Smokin' Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of the World, Smokin' Joe Frazier

by Joe Frazier, Phil Berger

Examines the personal and professional life of the famous boxer

Genres: Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Audiobook, African American

213 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1996

Reviews

[Brandon Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still Smokin!

As a boxer, scholar, and black history fan, I'm so glad I bought this book. Here we get a brutally honest tale from the hellraiser himself. Everything from his past, his path to glory, and the struggles/ his account of what happened between Ali and himself. Joe Frazier was the people's champ and remains my main source of study in the ring.

[Asif · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book but Joe comes across as a mean-spirited man who cannot accept that, great a boxer as he undoubtedly was, he is really famous for being the man who fought Muhammad Ali and his inability to come out of Ali's shadow has turned him into a bitter human being. This distracts greatly from the book.

[Mike Lightbown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

A would recommend this to any fan of sport, not just boxing. The life story of a great boxer and man.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a perfect companion to Muhammad Ali‘s autobiography.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smokin’ Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of the World by Joe Frazier with Phil Berger (Macmillan 1996) (Biography) (3817).

This is the forgettable autobiography of former heavyweight world champion boxer Joseph William “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier. Frazier grew up poor on a small dirt farm in Beaufort, South Carolina. With only an elementary school education, Frazier rose to the top of the heap in his chosen profession: prizefighting.

Frazier is remembered as the first professional fighter to defeat his hated personal nemesis Muhammad Ali, who Frazier never referred to as anything other than “Cassius Clay” (Ali’s birth name before his conversion to Islam). Frazier eventually lost two fights out of three to Ali.

Frazier became a wealthy man as a result of his rivalry with Ali, but Frazier hated Ali with unreserved passion for the public disrespect Ali heaped upon him. Ali was a showman and a promoter with style to spare. Ali described himself as “pretty” and “the greatest,” but Ali also earned Frazier’s undying hatred by referring to the then-world-champion Frazier as an ignorant and ugly wooly-headed n***** and an “Uncle Tom” who was nothing but the tool of the white oppressors. (These are Frazier’s own words and are repeated frequently in Chapter Five).

I read this bio in hopes of discovering how Frazier truly felt about Ali. The answer is that Frazier loathed him.

(Here’s a complete aside which I MUST relate: This autobiography completely neglects to make any reference at all to Joe Frazier’s most memorable (and unintentionally hilarious) public appearance. This took place on ABC’s television sports show “Superstars” in 1973 when Joe Frazier almost drowned on national television. “Superstars” was a series of made-for-tv athletic competitions in which the biggest sports stars of the day were matched in simple athletic contests (a short bicycle race, a weightlifting bench-pressing contest, a hundred-yard sprint, etc.).

The athletes were allowed to select five out of seven possible events to enter, so (for instance) a horse jockey could bypass a “high jump” contest against NBA and NFL players. This ensured that none of the athletes would be embarrassed in events which did not fit their own personal knowledge or experience.

In the first scheduled event, Joe Frazier had to be rescued from the swimming pool when he sank to the bottom and almost drowned while competing in a fifty-yard swim race. Why was he drowning? Because Joe Frazier did not know how to swim. At all. When asked the obvious question as to why he entered the swimming race knowing that he could not swim, Frazier responded, “How would I know I couldn’t swim until I tried?”

I saw this with my own eyes, but you can look it up.)

My rating: 7/10, finished 6/17/23 (3817).

[Billy Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, if Smokin' Joe were still around I would rate 5 stars as he might challenge me in the ring with just 4! Seriously this read provides you with the background of how a potential fighter becomes a world champion. Joe by no means a perfect guy (same for me) he is truly a "good guy". Nice review on the champ's childhood and growing up in the deep south (as I) yet he developed such a positive attitude. He basically believes life is what you make it and not what others do to you.
He worked incredibly hard to become the World Champion and continued to work hard throughout his life. All of his (& wife Florence) kids worked hard and earned a successful living despite the fact that dad was worth millions after becoming champ. His ongoing taunts with Ali were of particular interest as some of us can remember those days and if not, fun to read. Joe went about his business as Ali kept the trash talk going. Most interesting outcome! Grab this book, find a stool in a corner as the pages come out swinging!

[Robert S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Frazier was one of the baddest men to ever step foot into a boxing ring and Smokin' Joe is his story in his own words.

