52 NT NEWS. Wednesday, November 9, 2011. www.ntnews.com.au

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FFAwants explanations

FOOTBALL Federation Australia has issued GoldCoast coachMiron Bleiberg and Adelaide Uniteddefender Antony Golec with ‘‘please explain’’ letters.Bleiberg and Golec could be fined or suspended bythe FFA. Golec apologised for his homophobic sluragainst referee BenWilliams on Twitter, whileBleiberg also apologised for his outburst when heinferred Sydney FCwere so important to theA-League they received favourable treatment.

Robinson on road to recovery

WALLABIES scrum linchpin Benn Robinson has takenthe first positive steps back from a serious kneeinjury. A torn anterior cruciate ligament forced theWaratahs front rower out of the recentWorld Cup.Halfway through his six-month rehabilitation period,Robinson said he pulled up really well following hisfirst 50m run onMonday. ‘‘But no swelling straightafter the run and no swelling this morning, which is areally positive sign,’’ he said.

Great day for surferMedina

RISING Brazilian Gabriel Medina haswon the final ofthe Rip Curl Pro Search surfing event fromAustralianJoel Parkinson. The 17-year-old defeated Parkinsonin firingwaves in San Francisco to secure his secondelite ASPWorld Tour victory this season. His run onthe final day of competitionwas amazing, as he tookthe highest heat total of 17.33, while beating freshlycrowned 11-timeworld champion Kelly Slater andTaylor Knox, before topping the Aussie in the final.

No shortcutsfor Frazier

CAREERBorn: January 12, 1944.Height: 1.82metresReach: 185cmNickname: Smokin’ JoeBoxing record: 32-4-1 27 KOsCareer highlights:ONLY American fighter towin a goldmedal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.FIRST boxer to defeat Muhammad Alion points in themuch touted ‘‘Fight ofthe Century’’ in 1971.DEFEATED Jimmy Ellis in 1970 tobecome the undisputedworldheavyweight champion.

JOE Frazier beat up his spar-ring partners because hewouldn’t pull his punches.

He didn’t want any badhabits seeping into his ar-senal — the weapons of aheavyweight with short armsand a large heart.

Frazier felt sorry for thesparring partners he’d beatenup but you can’t show pitywithout losing respect in atraining camp.

That symbolised Frazier —hard worker with a generousheart. And it explains in partwhy he was so wounded byMuhammad Ali and probablynever forgave the taunts andthe insults, and the demean-ing rhetoric he endured be-fore their legendary fights.

Frazier asked the UnitedStates president to permit Alito fight while he fought hisdraft evasion verdict throughthe courts. Gave Ali money.Offered his friendship.

And then Ali called him an‘‘Uncle Tom’’ and the gorillahe would face one last time inManila.

Frazier couldn’t win a de-bate with Ali, but he ham-mered out a victory in thatfirst fight and summoned theskill and courage to battle Aliinto the 14th round in Manilabefore trainer Eddie Futchkept a half-blinded Frazierfrom going out there again.

Frazier was a fighter, pureand simple. Trudge forward,lean on the other guy, taketwo to land one.

‘‘You’ve gotta breathe onhim,’’ Frazier would say, in arare attempt to define hisstyle. ‘‘No shortcuts’’ was hismantra. There’s a lessonthere for all of us.

Boxing’sSmokin’Joe diesat 67

Joe Frazier, pictured back in his boxing days, died yesterday after a battle with liver cancer Picture: AP Photo

JOE FRAZIER — 1944-2011

JOE Frazier, the former un-disputed heavyweight champfamed for his epic fightsagainst Muhammad Ali, diedyesterday after a brief butbrave battle with liver can-cer. He was 67.

The American boxinglegend won an Olympic goldmedal in a brilliant careerthat spanned almost 20 years,but he was best known forfighting Ali in a famed 1970strilogy of bouts, including theepic ‘‘Thrilla in Manila’’.

He had been at home afterbeing diagnosed a couple ofweeks ago with the advancedliver cancer that took his life,a family friend said.

‘‘I will always rememberJoe with respect and admir-ation,’’ Ali said.

‘‘My sympathy goes out tohis family and loved ones.’’

Frazier, nicknamed ‘‘Smo-kin’ Joe’’, captured two majorheavyweight titles while tak-ing on all comers, includingAli, George Foreman, JerryQuarry, Joe Bugner and Os-car Bonavena.

Frazier was a huge part ofthe heyday of boxing’s heavy-weight division in the 1970s.He finished his storied careerwith 32 wins (27 knockouts),four losses and one draw.

His four losses came at thehands of just two otherlegendary fighters from thatera: Ali and Foreman.

Frazier was the first man todefeat Ali, with a unanimous15-round decision in 1971 atMadison Square Garden, inwhat was dubbed the ‘‘Fightof the Century’’.

An estimated 300 millionpeople around the worldwatched the fight on TV.

Frazier’s business managerLeslie Wolff said Frazier’s re-putation from that fight hadpassed down through threegenerations.

Don’t give up on Thorpe yet, says ArmstrongNO STRANGER to a come-back himself, Duncan Arm-strong reckons Ian Thorpe ison track to make the 2012 Lon-don Olympic team despitebombing in his pet event atthe Beijing World Cup round.

The stage was set forThorpe to finally reveal hisprogress just four months

ahead of the Olympic trialsafter he surprisingly becamea last-minute entry in the100m freestyle at the shortcourse meet in China.

But in a reality check,Thorpe, 29, failed to qualifyfor the final in his specialtyevent, clocking only the 15thfastest overall time in a

modest field. Thorpe also mis-sed qualifying for the 100m in-dividual medley final by justtwo hundredths of a second.

In contrast, Libby Trickettmade another encouragingstep on the comeback trail bycruising into the finals of the100m butterfly and 50mfreestyle.

Armstrong said Thorpewon’t be using the timesheetas a gauge for London just yet.

‘‘I think he’s on track,’’Armstrong said. ‘‘He’s showna big pair of knackers comingback.

‘‘He’s still the super tal-ented swimmer that he was,he’s just got to get race fit.’’

Thorpe said it was ‘‘almostabsurd’’ to expect him to startwinning after a five-yearbreak.

He seemed encouraged byhis Beijing showing yester-day, saying he saw ‘‘glimmersof possibility’’.

‘‘The (freestyle) time wasOK. I wish I had went a bit

faster as there is a psycholog-ical barrier around breaking50 (seconds),’’ he said.

‘‘I realise what I have towork on and it’s not aroundtraining, it’s around racing. Ihave noticed glimmers ofpossibility . . . they usuallyget taken way with lactate butthey are good to feel.’’

Fighter right to the end