"Smokin' Joe" Frazier is up next, World Heavyweight Champion for nearly three years, holding the title from February 16, 1970 to January 22, 1973, the first man to defeat Muhammad Ali. I love watching Frazier fight, his style is fascinating. He was a relentless pressure fighter and classic swarmer. He fought by constantly stalking opponents, bobbing and weaving to slip punches, and getting inside to deliver devastating body shots and his legendary, fight-ending left hook. He was the pressure fighter from hell. Joe Frazier received his famous "Smokin'" nickname from his trainer and manager, Yank Durham. Frazier himself said that he got the nickname from his trainer, Yank Durham, who would tell him before some of his earliest boxing contests that he wanted Frazier to throw so many punches that smoke would come from his gloves. "I wanna see smoke comin' from them gloves, Joe", Frazier said Durham would bellow at him in an attempt to psyche him up. And not only did it work, as Joe went on to have a tremendously successful career, but it also bestowed upon Joe one of the most iconic nicknames in boxing history, "Smokin' Joe". In his prime, Frazier was the stuff of nightmares, his 1971 fight against Ali at Madison Square Garden is one of the greatest performances I've ever seen in a boxing ring, he was all over Ali like a rash, he wore Ali's body and head slam out with punishing hooks, his relentless aggression was frightening. The decisive moment arrived in the 15th and final round when Frazier landed one of the most famous left hooks in boxing history, sending Ali crashing to the canvas. Not many heavyweights in history could deal with Frazier at his peak. Anyway, legendary fighter, let's look at the photos behind his cards. This is his true rookie card, the 1964 Bobbie Bubble Gum - Tokio 1964 - Joe Frazier. This card features 3 distinct back variations. The European multi-sport set was issued in Belgium with backs printed in French, Dutch, or a combined French and Dutch text. Features below are a French text back, and a French-Dutch combined text back.
I actually own the original type 1 photo for the image on the 1964 Bobbie Bubble Gum - Tokio 1964 - Joe Frazier rookie card, one of the best items in my collection for sure.
2007 Topps Allen & Ginter's - Joe Frazier. This is my favorite Frazier card, it features the iconic image of Joe walking back to his corner after catching Ali with his famous left hook in round 15 of their 1971 showdown.
1983 Topps Olympians - Joe Frazier. There are four different variations for the cards in this set, the standard issue (seen here), the M&M's, the Seven-Eleven Black Olympic Rings, and the Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola is by far the rarest. I was really hoping to find a scan of the Coca-Cola variation of this card but it's just too rare.
A couple of wicked cards here, the first one is the 2025 Historic Autographs - Yesteryear - Red #/80 - Joe Frazier. Notice the famous Frazier quote on the back: "Boxing is the only sport you can get your brain shook, your money took and your name in the undertaker book."
This is one of my favorite photos of Joe Frazier, at the weigh-in with George Foreman in 1973. I love the way Frazier is staring down Foreman, the look on his face, "Smokin' Joe" was fearless, he had some Danny Greene stones on him.
For those of you not familiar with Danny Greene, he was a notorious Irish-American mobster and labor union leader who dominated the Cleveland, Ohio, underworld during the 1970s. Known as "The Irishman," he led the "Celtic Club" gang and waged a famously violent turf war against the Italian Mafia, surviving some 36 assassination attempts before being killed by a car bomb in 1977. I'm not kidding, the Cleveland Italian mob tried at least 36 separate times to kill the guy, most of the attempts were bombings but some were shootings. In the mid to late seventies, Cleveland, Ohio, the mob turned that place into the bombing capitol of the world, they tore the city apart, that's how violent the war between Greene and the Cleveland branch of La Cosa Nostra was. Greene was one fearless bastard, he started to actually "get off" on the assassination attempts, he began leaving business cards at the crime scenes after they would fail to kill him, to taunt the Italian mob. He would also call in to local radio stations and taunt the mob, and send funeral wreaths to the mob bosses familie, he became a big celebrity. In the Spring of 1975, hitmen fired bullets into Greene's waterfront home while he and his family were away. In October 1975, a powerful bomb was planted in the wall of his Collinwood headquarters, but it failed to kill him. In May of 1976, Mafia associate Arthur Sneperger was accidentally killed when a bomb he was supposed to plant under Greene's car detonated prematurely. In October 1976, a massive bomb planted under Greene’s car at an apartment complex went off, but he miraculously walked away from it. In May of 1977, the mob successfully blew up the car of Greene's closest ally, John Nardi, prompting Greene to taunt the Italian mob as "maggots". In the Summer of 1977, a high-powered rifle was fired at Greene while he was walking out of a restaurant, but he managed to escape unharmed. In the Summer of 1977, another dynamite bomb was planted at his apartment clubhouse, which exploded and destroyed the building, but Greene was not present. That's just a few of the attempts on his life. They finally got him on October 6, 1977. Hitmen from the Los Angeles and Cleveland crime families planted a bomb in a car parked next to Greene's outside of a dentist's office in the Cleveland suburb of Lyndhurst, killing him instantly. The guy was fearless, he made cats with nine lives look like a joke. Great book about the whole thing.
