Smokin' Joe Frazier was always something special. His greatness inside or outside the ring never surprised you either. Whether it was finding out he knocked Muhammad Ali to the canvas or that he lent Ali money when America came down on him for his principled stand against the Vietnam War, Frazier didn't surprise you.

Something about that man at first glance laid to rest any doubts he wasn't exactly what he showed you: everything a champion was supposed to be back when it meant something. 

You could offer me a dozen Floyd Mayweathers who might come along one day. I'd rather watch the next Joe Frazier. But the truth is there won't be another Frazier. He was one of a kind.

If you're enough of a sucker to get taken into the sport of boxing where it finds your heart, Frazier was the kind of fighter who scarred you for life with the things he could do. It wasn't about who he beat or lost to either. It was how he fought that'll leave the most indelible impression. That's the heart you feel pumping against Ali in The Fight of the Century. 

And now he's gone.

I don't imagine Simon and Garfunkel will reunite and write anything asking where Smokin' Joe got to the way they did with DiMaggio, but from everything I understand about the kind of person they each were, they had the wrong Joe they were looking for. It was Frazier America could really look up to. He worked for everything he ever got and never forgot where he came from. 

The Thrilla in Manila took place in October of 1975, rightfully regarded as one of the greatest fights in boxing history. Frazier was brutally punished by the end, a swollen shut eye, forced to abandon meeting Ali in the 15th and final round. 

It was the last time Ali and Frazier squared off. 

Looking back on Ali's taunts against Frazier, it's hard not to cringe. He took every opportunity to mock and belittle Frazier. The racial taunts in particular seem disgraceful given it was Ali who initially had an entire group financially behind him comprised of white elites from Kentucky. This element of Ali's cruelty marked Frazier for life. He carried the scars quite possibly to his grave. 

The final fight between the two ended up being shockingly superior to their rematch. Both fighters were pushed nearly to the point of death until Eddie Futch stopped the fight before the 15th and final round. Ali always maintained it was the toughest fight of his career. And we haven't even mentioned the furnace both boxers were essentially fighting in. 

It's a classic battle befitting an all-time great. RIP Smokin' Joe.