Joe Frazier was born on 12th of January, 1944, in a very poor family in Beaufort which is in the city South Carolina, USA. They were 12 siblings and he was the youngest one. For their survival, they were doing various labor jobs but after facing all these difficulties, Joe reached the top and succeeded in his life.
Personal Basic Information
| Full Name | Joseph William Frazier |
| Nick Name | Smokin’ Joe, Joe the Champ |
| Father’s Name | Rubin Frazier |
| Mother’s Name | Dolly Frazier |
| Date of Birth (Born) | January 12, 1944 |
| Birth Place | Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Current Age | Age: 82 years, 2 months, and 5 days as of today. Time left for next birthday: 9 months and 26 days. |
| Height | 5 feet 11 inch (1.80 meters) |
| Weight | 205-215 pounds (93-98 kg) |
| Net worth | Approx. $100,000 to $150,000 dollars as of March 2025 |
| Marriage Status | Divorced |
| Wife’s Name | Florence Smith |
| Kids Name | Marvis Frazier, Jackie Frazier-Lyde, Tomeka Frazier, Weatta Frazier Collins, Joe Frazier Jr. and four more kids. |
| High school | Beaufort High School, Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Capricorn |
| Retirement | Retired in December 1981 at the age of 37 years |
Joe Frazier’s Net Worth
Joe Frazier comes from a very poor family background but his achievements are so big. His Net Worth is approximately $100,000 – $150,000 from various sources and some of them are discussed here.
- Boxing Earnings: In his entire professional boxing career Joe Frazier has earned approximately $15-$25 million dollars from his legendary fights and rematches with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
- Business ventures: Joe Frazier has invested his money in several boxers and his son, Marvis Frazier, by managing, training and promoting them. Joe also had a gym in Philadelphia, which was started during the 70s and during that time, it was quite successful but in the 2000s, Joe had to sell the gym.
- Music Career: Joe has had a passion for music and has been involved in a band called Joe Frazier and the Knockouts. He has earned a reliable income from his music shows and tours.
- Public Appearances & Media: He has also been involved in movies, tv shows, documentaries and talk shows, where he has made appearances as a guest. Joe has also done commentary and has appeared at promotional events as well.
Joe Frazier Early Life and Childhood
Joe Frazier was born on January 12th 1994 , in Beaufort, South Carolina, USA. His father, Rubin Frazier, used to work as a sharecropper and moonshine runner.
Joe’s mother, Dolly Frazier, was a loving housewife, and he had 12 older siblings; his family was very humble, and Joe used to help his family at the farm by fetching water and cutting wood.
When he was 9 years old, he saw a boxing match on tv and wished to become like Joe Louis.
He made his own punching bag with the things he had and used to practice boxing on his own. Joe relocated from New York to Philadelphia when he was 15 years old and used to work at a slaughterhouse .
Education and the Beginning of Sports Career
As a child, Joe used to attend a local elementary and secondary school specially for Black people in Beaufort, South Carolina and after that he took admission at Beaufort High School but due to financial issues, he had to drop out of school and work in order to provide for his family.
When Joe was working at the slaughterhouse, he started going to the Police Athletic League (PAL) Gym, and Yank Durham saw his potential who was the coach there.
He took the responsibility to train him professional boxer. Joe was a prominent left-hand user which gave him a unique fighting style. Joe started his professional career in amateur boxing.
Professional Career
1965-1967: After making his professional debut at the age of 21 years old, he defeated Woody Goss, Raymond Jones, Mike Bruce and Cash White in 1965, in his debut year.
In 1966, he fought 13 matches and won all thirteen of them after defeating Chuck Leslie and Oscar Bonavena. In the year 1967, he participated and won all 6 fights of the year, where he defeated Doug Jones and George Chuvalo.
1968-1970: In the year 1968, Joe achieved a Heavyweight title of NYSAC in New York after he KOed Buster Mathis and by the end of the year, he won 22 fights. In 1969, he kept on defending his heavyweight title against Manuel Ramos, Dave Zyglewicz and Jerry Quarry.
