In “Sparring with Smokin’ Joe,” CUNY journalism professor Glenn Lewis recalls the epic rivalry between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali that started with the ‘fight of the century” in New York 50 years ago–a rivalry that transcended sports, became a cultural and racial touchstone and ultimately defined Frazier’s life inside and outside the ring. Lewis draws on the months he spent with Frazier in 1980 when the ex-champ was contemplating a comeback, rendering a revealing and intimate portrait of an underappreciated champion whose legacy has been consigned to Ali’s shadow.
Lewis is a veteran journalist and author who directs the journalism program at York College and also teaches at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. “Sparring with Smokin’ Joe” — a book Lewis waited 40 years to write — has been named one of the “Top 10 Sports Books of 2021” by the American Library Association’s Booklist.
Rick Firstman: Welcome, Glenn, to CUNY Book Beat. Joe Frazier was was one of the great fighters of any era but he was and will forever be overshadowed by Muhammad Ali. But at the same time, Ali’s legend probably wouldn’t be what it is if not for his intense rivalry with Frazier. It’s not a coincidence that Ken Burns’s new PBS film on Ali is out, like your book, at the 50th anniversary of the first Ali-Frazier bout at Madison Square Garden — the fight of the century. But this is about more than boxing. It was a rivalry and a relationship that transcended the sport, wasn’t it?
Glenn Lewis: Definitely. As a matter of fact, it was much more than just a sporting event. I mean, the fight of the century really connoted the atmosphere that was going on around the fight. First of all, it was the first time that two undefeated champions, heavyweight champions, met for the undisputed heavyweight title. You got to remember, Ali was stripped of his title in 1967 when we he was undefeated. And Frazier came into the fight of the century, undefeated and holding all of Ali’s former titles. They were far and away the two best heavyweights in the golden era of the heavyweight. This was a time when there were more great heavyweights than any other time in history. And these were the two best or supposedly the two best. Also, the fight of the century incorporated really a political and cultural confrontation like the sport had never seen before. A lot of people came to boxing because of Ali. Ali was exciting. He was young. He moved, he was constant motion. He was entertaining. He was political. The Fight of the Century represented Ali’s politics and the politics that he assigned to Joe, in a way. You know, he called himself the Black man’s champion. And at the same time, he would refer to Joe as the white man’s champion. Sort of insinuating that Joe was a traitor to his race. Joe was an Uncle Tom, Joe represented the establishment.
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