RSS 2.0 FeedOctober 2011 Vol 37, Featured Articles, Sports
Ali remembers Smokin' Joe
After his old rival died on Monday night, Ali had nothing but kind words for Smokin’ Joe.
“The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration,” Ali said in a short statement. “My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”
Frazier died at 67 after a brief battle with liver cancer. He and Ali will be linked forever, both heavyweight champions and bitter enemies in the boxing ring who squared off in three epic fights from 1971-75.
Frazier won the first one at Madison Square Garden in the Fight of the Century. Ali took the last two, cementing his legend as The Greatest.
Outside the ring, Ali called Frazier a gorilla and mocked him as an Uncle Tom. Between the ropes, they nearly fought to the death in the Thrilla in Manila.
Those became the most poignant and defining moments of Frazier’s fantastic career. But he also was the only American fighter to win a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He was the heavyweight champ from February 1970 to January 1973, an era when that crown truly meant something. He was beloved as an adopted son of Philadelphia, embodying the city’s blue-collar grit.
And when the last round of his final fight ended Monday night, reaction to Frazier’s death poured in from every corner of the sports world.
“Good night Joe Frazier. I love you dear friend,” former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who stopped Frazier to win the title, posted to his Twitter account.
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao said boxing lost “a great champion” and “a great ambassador.”
And it wasn’t only other boxers who were touched by Frazier.
Tennis star Serena Williams called him an icon and a pioneer.
“Inspiring and loved. Your presence will be missed,” she tweeted.
Don King, who promoted the steamy fight in the Philippines that became known as the Thrilla in Manila, was described by a spokesman as too upset to talk about Frazier’s death.
WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins, a fellow Philadelphia fighter, said Frazier was so big in the city that he should have his own statue, like the fictional Rocky character.
“There’s no way in the world you should come to Philadelphia and not recognise who Joe Frazier is. It’s the perfect time to build the biggest statue in appreciation for all the heart and love he gave to Philadelphia,” Hopkins said. “It’s just to say how we regret when it’s not there to touch and see. We didn’t realise we had a super special person amongst us that we all in a way took for granted. I said this when he was living, I say this now. That’s the only thing.”
Bob Arum, who once promoted Ali, said the famous bout in the Philippines was “the greatest fight in the history of boxing.”
“Joe Frazier should be remembered as one of the greatest fighters of all time and a real man. He’s a guy that stood up for himself. He didn’t compromise and always gave 100% in the ring. There was never a fight in the ring where Joe didn’t give 100 percent,” Arum said.
More Featured Articles
CAUGHT CHEATING? HOW TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER BEING UNFAITHFUL
We all learn to look out for signs that our man is cheating, or subtle hints that he might be seeing someone else on the side, but what if you are the one that cheated? Assuming that you still want to work on your current relationship, we have 7 ways to move on successfully after you’ve been unfaithful. This is not a “loop-hole” and is not praised, but the reality is 14 percent of married women have had affairs at least once during their married lives and 17 percent of divorces in the United States are caused by infidelity. If you fall into this category, and don’t want to be part of the divorce statistic, take a look at these helpful steps.
Sure signs she's cheating on you
MARRIAGES often break down on account of husbands not being loyal to their wives.
Who wants to be a monkey?
A student has been left feeling a little red-faced after an embarrassing incident with a monkey made her a global star. Charmian Chen, who just happens to be a model, was visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud in Bali last month when two of the primates decided she was a little overdressed.The 22-year-old student, from Taiwan, was on holiday on the tropical Indonesian island feeding long-tailed macaques when she was singled out.
ZANU PF hypocrisy over gay rights exposed
In 1995 Robert Mugabe hit the headlines when he said gay people “behave worse than dogs and pigs”. That same year he used a speech during a national holiday to proclaim: “If you see people parading themselves as lesbians and gays, arrest them and hand them over to the police” writes Lance Gama for SW Radio Africa.
Blatter, race, and status quo
It was really hard to care when I first watched the Sepp Blatter interview on CNN: the one where he said that racist comments made during matches should simply be shrugged off after the match with the aid of a handshake. In fact, it was so hard to care that I couldn’t bring myself to watch it again writes Musa Okwonga.
Could ritual sacrifices save Ivory Coast?
Bassam - Could crowns, sceptres and ritual sacrifices save Ivory Coast? Some of its traditional chiefs are seeking to help in the reconciliation of the long-divided country, but not everybody agrees.