In 1970, Joe Frazier achieved WBA, WBC, and NYSAC Heavyweight titles and unified them all and in the year, he also defeated Jimmy Ellis who hadn’t lost a single match in the past 5 years.
1971-1974: In the year 1971, the Fight of the Century match happened, in which he defeated Muhammad Ali and this gained a lot of attention from people.
In 1973, he won 29 matches but lost one match to George Foreman, who won the world title after defeating Joe Frazier. Joe defeated Joe Bugner in London but lost a match to Muhammad Ali in Madison Square Garden, New York City in 1974.
1975-1981: In the year 1975, a rematch happened between Jimmy Ellis and Joe, where Joe defeated him and in the same year, he again fought with Muhammad Ali but unfortunately, he lost the match of Thrilla in Manila.
In 1976, he again had a rematch with George Foreman but after losing the match against him, Joe decided to retire from professional boxing. In 1981, Joe made a comeback and had a match with Floyd “Jumbo” Cummings and the match was drawn. After this match, he permanently retired from boxing.
Achievements / Awards / Medals
In the professional boxing journey of Joe Frazier, he has a long list of achievements and here are some of them:
- 1964: In this year, Joe represented his country, America at the Tokyo Olympics, where he defeated Hans Huber of Germany, there he achieved the gold medal in the Heavyweight category.
- 1971: He fought against Muhammad Ali and unified the WBA, WBC, and NYSAC titles of heavyweight.
National Achievements
- 1962, 1963: In the early 1960s, Joe was honoured with the Golden Gloves Champion of the Philadelphia Region, which helped him in reaching the nationals.
- 1968: In this year, Joe won the NYSAC World Heavyweight Title by defeating Buster Mathis at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- 1990: He was honoured with an induction in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Modern Era Boxers category along with other legendary boxers of that time like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and many others.
- 1969, 1971: Joe was given the title of Fight of the Year by the Ring Magazine twice where his competitors were Jerry Quarry and Muhammad Ali, Joe was presented with this title because of his legacy and his winning streaks.
- 1991: In this year, Joe was included in the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991 because of the contributions that Joe has made for boxing and due to his incredible performances.
- 2011: Joe Frazier was recognised for his big contributions as a professional boxer and he was the very first Black American who speak in front of the South Carolina Assembly. Joe was given the Congressional Honor at the House of Representatives Tribute.
- 2015: A 12-foot statue was made in honour of Joe Frazier’s boxing legacy in the Southwest of 11th street near Xfinity Live! It is also the place where Joe had a match in the year 1967.
Married Life and Family
1st Marriage: When Joe was starting his boxing career, he got married to Florence Frazier in the year 1963 but after some years of their marriage. They separated from each other in the year 1985 but according to reports, they haven’t had a divorce.
- Marvis Frazier: He was born on 12th of September of 1960 and used to be a professional boxer and is also working as a public speaker.
- Jacqui (Jackie) Frazier-Lyde: She was born on 2nd of December of 1961 and she used to work as a boxer, an attorney and also as a judge in the municipal court.
- Hector Frazier: His date of birth is not known but he was also a professional boxer during the 1990s and competed in the welterweight division.
Relationship: Joe had his first encounter with Denise Menz at a party, when Denise was just 19 years old and Joe was 25 years old. After some time, the two of them started seeing each other but they never got married to each other nor did they have any children together.
Joe Frazier also has children outside of his marriage which are mentioned below:
- Derek Dennis Frazier (Son): He was born in 1992 and is known as the youngest child of Joe; he is also very active on social media platforms.
- Joseph Rubin Frazier (Son)
- Joseph Jordan Frazier (Son)
- Brandon Marcus Frazier (Son)
- Weatta Frazier (Daughter)
- Jo-Netta Frazier (Daughter)
- Renae Frazier (Daughter)
- Natasha Frazier (Daughter)
Death
On 7th of November in 2011, Joe Frazier passed away because of liver cancer and at that time he was 67 years old.
Many of his competitors and people from the sports world gave him a tribute and expressed remorse over his death.