Boxing greats bid farewell to Frazier

Muhammad Ali was among the mourners on Monday at the funeral of long-time rival Joe Frazier in Philadelphia.

Fellow former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes and promoter Don King were also in attendance to pay their respects to Frazier, who died last week at the age of 67 following a short battle with liver cancer.

Around 4,000 people gathered for the two-hour service at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, where the Reverend Jesse Jackson led the tributes.

“Joe paid real dues and he’s a guy who we can emulate – an ordinary Joe with extraordinary things,” he said.

“He remained the guy from the streets.

“[He will be remembered] as a great boxing champion, as a great humanitarian.

“He was world heavyweight champion. He didn’t inherit it – he earned it.”

Holmes also hailed Frazier’s achievements, telling reporters: “Joe Frazier’s one of the greatest fighters of all time. There’s only two guys you can put in that category and Joe Frazier is one of the two fighters.

“He’d go down, he’d get back up. Joe Frazier had nothing but fight in him.”

Among Frazier’s many feats were winning Olympic gold at the 1964 Games, becoming undisputed world champion six years later with his fifth-round stoppage of Jimmy Ellis and making five successful defences.

But it was his three meetings with Ali spanning four years and climaxing in the ’Thrilla in Manila’ – one of the greatest fights of all time – that defined the Philadelphia resident.

The brutality of the last encounter, staged in the searing heat of the Philippine capital in 1975, was staggering, with Frazier withdrawn after the 14th round by his trainer Eddie Futch.

Although almost rendered blind due to the bruising he had sustained around his eyes, Frazier still pleaded with Futch to be allowed to continue and later revealed he was ready to die in the ring.

It subsequently emerged that Ali was about to quit himself, only to see Frazier’s corner act first.

Current WBC light heavyweight champion and Philadelphia native Bernard Hopkins added on Philadelphia’s WPVI-TV: “When my time comes, to get half of the respect and half of the crowd – just half – then you’ve done something not only in your own family but you’ve done something that marks you to other families and other people.

“That’s what Joe represented to Philadelphia.”