Muhammad Ali, widely known as "The Greatest," once took a harsh swing at Joe Frazier's boxing skills and personality. In an interview, Ali didn't pull any punches when talking about his former rival.
Ali's career was full of highlights. He won the Olympic Gold Medal at the 1960 Rome Summer Games. Four years later, he knocked out Sonny Liston in the sixth round to become the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. Ali successfully defended his title nine times before it was stripped from him in 1967 when he refused to participate in the Vietnam War.
In 1974, Ali reclaimed the World Heavyweight Championship with a historic victory over George Foreman. It's around this time that Ali sat down for an interview with Cathal O'Sannon and let loose on Frazier.
"Joe Frazier's ugly, he's flat footed, he can't talk, he can't sing, he can't fight and no personality," Ali said. He didn't stop there. "He's a slugger, a street fighter. He's not skillful, Joe Frazier's known for taking a lot of punches, he's not like Floyd Patterson or say Sugar Ray Robinson or say Joe Louis or say Jack Johnson."
These words came from Ali's interview with O'Sannon, where he didn't hold back in criticizing "Smokin' Joe."
Frazier and Ali's rivalry is considered one of boxing's most iconic. They fought three times, with Frazier winning their first bout in 1971. That fight handed Ali the first loss of his career. Ali got his revenge in their 1974 and 1975 rematches.
Frazier's career wasn't defined by Ali alone. He lost only four fights in total, with two of those losses coming against George Foreman.
Ali's words about Frazier stand in stark contrast to the respect often shown between opponents in boxing. They show a different side to Ali, who was known for his showmanship and trash talk as much as his skill in the ring.
Just months after this interview, Ali scored a famous victory against George Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle". This win cemented Ali's status as one of the greatest boxers of all time, a title that even his harshest words couldn't take away from Joe Frazier.
