What a Great 5*****Star Read!
Smokin' Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of
the World, Smokin' Joe Frazier.
I’ve seen all of Joe Frazier’s fights and watched them
dozens of times, so when I finished reading his great autobiography in the
Hobart library in Tasmania, I dreamed of meeting him one day when The Hobo
invades America. I read his autobiography just six months before he passed away
and I caught this photo of his book in my hand. My Higher Power, Mt Wellington,
is seen in the background through the library window. Joe Frazier’s book was
fantastic and I loved reading about his hard childhood before his boxing days,
and though he was poor, he had a wonderful family. Smokin Joe had a great sense
of humour, both in-and-out of the ring and was obviously as funny as Jerry Lewis
and Muhammad Ali. I loved Joe Frazier’s hilarious and absorbing literature,
especially the part about bug-eyed nut-balls and whipping scamboogas and such.
Six months after reading this inspiring book, I cried when
hearing of the planet's best heavyweight passing away. Philadelphia lost its
greatest heavyweight champion and I'm saddened because now I’ll never get to
meet this compassionate and kind man who treated everyone as an equal, and
after reading his story, I know that he wouldn’t treat a homeless boxer any
different to a rich one, which is unlike the way I’ve been treated. Maybe the
spirit of Smokin' Joe will join me on my next run up my Higher Power, Mt
Wellington, along with Bon Scott from ACDC.
There should be a statue at the top of the Philadelphia
steps of the great Joe Frazier, the real heavyweight champion of the world, not
some actor.
I hope the Frazier family are all okay and I thank them for
keeping Smokin' Joe’s legacy strong for all of his fans.
Here is a link to his great book on Amazon Books: