Smokin' Joe

This is an old newspaper spot-illustration I drew in 2004 for a project that is explained here. I'm sorry to hear that he has passed away. Joe Frazier was my favorite fighter when I was a kid. Whenever he was on TV he seemed like a pretty nice guy; and I really liked the sound of the words "And in this corner... Smokin' Joe Frazier!" Dad would say that whenever we started play-boxing.

Frazier lost to Ali and Foreman. That's all.

Frazier, in his prime, beat Ali, in his prime. 'Nuff said.

Sad to see you go, Joe. I'm not a religious person by any stretch, but if I'm wrong -- and there really is a Valhalla -- I know you're lacing up your gloves right now and getting ready to stand in against whoever wins the Gentleman Jim Corbett/Joe Louis fight.

The End