Remembering Joe Frazier's Career: Top 5 Frazier Memories

With the news that Joe Frazier has passed from liver cancer at the age of 67, the global boxing community has been reflecting on Smokin' Joe, his career, and everything we remember him for.

It was in some ways only fitting that news of Frazier's death came to most sports fans while watching a Monday Night Football game hosted by the Philadelphia Eagles. Frazier was a Philly sports icon, and of course, Howard Cosell formerly was a MNF announcer. Cosell had the famous "Down Goes Frazier" call in Frazier's loss to George Foreman, and Cosell was of course also buddies with Frazier's arch-rival, Muhammad Ali.

Here's a collection of the top 5 memories of Joe Frazier for boxing fans. Even for those born long after Frazier hung up the gloves, Smokin' Joe is a boxing legend, one of the best heavyweights of all-time, and so much more.

5. Olympic Gold Medal

Joe Frazier won the heavyweight Olympic gold medal in boxing at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, portending great things to come with his professional boxing career. Although he didn't begin his career with the immense fanfare that some other gold medalists enjoy, such as arch-rival Ali four years earlier, it's an extremely impressive accomplishment and allowed him to start moving ahead in prizefighting rapidly.

4. Wins Title, Solid Victories

After capturing the vacant NYSAC heavyweight title in 1968 against undefeated Buster Mathis, Frazier defended the belt four times before capturing the vacant WBC heavyweight title against Jimmy Ellis in February 1970. Along the way, he scored a TKO7 victory of Jerry Quarry in the 1969 Fight of the Year. After, he knocked out Bob Foster in two rounds in 1970, defeated Joe Bugner in 1973, and scored repeat wins over Quarry and Ellis in 1974 and 1975 respectively.

3. His Style and His Left Hook

Anyone that has ever seen any fight footage of Smokin' Joe Frazier will forever enjoy the indelible imprint of that ferocious left hook. His style was filled with perpetual motion, nonstop bobs, weaves and feints as he walked forward and exploded up from a crouch to launch that savage missile of a left hand.

2. Thrilla in Manila

Frazier lost the epic third encounter against Ali in 1975, his corner stopping the bout after the 14th round. It's one of the best and most brutal fights in the history of the sport, and it likely permanently altered the wellbeing of both men afterward. Ali famously said that the fight was the closest thing to dying he could experience. Frazier displayed a huge amount of guts and will in the bout, and left boxing fans with lasting memories of a truly sensational fight.

1. Fight of the Century

The Fight of the Century was 1971's battle between two undefeated fighters claiming the heavyweight championship, Muhammad Ali, who was stripped of his titles, and Joe Frazier, who currently reigned with the belts. The Fight of the Century wasn't just two undefeated heavyweight champions though, it was a battle of cultures, of a war torn American public, of personalities and styles and beliefs and everything else.

Fought at Madison Square Garden, Frazier won a clear decision over Ali in an exciting and violent encounter, punctuated with a 15th round knockdown. The moment shouldn't have been sweeter for Smokin' Joe, although, and to his dismay, Ali's legend grew more than his did after the fight. Frazier endured much criticism from Ali before the fight, as well as before their next two fights, and would remain bitter at his former friend for much of his life as a result.

Regardless of anything else that happened in either man's career and life outside the ring, nobody can take away Frazier's UD 15 win over an undefeated Muhammad Ali in 1971.

Sources: ESPN.com/Boxing, Boxrec.com, Vintage fight footage

Jake Emen runs the boxing news website ProBoxing-Fans.com. You can find more of his writing, along with interviews, rankings and breaking news stories at the site, or you can follow ProBoxing-Fans.com on Twitter, @ProBoxingFans.