Joe Frazier: Difference between revisions

While Ali's characteristic taunts of his opponent began typically enough, after regaining his title, his taunts eventually turned personal. Joe was painted by Ali as the white man's hope and as an "[[Uncle Tom]]," interjecting a racial element into an already contentious and controversial series of great bouts. [[Bryant Gumbel]] joined the pro-Ali, anti-Frazier bandwagon by writing a major magazine article that asked "Is Joe Frazier a white champion with black skin?", and many younger boxing fans who had no issues with Frazier sided with Ali in their feud because of their admiration for Ali's anti-war and anti-racism views (Frazier rarely spoke publicly about social or political issues).{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

 

 

After years of remaining bitter, Frazier told ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' in May 2009 that he no longer held hard feelings for Ali.<ref name="SI">{{cite news|url= http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/mma/boxing/04/22/frazier/index.html|title= Frazier gets his time to shine|accessdate=May 27, 2009|author= Christopher Wink|publisher=SportsIllustrated.com | date=April 22, 2009}}</ref>