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JOE FRAZIER is a country boy who lived by the old country adage that: "when you go to the big party, you dance with the one who brung ya." In Frazier's case it was a left hook. But to classify Frazier as merely a "left hooker" would be like saying Marilyn Monroe was a blonde.

The son of a South Carolina sharecropper, he became a boxer by accident. He first went to a gym to work himself into shape. Shortly after, he began fighting competitively and became one of the best amateur heavyweights in the nation. He didn't lose until he ran into Buster Mathis, who decisioned him in the 1964 Olympic trials. But, Mathis suffered a hand injury and Frazier replaced him at the Summer Games in Tokyo and came home with a gold medal.

He turned pro under the guidance of Yank Durham in 1965 and ran off 11 straight wins until he ran into tough guy Oscar Bonavena, in September 1966. The Argentine dropped Frazier twice in one round, but Smokin' Joe came off the deck -- showing the Madison Square Garden crowd the heart and character that would mark his career -- to win a 10-round unanimous decision.

After Bonavena, Frazier knocked out contenders Doug Jones (KO 5), George Chuvalo (TKO 4) and closed out the '67 campaign with a 19-0 career record.

With Muhammad Ali's exile from the sport, the heavyweight division was in disarray. While the WBA held an elimination tournament, Frazier was matched with his nemesis from his amateur days, Buster Mathis, for the New York State world title on March 4, 1968 at the Garden.

This time Mathis was not able to dance his way to victory over three rounds. A relentless Frazier wore down the bigger, heavier man, and stopped in the 11th round. From 1968-70, Frazier made six defenses, including a fifth-round TKO of WBA champ Jimmy Ellis in a unification fight. But in the summer of 1970, former champ Ali was granted a license to fight and the demand quickly grew for a showdown between the former undefeated champ and the reigning king.

In fall of 1970, Ali knocked out top contenders Jerry Quarry and Bonavena, setting the stage for the most anticipated heavyweight title fight since the Louis-Conn rematch of 1946.

Each fighter was paid the then-unheard of purse of $2.5 million. The build up to the fight was unparalleled in boxing history; transcending the sport -- and the sporting world. On March 8, 1971, before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden, the two waged one of the greatest heavyweight battles ever. In the 15th round, Frazier landed perhaps the most famous left hook in history, catching Ali on the jaw and dropping the former champ for a four-count. At the end of 15 grueling rounds, Frazier got the nod from all three judges and left the ring as the undisputed champ.

But the fight took a lot out of Frazier, who didn't fight again the rest of the year. In 1972, he defended against two journeymen. His reign as champion ended in January of 1973, against George Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica. Foreman dropped Frazier six times before the fight was stopped in Round 2.

He beat Joe Bugner in his next fight, but dropped a 12-round decision to Ali in their rematch in Jan. 1974. He got back on the winning track to set the stage for a rubber match with Ali, who had since lifted the title from Foreman.

In the suffocating heat in Quezon City, just outside the Philippines capital of Manila, the two aging warriors dueled for 14 rounds in a bout Ali billed "The Thrilla in Manila." Ali took the early rounds, before Frazier found his rhythm in the middle frames and attacked the champs body with both hands. But Ali turned the tide for good in the 10th and won the next four rounds. By the end of the 14th both fighters were exhausted, but Frazier's eyes were nearly swollen shut, and his corner stopped the bout. Later, Ali said, "It was the closest I've come to death."

Nine months later, Frazier tried to fight himself back into title contention with a rematch against Foreman, but was stopped in five rounds. He retired following the second Foreman fight. Five years later he launched a one-bout comeback, but drew with a journeyman, Jumbo Cummings, before hanging up the gloves for good.

(born January 12, 1944, Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.) American world heavyweight boxing champion from February 16, 1970, when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis in five rounds in New York City, until January 22, 1973, when he was beaten by George Foreman at Kingston, Jamaica.

During Frazier's amateur career he was one of the best heavyweights in the United States, but he lost in the Olympic trials to Buster Mathis in 1964 and made it to the Tokyo Olympic Games as a replacement boxer only when Mathis injured his hand. He won the gold medal in his weight division and then began his professional career in August 1965. A chunky man (5 feet 11 inches [1.8 metres] tall and weighing 205 pounds [92.9 kg]) with an aggressive style and a powerful left hook, he was likened to an earlier heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano.After Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title in 1967, the heavyweight championship became muddled. On March 4, 1968, in a title bout sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission and similar bodies in other states, Frazier knocked out his old rival Mathis in 11 rounds. The following month, Jimmy Ellis won a championship tournament (in which Frazier declined to participate) approved by the World Boxing Association (WBA). Frazier successfully defended his New York title four times before defeating Ellis in a fifth-round knockout to claim the WBA heavyweight title.In 1970 Ali was reinstated to the sport, and a bout between the undefeated former champion and Frazier was inevitable. On March 8, 1971, the two heavyweights met in Madison Square Garden in the fight billed as “The Fight of the Century.” During the build-up for the fight the media-savvy Ali characterized Frazier as a champion of the white establishment, even calling him an “Uncle Tom,” which sparked some genuine hostility between the boxers. The two fought at a furious pace for 15 rounds, but Ali had lost some of his speed during his absence from boxing, and Frazier scored a decision over him.After his loss to Foreman in 1973, Frazier faced Ali again in 1974, losing a 12-round decision. On October 1, 1975, the two faced off in the Philippines for a third time. The fight, known as the “Thrilla in Manila,” was for the heavyweight championship, and this time Ali was the winner by technical knockout after 14 grueling rounds.After a few more fights, Frazier retired in 1976. He staged an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 1981. He then retired again and began operating a gym in Philadelphia. Frazier was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. His daughter Jacqui began a professional boxing career in 2000.

Smokin’ Joe stays busy today traveling the US and around the world making appearances and has several licensing and endorsement deals with many different companies.