And for those that think I'm exaggerating about Joe Frazier having guts and being fearless, these photos, the swelling on his face and head, this is about as close to death as it gets in boxing. He was a gladiator to the fullest.
1997 Harenberg Jahrhunderts Das Quiz Card - Joe Frazier/ Muhammad Ali. For some reason, they reversed this image on the card, it was actually a left hook he hit Ali with, and a brutal one at that, in fact it was the left hook that put Ali on the canvas in the 15th round of the superfight in 71', one of the most famous punches ever thrown in a fight. You can clearly see the swelling on the right side Ali's from taking Frazier's left hook all night.
In case you were wondering just how brutal Frazier's left hook was, this is Ali after the superfight with Frazier in 1971 at Madison Square Garden, his right jaw is visibly swollen. Frazier's left hook was one of the most devastating weapons ever unleashed in a boxing ring, he took a lot of guys out with it. You have to hand it to Ali, he had a granite chin, one of the best chins in boxing history. Ali was a gladiator to the fullest as well.
Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra snapped this photo of Joe Frazier down in a crouch position, glaring through his eyebrows while bobbing and weaving his way to an attack on Muhammad Ali in their epic 1971 showdown. If you were one of his opponents, this was a sight that could be quite unnerving, he would usually launch a brutal left hook from the crouch position, much like a snake recoiling before striking. Many snakes pull their bodies into an "S-shaped" curve before striking. This recoil acts like a coiled spring, compressing their muscles to launch forward with incredible speed and force. Frazier would use that method a lot to inflict the maximum damage from his left hook. He frequently bent low at the waist and used this coiled, low-slung stance to spring upward, transferring the massive kinetic energy from his legs and back directly into his sweeping punch.
And Frazier's left hook wasn't limited to the head, he absolutely hit opponents with left hooks to the body, as well as the head. He was one of the greatest and most vicious body punchers in the history of the sport. His signature tactic was to "kill the body and the head will fall," systematically digging devastating left hooks to his opponents' ribs and livers to wear them down before launching his kill shots upstairs. This is a photo of Frazier dropping Jerry Quarry with a devastating body shot to the kidney area during their second fight in 1974, you can see the agony on Quarry's face as he goes down. This body shot led to the end of the bout. Quarry survived the count but was severely hurt and exhausted. The fight continued into the fifth round, where Frazier battered a defenseless Quarry until referee Joe Louis stepped in to stop the contest, resulting in a TKO victory for Frazier. One other thing about Joe Frazier, you can see the scowl on his face after he dropped Quarry with the body shot, Frazier had an edge to him, he wasn't playing around when he stepped in the ring, he fought with venom, much like Joe Louis.
Just want to take a minute to say goodbye to these people, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, these were good people just trying to make a living and support their families.
1993 Sporting Profiles - The Greatest - Ali v Frazier II. It's interesting that this card is a tribute to Ali vs Frazier II but the image on the front of the card is clearly from Ali vs Frazier I. Nevertheless, it's a wicked image to put on a card.
Spain, the "hopeless, bad people" have just won the 2026 World Cup. LOL, just about everything that piece of garbage in the White House touches goes to sh..
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"Smokin' Joe" Frazier is up next, World Heavyweight Champion for nearly three years, holding the title from February 16, 1970 to January 22, 1973, the first man to defeat Muhammad Ali. I love watching Frazier fight, his style is fascinating. He was a relentless pressure fighter and classic swarmer. He fought by constantly stalking opponents, bobbing and weaving to slip punches, and getting inside to deliver devastating body shots and his legendary, fight-ending left hook. He was the pressure fighter from hell. Joe Frazier received his famous "Smokin'" nickname from his trainer and manager, Yank Durham. Frazier himself said that he got the nickname from his trainer, Yank Durham, who would tell him before some of his earliest boxing contests that he wanted Frazier to throw so many punches that smoke would come from his gloves. "I wanna see smoke comin' from them gloves, Joe", Frazier said Durham would bellow at him in an attempt to psyche him up. And not only did it work, as Joe went on to have a tremendously successful career, but it also bestowed upon Joe one of the most iconic nicknames in boxing history, "Smokin' Joe". In his prime, Frazier was the stuff of nightmares, his 1971 fight against Ali at Madison Square Garden is one of the greatest performances I've ever seen in a boxing ring, he was all over Ali like a rash, he wore Ali's body and head slam out with punishing hooks, his relentless aggression was frightening. The decisive moment arrived in the 15th and final round when Frazier landed one of the most famous left hooks in boxing history, sending Ali crashing to the canvas. Not many heavyweights in history could deal with Frazier at his peak. Anyway, legendary fighter, let's look at the photos behind his cards. This is his true rookie card, the 1964 Bobbie Bubble Gum - Tokio 1964 - Joe Frazier. This card features 3 distinct back variations. The European multi-sport set was issued in Belgium with backs printed in French, Dutch, or a combined French and Dutch text. Features below are a French text back, and a French-Dutch combined text back.
