removal of consciousness and not succumbing. George made a key strategic difference between Ali. Knowing he was the taller fighter and not wanting Joe to dictate the pace George would allow Joe to creep into range and frame his hand on the shoulder of Joe and pivot off at 90 degrees.
I’m not going into detail about this fight for selfish reasons but it’s a brutal one-sided affair. That being said, one thing was made abundantly clear. Nobody could question the sheer heart of Joe. All in all, Frazier was knocked down 6 times before the ref stopped the fight. After the bout ended Joe was seen yelling and screaming about the stoppage declaring that he could have turned things around.
“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War
Defense wins championships. The best offense is a good defense. These are mantras in all athletics. This holds true for combat sports as well. The most common guards in boxing are the “High Gaurd”, The “Long Guard”, The “Philly Shell” and the blah,blah,blah. There are more names and more guards in boxing than you can possibly imagine. Joe Frazier adopted the “Cross Gaurd”. -Insert picture of Cross Gaurd- Paired with his hinge and head movement Joe utilized the cross guard when entering ‘The Pocket”. Humans are exceptional at analyzing threats. It is an evolutionary gift first utilized in the Savannahs to detect predators. Joe knew this and reacted accordingly. Knowing most boxers hated being crowded in the corner Joe often would bob behind his cross guard waiting for return shots. While innocuous this opens up half of the body. Whether a jab which inherently opens up the closed side or a rear hand which opens up the open side. Joe Frazier fought in an era of mainly conventional stance boxers which played perfectly into his otherworldly left hook. He would crowd the fighter and create a general feeling of dread (Like hey this guy is backing me up and my whole life I’ve been told not to give space freely). This would force a response mainly in the form of a telegraphed rear hand thrown with immense power. Joe having exceptional timing would dip inside the rear hand and land shots to the body. Something Ross Pearson used successfully in his own career. Joe would also build off this and when dipping inside would lightly tap the body as a diversion that would almost always force the right hand to drop. Joe would then whip his right hand down off his crossguard and throw the left hook completely opening his chin with relentless abandonment. See that’s what always struck me about Joe. The ability to throw out conventional wisdom for pure intuition. Joe rode his unconventional hard nosed style straight into the hearts of the citizens of Philadelphia and the world. Oftentimes his style is compared to the blue collar reputation of the city itself and I believe that summarizes Joe well. That in many ways is what I envision when I picture Joe Frazier. A tough southern man that overcame physical disadvantages, racism & poverty. A man cut and molded by the concrete of Philadelphia to become the hero the city of brotherly love needed.
Authors note–
Thanks for reading. I spent a good bit of my life preparing for this article and I hope I was able to transfer my passion for the topic well. I plan on doing more of these and I’m sure my writing ability will get better & I will be able to articulate my thoughts in a manner that is deserving of the topics discussed.
-Smoke