Frazier didn't come from much outside of a good family and made himself into one of the toughest heavyweight champions of all time. His rivalry with Ali will likely forever stand as the greatest in boxing, perhaps in sports. Considering the continued slow decline of boxing, the former will likely remain true.

Frazier is certainly resentful of Ali here, refusing to call him anything but Clay. Frazier's autobiography is an interesting look at the man's life and its feelings toward Ali definitely tend to overshadow everything else in the book if only because of how raw it feels.

Definitely worth reading if you are a boxing fan.

[Brig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of the criticism and praise for this book seem well-placed. Caught in Ali's shadow? Absolutely. Worthy of his own recognition and a place among boxing legend? Not a doubt. My issue was the writing/editing. Who decided we needed to know that Joe rode a 1500cc motorcycle from Beufort to Charleston to hop a plane? This level of immaterial detail clouded the entire narrative and was distracting. It caused me to wonder whether Joe wrote it himself (his name on the by line), at which point I forgive him for not being a writer, or it was a ghostwriter (plausible, of course) who is barely passible, or the editing was amateurish. Either way, as much of this delivery was awful as were the interesting stories and details that made Joe's life worthy of a book.

[Mark Cubillos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a great book for anyone who loves the fight game. Joe Frazier was one of the all-time heavyweight greats and this book is one of the great American success stories. From a poor southern kid with very little education to one of the most famous men in the world, Frazier literally fought his way to the top.

Ali apologists will naturally have a problem with this book, but if what Frazier says is true, it may cast a different light on how you feel about their trilogy. People say he comes across as bitter, I didn’t read it that way, he came across as a fighter who felt disrespected by a man he tried to help. If you notice, he had no bitter feelings towards Foreman and wrote about him with admiration.

Overall, you should really pick this book up if you love boxing and/or history.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smokin' Joe glosses over his flaws and missteps somewhat in this memoir (excuses for why he lost fights, why decisions split against him, and his philandering ways). Still, this book was an interesting look into boxing in the 60's and 70's, especially from an alternate perspective to Muhammad Ali - which is usually the lens through which boxing of that era is portrayed. And boy, Joe does NOT like Ali. Or Clay, as he refuses to call him by his Muslim name. His hatred is understandable, given that Ali dogged Joe with racial insults and cheap shots in the press for 15 years.

[Natta Kuiski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot summary: I hate Cassius Clay -- yeah, Cassius Clay, not Muhammad Ali, I'm not even going to dignify the man by calling him by the name he chose to go by. I hope he rots in hell.

Still, a good read, overall. Smokin' Joe is still smokin' in this one, alright -- smoke coming out of his ears courtesy of Ali.

[Andy Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging autobiography of a man from a poor background with the work ethic, bravery and talent to succeed. No self-pity here. Mohammed Ali's character comes across clearly and none too flatteringly - convinced me that he was a complete pain in the ass and that but by the slimest margin of fate, people might now be calling Frazier (or Foreman even) the greatest.

[Giulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Permitiu-me entender Joe com uma profundidade muito maior, ele escreve de forma eloquente e calma, como ele falava, mas também usando várias gírias e meios de fala, o leitor sente que está conversando em um bar com o campeão, e ele o está contando sua tremenda vida.

[Mark Elworthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical autobiography. Interesting perspective on Muhammad Ali

[carl kowolik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great insight into Smokin' Joe's life and career.His need and determination to be and beat the best and his unquestionable work ethic.

[white girl emporium · Rating 5 out of 5]

JOE FRAZIER WON THRILLA IN MANILA IN ALL BUT RECORD ALI STANS FROTH AND SEETHE THAT MY GLORIOUS KING IS 2-1

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

He may only have numbered the pages of this book, but the life story of Koe Frazier is a fascinating one. His blinding hate for Ali to the bitter end is a sight to behold.

[Michael Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read... Knew a lot about Ali, but not very much about Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and George Foreman and other boxers of the 70's.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be one of the more iconoclastic books you’ll ever read, for who is more revered and mythologized in modern society than Frazier’s longtime foe Muhammad Ali? More on that later, but first, a few words about Smokin’ Joe himself:

The youngest of ten children, Joe was a country boy from South Carolina. His father was his hero and the two shared many adventures. Young Joe even helped his daddy make and deliver moonshine. His mother raised him on a nourishing diet of fish, cornbread, and homegrown vegetables. Poverty, hard work, the Baptist Church, and Jim Crow made up the rhythm of his young life, but he was an independent man and expectant father by the age of fifteen.