I actually own the original type 1 photo for the image on the 1964 Bobbie Bubble Gum - Tokio 1964 - Joe Frazier rookie card, one of the best items in my collection for sure.
2007 Topps Allen & Ginter's - Joe Frazier. This is my favorite Frazier card, it features the iconic image of Joe walking back to his corner after catching Ali with his famous left hook in round 15 of their 1971 showdown.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Base - Joe Frazier. Man, there's just nothing quite like boxing photography.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Victorious - Base - Joe Frazier.
1983 Topps Olympians - Joe Frazier. There are four different variations for the cards in this set, the standard issue (seen here), the M&M's, the Seven-Eleven Black Olympic Rings, and the Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola is by far the rarest. I was really hoping to find a scan of the Coca-Cola variation of this card but it's just too rare.
1991 All World - Joe Frazier.
A couple of wicked cards here, the first one is the 2025 Historic Autographs - Yesteryear - Red #/80 - Joe Frazier. Notice the famous Frazier quote on the back: "Boxing is the only sport you can get your brain shook, your money took and your name in the undertaker book."
2025 Historic Autographs - Yesteryear - Negative #/80 - Joe Frazier. This card is designed to look like a photo negative and is just awesome looking.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - For Your Country Memorabilia - Silver #/20 - Joe Frazier.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Turkey Red - Gold #/9 - Joe Frazier.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Turkey Red - Base - Joe Frazier.
1997-98 Japan World Boxing - Joe Frazier.
2013 Panini Golden Age - Base - Joe Frazier.
2013 Panini Golden Age - Mini Carolina Brights Purple Back - Joe Frazier.
2013 Panini Golden Age - Museum Age Memorabilia - Joe Frazier.
2014 Panini Golden Age - 5x7 Box Topper - Joe Frazier.
2014 Panini Golden Age - Star Stamps - John L. Sullivan/Jack Johnson/Joe Louis/Joe Frazier.
1987 Motto Trivia Game Card - Joe Frazier.
This is one of my favorite photos of Joe Frazier, at the weigh-in with George Foreman in 1973. I love the way Frazier is staring down Foreman, the look on his face, "Smokin' Joe" was fearless, he had some Danny Greene stones on him.
For those of you not familiar with Danny Greene, he was a notorious Irish-American mobster and labor union leader who dominated the Cleveland, Ohio, underworld during the 1970s. Known as "The Irishman," he led the "Celtic Club" gang and waged a famously violent turf war against the Italian Mafia, surviving some 36 assassination attempts before being killed by a car bomb in 1977. I'm not kidding, the Cleveland Italian mob tried at least 36 separate times to kill the guy, most of the attempts were bombings but some were shootings. In the mid to late seventies, Cleveland, Ohio, the mob turned that place into the bombing capitol of the world, they tore the city apart, that's how violent the war between Greene and the Cleveland branch of La Cosa Nostra was. Greene was one fearless bastard, he started to actually "get off" on the assassination attempts, he began leaving business cards at the crime scenes after they would fail to kill him, to taunt the Italian mob. He would also call in to local radio stations and taunt the mob, and send funeral wreaths to the mob bosses familie, he became a big celebrity. In the Spring of 1975, hitmen fired bullets into Greene's waterfront home while he and his family were away. In October 1975, a powerful bomb was planted in the wall of his Collinwood headquarters, but it failed to kill him. In May of 1976, Mafia associate Arthur Sneperger was accidentally killed when a bomb he was supposed to plant under Greene's car detonated prematurely. In October 1976, a massive bomb planted under Greene’s car at an apartment complex went off, but he miraculously walked away from it. In May of 1977, the mob successfully blew up the car of Greene's closest ally, John Nardi, prompting Greene to taunt the Italian mob as "maggots". In the Summer of 1977, a high-powered rifle was fired at Greene while he was walking out of a restaurant, but he managed to escape unharmed. In the Summer of 1977, another dynamite bomb was planted at his apartment clubhouse, which exploded and destroyed the building, but Greene was not present. That's just a few of the attempts on his life. They finally got him on October 6, 1977. Hitmen from the Los Angeles and Cleveland crime families planted a bomb in a car parked next to Greene's outside of a dentist's office in the Cleveland suburb of Lyndhurst, killing him instantly. The guy was fearless, he made cats with nine lives look like a joke. Great book about the whole thing.
