I think I have the quote and the background right or pretty much right. Buster beat Joe in the amateurs and Joe only went to the Olympics because Buster broke his thumb. They also had a pro fight where it was competitive until Buster got gassed. Joe Frazier said at 210 pounds he kicks my ass. At 225 pounds I kick his ass and at 300 pounds everybody kicks his ass.
Joe was a smart guy. When he was asked what he expected Ali to do against Foreman he said I don't know what he's going to do but whatever he does it's not going to be what you think he'll do
I remember Joe relating something from FOTC - Joe imitated Ali throwing punches and quoted Ali saying to Joe, in rhythm with the punches:- “Don’tcha know I’m GOD?” Joe replied:- Well GOD, you getting your a** whupped!” Given his religious beliefs and claimed adherence to same, Ali vehemently denied Joe’s quoting of him. Me? I’d believe Joe 100% over Ali - Ali talked a lot of rough edged smack in the ring and often displayed hypocrisy whereas Joe came across as a no nonsense straight shooter.
About that, both Norton and Holmes said that the Ali you saw on camera smiling during interviews and the Ali in the ring were completely different people. Apparently when he was in a bad mood, he would curse like a sailor to get in his opponents head and demoralize them. All the G rated trash talk where he would call other fighters "dummies, ugly, bums", etc was so that he wouldn't be too problematic for the press and so people would want to bring their families to the fight. It's hard to imagine, but with Ali's gift of gab and word play, fighting him must have felt like fighting a hot headed gangsta rapper. When the interviewer pressed Holmes and Norton about what he said, they both refused to repeat the things they heard. The only reason it didn't get to them is because they knew him for years so the trash talk didn't work.
In a role reversal, Ali was very peeved when Ringo questioned his masculinity and orientation. Oscar actually “got to him” but then the extra malice he induced didn’t bode well for Ringo in the ultimate outcome. Aside from being aware of the 3 KD rule, it seemed Ali wanted to personally follow up on the KD so bad - actually, illegally as it was, he didn’t go to a neutral corner and also slapped down the ref’s outstretched restraining arm to jump on Ringo ASAP. Sometime the ATGs get away with a lot more than the average Joes.
Smokin’ Joe’s best quote was when he was asked if Roberto Duran reminded him of anyone. “Yeah. Charles Manson.”
Before FOTC a Philly writer Stan Hoffman ask Joe "what happens if the bell rings for the 11th? Since you Joe predicted it ain't gonna go more than 10?" Frazier cut him off, "whadda ya think I'm supposed to do turn and jump out of the ring cause the bell sounds?!"
Excerpt from Joe's autobiography: ''Buster was a curious sight for a fighter. He was 6'3'' and weighed in excess of 300 lbs, but in the ring that fat boy was nimble and slick beyond anybody's expectations. That a guy with a protruding belly and jiggly chest could move so smooth and box so clever made him a big favorite with amateur officials and spectators alike. Watching Buster was like watching a dancing bear. He was a spectacle.'' ''Not only that, Buster had worn his trunks damn near up to his titties, so that when I hit him with legitimate body shots the referee had taken a dim view of them. In the 2nd round, the referee had gone so far as to penalize me on two points for hitting below the belt. In a 3 round bout a man can't afford a points deduction like that.''
The referee's call looked right to me. Frazier lands a flurry well below the belt. This content is protected