In his prime, Frazier was a monster: a toe-to-toe brawler who wasn’t afraid to take punches in order to get inside where he’d wreak havoc with one of the most potent left hooks in heavyweight history. Phil Berger’s treatment of Frazier’s story is as tight as ring canvas, and the fight descriptions will send you hustling to YouTube for Frazier’s thrilling bouts with Bonavena, Quarry, Ramos, Mathis, Foreman, and of course, Ali.

Frazier uses Ali’s birth name, Cassius Clay, exclusively. It’s evident that Frazier considers the Muslim name to be part of what he describes as Clay’s phoniness and divisive racial demagoguery. Frazier, who fought Ali three times, has plenty of authority to make the charge:
“I stood up for him when few others did. Then, when he got what he needed, he turned on me and said everything bad that he could. Called me the white man’s champion to get the black man to turn on me. Called me a Tom and an ignoramus to demean me in public.”

All this went beyond typical pre-fight insults and banter. Frazier, who saw himself as more authentically black than the more privileged Ali, received death threats and family ridicule, thanks to Ali’s expert manipulation of popular opinion.

Frazier’s take on Ali is refreshing, because you just don’t get this perspective of the hyper popular Ali anywhere else. Frazier has been accused of sour grapes and holding a grudge, but such is the stuff of the hungry fighter, and Frazier was nothing if not a quintessential and authentic pugilist. Besides, he had good reason to feel the way he did. Still, It might have been easier for Frazier to lionize Ali along with everyone else, but he does the unpopular thing and spills his true feelings, which amount to what is probably one of the most negative and critical interpretations of Ali on record. One has to appreciate Frazier’s candor, and certainly no picture of Ali is complete without the perspective of his great nemesis.

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

another brilliant autobiography and some really interesting bits about boxing and training which were great to read and learn from . disappointing thing was the hatred he had towards Ali. but i could see his point at times also. Ali had scapegoated him at times but who had he not done that to. im not really sure how much of a big deal it was for Frazier and if it actually warranted that hatred and the loss in the thrilla in manila seemed like he was making excuses about the eye which was practically blinding him. i loved however, the humble upbringings and to read about how he started by making his own punchbag with a few bricks thrown in the middle for weight and how had he used to train. also liked the section about his successful son Marvis Frazier who only had 2 losses. one to mike Tyson and the other one to Larry Holmes both in the first round. highly recommended.

[Itch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dont think you can blame Frazier for being bitter about the way Ali spoke about Frazier in the media in the build up to the fights. Turning some people of his own race against him whom where blinded by Ali's labelling of Joe as an Uncle Tom isnt something Id be happy about. It may of been just to hype up a fight but it clearly wasnt to Joes liking and Ali should have apologised to Joe and not Marvin Frazier. It may have helped to make Frazier less bitter about the situation. I enjoyed the book a lot as would most boxing fans. Its only natural that fighters dont take a loss easily and it was nice to read Joes perspective on his big fights.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an autobiographical puff piece on Joe Frazier and that is quite understandable when you come to understand the man somewhat. Here was a man who was probably close to being as good as his nemesis Ali but will always be remembered more as just a competent boxer and foil to "The Greatest" Muhammad Ali. In history Ali will always be Affirmed to Joe's Alydar, The Harlem Globetrotters to Joe's Washington Generals. So, you can understand why there was bitterness and why Frazier would want to slant the history more in his direction. All in all, an easy and interesting read about a great boxer who surely got a bit of a bum rap!

[Houlahan houlahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book from one of my favourite fighters. It is good to hear his side of the Ali myth. For those not in the know, Ali tormented Frazier for years for being black and ugly, called him a gorilla and an Uncle Tom. This was ludicrous, of course, because Frazier grew up picking cotton in what could only be described as abject poverty. His story as a fighter is largely one of escaping that poverty.
Good read.

[David Horney]

helluva fighter but consumed with bitterness and anger toward ali, or "clay" as he insists on calling him. he uses the final chapter/wrap up to gloat over ali's physical ailments and declares that he will be delighted when ali dies. kinda sad to see one of the greatest frozen in time over long ago slights.....

[Mike Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Well written and great insight into Smokin Joe