Don't Get Weary Joe Frazier
From Chocolate Thunder to Smokin Joe - I tell you it's Christmas in No Mas Land. Philadelphia's own Joe Frazier turns 63 today. The way this article from last October's New York Times made it sound, ole Joe's fallen on some hard times of late, but look, Joe Frazier knows from hard times. He'll bounce back. Sixty-three years old, battle-scarred veteran of beatings that would have killed mere mortals... and he's probably still the toughest man alive. Ali/Frazier tomorrow, who do you like? I thought so.
Joe, if you're reading, we got a little birthday pick-me-up for you carved out special right here. Remember this one from your boy I-Roy? He say Don't get weary Joe Frazier never never Brother Joe and he meant it from the bottom of his heart. And so do we, yo. Best wishes and many, many more.
4 Comments:
Is it maybe because the beatdown occurred in Kingston, Jamaica that we got this roots and culture classic from I-Roy? It's actually not a bad song. The fight itself, however, was so damaging to my young psyche.
Joe Frazier was the first boxer that I dug. Much like with the nickname "Tiger," Eldrick Woods gets kids into golf - the nickname "Smokin' Joe" just conjured up images in my young mind of a bad dude and got me hooked on boxing.
The first fight I remember watching on TV was his destruction of Terry Daniels on Super Bowl weekend 1972. Just the whole concept of the badass Philly fighter, Frazier seemed to embody. The body punching, the left hook, the propensity to get into wars - the man is boxing royalty and definitely deserves his due (and the financial rewards) in retirement as Ali and Foreman have had.
Man I hated Ali and Foreman back in the day - how dare they challenge (and beat) Smokin' Joe from Philly.
Yo Kurt, I been hoping you'd show up - why isn't Showtime going to televise that Cory Spinks fight? You know anything about that? On the card that Don King has to move because of the check bouncing, they're showing Adamek and Jesus Chavez/Julio Diaz, but not a Cory fight which is on the same card. WTF?
I thought about the Jamaica thing too with this song. I think the song is ill, myself. I been walking around singing it all day - "never never Brother Joe..."
Spinks isn't on the televised card because he's a southpaw with great defense and no pop against a mandatory, Rodney Jones, who's a southpaw with great defense and no pop.
Adamek was in a fight of the year candidate with Briggs last year and Chad Dawson is a lefty WITH pop. So that's a solid action fight. Chavez-Diaz is a guaranteed barn-burner. Chavez is never in a boring fight and neither is Diaz.
Bottom line, the premium networks are trying to provide more entertaining fights now so as not to lose anymore ground to MMA. I spoke to Luis Barragan at HBO about it. Unless Cory Spinks is fighting a guy who makes for an entertaining bout - you won't be seeing him.
I am very late to the party on this, but Kurt, what up my man? Has been great to have you on the boards. We three need to get up and see a fight. On this I-Roy thing I think, the beatdown having occured in Kingston Jamaica is exactly why we got this Clasic from I-Roy. I-Roy's compiilation on Blodd and Fire may have the best title for a record ever: Don't Check me With No Lightweight Stuff.
This album is most definitely deserving of purchase. Because of the brevity of the actual contest no one's going to be giving "The Sunshine Showdown" the same love as "The Rumble in the Jungle", but the roster of musicians that went to this fight or gave shows around it must have been extremely ill. I am sre most everyone on the scene must hav shown out in one way or another.
I wonder what kind of doc footage if any was shot around that fight. I would love to see it.
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