Here is a good photo of Danny Greene.
This is a photo of the lot where Danny Greene's apartment once stood, the word "Kaboom!" is written in graffiti on a wall in the lot.
And for those that think I'm exaggerating about Joe Frazier having guts and being fearless, these photos, the swelling on his face and head, this is about as close to death as it gets in boxing. He was a gladiator to the fullest.
1991 Kayo - Joe Frazier.
1992 Philadelphia Daily News - Great Moments in Philadelphia Sports - Joe Frazier.
1969 Figuras De Box y Lucha - Joe Frazier.
1997 Harenberg Jahrhunderts Das Quiz Card - Joe Frazier/ Muhammad Ali. For some reason, they reversed this image on the card, it was actually a left hook he hit Ali with, and a brutal one at that, in fact it was the left hook that put Ali on the canvas in the 15th round of the superfight in 71', one of the most famous punches ever thrown in a fight. You can clearly see the swelling on the right side Ali's from taking Frazier's left hook all night.
In case you were wondering just how brutal Frazier's left hook was, this is Ali after the superfight with Frazier in 1971 at Madison Square Garden, his right jaw is visibly swollen. Frazier's left hook was one of the most devastating weapons ever unleashed in a boxing ring, he took a lot of guys out with it. You have to hand it to Ali, he had a granite chin, one of the best chins in boxing history. Ali was a gladiator to the fullest as well.
Some great images of Ali taking the Frazier left hook.
Some more great shots of the Frazier left hook.
Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra snapped this photo of Joe Frazier down in a crouch position, glaring through his eyebrows while bobbing and weaving his way to an attack on Muhammad Ali in their epic 1971 showdown. If you were one of his opponents, this was a sight that could be quite unnerving, he would usually launch a brutal left hook from the crouch position, much like a snake recoiling before striking. Many snakes pull their bodies into an "S-shaped" curve before striking. This recoil acts like a coiled spring, compressing their muscles to launch forward with incredible speed and force. Frazier would use that method a lot to inflict the maximum damage from his left hook. He frequently bent low at the waist and used this coiled, low-slung stance to spring upward, transferring the massive kinetic energy from his legs and back directly into his sweeping punch.
And Frazier's left hook wasn't limited to the head, he absolutely hit opponents with left hooks to the body, as well as the head. He was one of the greatest and most vicious body punchers in the history of the sport. His signature tactic was to "kill the body and the head will fall," systematically digging devastating left hooks to his opponents' ribs and livers to wear them down before launching his kill shots upstairs. This is a photo of Frazier dropping Jerry Quarry with a devastating body shot to the kidney area during their second fight in 1974, you can see the agony on Quarry's face as he goes down. This body shot led to the end of the bout. Quarry survived the count but was severely hurt and exhausted. The fight continued into the fifth round, where Frazier battered a defenseless Quarry until referee Joe Louis stepped in to stop the contest, resulting in a TKO victory for Frazier. One other thing about Joe Frazier, you can see the scowl on his face after he dropped Quarry with the body shot, Frazier had an edge to him, he wasn't playing around when he stepped in the ring, he fought with venom, much like Joe Louis.
Another great image of Frazier killing the body of an opponent before killing the head, Jimmy Ellis in 1970.
Joe Frazier, routes to the body, vicious body punching.
2024 David Lee Art Cards - Platinum #1/1 - Joe Frazier.
Just want to take a minute to say goodbye to these people, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, these were good people just trying to make a living and support their families.
2002 Rockwell Publishing - The Great Heavyweights - Large - Black Back - Joe Frazier.
1993 Sporting Profiles - The Greatest - Ali v Frazier II. It's interesting that this card is a tribute to Ali vs Frazier II but the image on the front of the card is clearly from Ali vs Frazier I. Nevertheless, it's a wicked image to put on a card.
It's time for a music break, but instead of a music break, let's watch a video that really puts a smile on my face. Watch this, you won't regret it.
1964 Agio Cigars - Tokyo 1964 - Joe Frazier. They reversed the image on the cigar band of Frazier standing on top of the medal podium so I'll oblige.
2008 Sport Kings Gum - Base - Joe Frazier and 2008 Sport Kings Gum - Mini - Joe Frazier.
Spain, the "hopeless, bad people" have just won the 2026 World Cup. LOL, just about everything that piece of garbage in the White House touches goes to sh..
2008 Sport Kings - National Convention - Gold #1/1 - Joe Frazier.
2008 Sport Kings Gum - National Convention VIP - Joe Frazier/Jack Dempsey.