There are countless stores of past boxers who were heavy drinkers while they boxed. Until I saw this Bob Foster interview, I never knew that Frazier supposedly was one: This content is protected One, it makes him somewhat even more of a badass, to be able to down a bottle and whoop some ass. Two, I wonder if it had any real impact on his career? And if so, what kind? The main reason I’m putting this out here is to see if it can possibly help emprovide more depth and nuance to his career.
Heard that Joe was a bit of a lady's man also, worked with someone who said she rode with Joe on the back of a bike.
If he was dealing with this during the height of his career, that must've been tough. To me, it kinda helps explain a little more how a guy with his talents declined as quickly as he did. But Frazier isn't the only person to have this problem. Tyson Fury John L
This has long been a theory of mine. I've read several accounts of Frazier pounding drinks, even while behind the wheel, driving to New York from Philadelphia. Where there's Smokin', there's fire, so I tend to believe this. And I do think it takes a huge toll on the body and brain. If it's true that Frazier was drunk in the middle of the night before facing a rematch with George f-----king Foreman, then he deserves the beating he got the next day.
I can't tell if Foster is talking about their later years or when they were active. I know he liked to drink. My impression was the Joe knew when to put the drink down and get serious. A guy from North Philly told me Joe was in AA. I took it with a grain of salt. Who knows?
Joe used to hang around my town right outside of Philly and yeah, he was always pretty lit up, but this was well after his boxing career was over. In fact I think he got a dui here, probably back in the 90's sometime
Not shocking if he did Tommy Morrison was drinking the night before he lost the title to Bentt. Even Tyson struggled with drugs and alcohol near the end of his career.
