Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, November 09, 2011, Honoring the Armed Forces and Veterans Special Edition, Page 2, Image 2

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    Page 2
^ìortlanò (Obstruer
November 9, 2011
Smokin’ Joe Frazier Dead at 67
TLWeek in
1 The Review
Epic fights with
Ali made him
immortal
(A P )—Former heavyweight cham ­
pion Joe Frazier, w ho earned boxing
im m ortality after three epic fights
w ith M uham m ad Ali, died M onday
night after a brief battle w ith liver
cancer at 67.
A vicious left hook from Frazier
put Ali on the canvas in the 15th
round in M arch 1971 w hen he b e­
cam e the first m an to beat him in the
Fight o f the C entury at M adison
Square G arden.
"That w as the greatest thing that
ev er happened in m y life," Frazier
said.
It w as his biggest night, one that
w ould never com e again.
T h e r e le n tle s s , u n d e r s iz e d
heavyw eight ruled the division as
cham pion, then spent a lifetim e try­
ing to fight his w ay out o f A li's
shadow .
N o one in boxing w ould ever
dream o f anointing Ali as The G reat­
est unless he, too, was linked to
Sm okin'Joe.
"I w ill alw ays rem em ber Joe with
respect and adm iration," Ali said in
a statem ent. "M y sym pathy goes
out to his fam ily and loved ones."
T hey fought tw ice in the heart o f
Caln Denies Allegations
H e rm a n C a in
w ent on the o f­
fe n s iv e T u e s ­
d a y a g a in s t a
w om an w ho ac­
c u s e s h im o f
u n w a n te d
sexual advancem ents. The R epub­
lican presidential candidate said
that he w ould be w illing to take a
lie d etecto r test to rebut m ultiple
claim s that he engaged in sexual
harassm ent in the 1990s, though
he seem ed to stop short o f p ro m ­
ising to do so.
Muhammad Ali takes a left from Joe Frazier during the 15th round
o f their heavyweight title boxing bout on March 8 ,1 9 7 1 in New
York. Frazier won a unanimous decision.
N ew York City and once in the m orn­
ing in a steam y arena in the T hrilla in
M anila in the Philippines. They went
41 rounds together. N eith er gave an
inch and both gave it their all.
In their last fight in M anila in
1975, they traded punches w ith a
fervor that seem ed unim aginable
am ong heavyw eights. F razier gave
alm ost as good as he got for 14
rounds, then h ad to be held back by
trainer Eddie Futch as he tried to go
out for the final round, unable to
see.
"Closest thing to dying that I
Gang Fight Alliance
Joe Frazier strikes a pose in a
2 0 0 6 file photo.
M ayor Sam A dam s and chiefs o f
police from cities along and sur­
rounding the 1-5 co rridor signed a
statem ent o f support T uesday for
greater collaboration on gang vio­
lence, hum an trafficking, and drug
and gun trafficking
know of," Ali said afterw ard.
F ra z ie r's m in d as he ta lk e d a b o u t
Ali w as as m erciless w ith F razier h is life, c a re e r and re la tio n s h ip
ou t o f th e rin g as he w as in sid e it. w ith A li a few m o n th s b e fo re he
He called h im a gorilla, and m ocked died.
him as an U n c le T om . B ut he r e ­
"I c an 't g o n o w h e re w h ere it's
sp e c te d h im as a fig h te r, e s p e ­ n o t m e n tio n e d ," he to ld T h e A s­
c ia lly a fte r F ra z ie r w on a d e c isio n so c ia te d P ress.
to d e fe n d his h e a v y w e ig h t title
B ob A rum , w h o o n ce p ro m o ted
a g a in st th e th e n -u n b e a te n A li in a A li, said h e w as s a d d e n e d by
fig h t th a t w as so big F ra n k S in a tra F ra z ie r's p a ssin g .
w as sh o o tin g p ic tu re s at rin g sid e
"He w as such an inspirational
an d b o th fig h te rs e a rn e d an a s ­ guy. A decent guy. A m an o f his
to n ish in g $2.5 m illio n .
w ord," A rum said. "I'm to m up by
T h e n ig h t at th e G a rd e n 4 0 Joe dying at this relatively young
y e a r s a g o r e m a in e d f r e s h in age. I can't say enough about Joe."
School Will be Rebuilt
The P ortland School B oard voted
M onday to rebuild M arysville K-
8 School in southeast Portland.
M a ry sv ille stu d en ts and s ta ff
m em bers m oved to the form er
R ose C ity Park School in 2009
after a d evastating fire. Insurance
w ill co v er the cost to repair the
building to its pre-fire condition.
5 YEARS
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*?*.»•*
MN
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fre e o re g o n .c o m