ZANU PF Caught In A Succession Trap
Johannesburg,- As we write this article President Mugabe is yet to return from his trips to Singapore and China writes academics, Gideon Chitanga and Trust Matsilele .
Mujuru alliance with MDC-T might have cost him his life
A senior government official has told SW Radio Africa that the late army general Solomon Mujuru was murdered after plans for an alliance between his faction of ZANU PF and the MDC-T were uncovered by Mugabe.
Unreported horrors of male rape in DRC
KAMPALA — They are men who have lost all pride and self-confidence and who have been left severely traumatised by their experience. At the medical centre in Uganda where they are being treated, they talked candidly about crimes carried out against them.
Electoral Fears As Leaders Denounce Violence
Political stability in Zimbabwe has, for sometime now, been on a knife-edge following incessant clashes between members of the country's main political parties, the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) and the Morgan Tsvangirai led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) writes Institute for Security Studies (Tshwane/Pretoria).
Economy-Zimbabwe: Rural women banking by mobile phone
Rural women banking by mobile phone - Collecting the monthly subscriptions for her co-operative has always been a headache for Thelma Nare, 41
Tsvangirai on Mugabe, violence and Zimbabwe's new era
A rather extraordinary meeting in Zimbabwe ended with both Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe calling for peace in their troubled country. Bob might have been crying crocodile tears, but Morgan was very serious and not afraid to tell the world – and Zanu-PF – how he sees things. By SIMON ALLISON.
Zanu PF in quandary over Malema suspension
HARARE - The decision by President Jacob Zuma’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) to suspend its youth league leader Julius Malema for five years has left President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF with a massive political headache.
Berlusconi's gaffes, quips and pranks
Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned as prime minister on Saturday after dominating Italy for 17 years with a mix of political talent and brazen behaviour, has a sense of humour that often landed him in trouble.
SA could be in for a bumpy ride if Juju plays his cards right
The Times Editorial: Anyone who believes Julius Malema is a spent force following the ruling by the ANC's national disciplinary committee that he be suspended for five years has another think coming.
The silent cry of married women
CONDOM use is not only a rarely used contraception method in marriages, but also one that is quickly discarded within the first few months of a couple moving in together.
Zimbabwe farmers struggle to determine right planting time
GWANDA, Zimbabwe (AlertNet) – When hailstorms and heavy downpours hit parts of Zimbabwe in early October, farmers here were quick to begin preparing their land for the traditional planting season.
Is Britain's gay condition too intrusive for Africans?
With Britain threatening to withhold aid to the Commonwealth members who enforced laws criminalising homosexuality, Africa could see street protests hitherto not witnessed by gay, lesbian, transgender and homosexuals, to demand recognition writes JANET OTIENO.
Exclusive Interview with Diamond Expert Farai Maguwu
RadioVOP’s Nkosana Dlamini (ND) spoke to the diamond rights researcher to hear the journey he has travelled to earn this prestigious award and to also hear his views about the decision by the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme to allow Zimbabwe to export her rough diamonds.
Zanu PF now a threat to country’s stability
“WHAT drives people in an organisation that is in a state of chaos, disintegrating and about to implode, to pursue with such heightened fervour and passionate zeal, an elective conference that will, for all intents and purposes, lead to its ultimate demise and its destruction?
Made in Kenya - a Constitution for the People, By the People
Made in Kenya: A constitution for the people, by the people
Essar’s Zimbabwean steel quest turns sour
The Essar Group’s quest for iron ore remains elusive with Zimbabwe declining to supply the resource as envisaged in a contentious deal between the Indian conglomerate and the African state.
South Africa: Deportation of Zimbabweans Tearing Families Apart
Harare — Doreen Sibanda, 27, was among the first undocumented Zimbabwean nationals to be deported in early October 2011 after South Africa apparently lifted its more than two year moratorium on expulsions imposed following widespread xenophobic violence in 2008.
Shameless Mutambara falls from grace
Watching Arthur Mutambara being heckled into silence by MPs in Parliament recently, one would have been excused for thinking the Deputy Prime Minister was an unwelcome intruder in Zimbabwe’s pro-democracy politics writes John Chimunhu.
Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's enigmatic and elusive son
(Reuters) - Gaddafi is the most enigmatic of Muammar Gaddafi's children, apparently turning within weeks from philanthropist and liberal reformer into a fighter ready to die on his home soil rather than surrender.
