The Day Philly Went Up In Smoke

Smokin' Joe Frazier,
A champion in my book;
Known for a patented wallop,
The Philadelphia left hook!

He never had the beauty,
Of a Muhammad Ali;
Frazier hit like a mammoth,
While Ali stung like a bee!

Bobbin' and weavin',
From side to side;
He never stopped punchin',
'Til the day he died!

Many years ago,
When I was just a kid;
The Fight Of The Century,
I remember what he did!

Ali was quick and flashy,
Adoring the role of a clown;
It was there in the fifteenth,
When Frazier knocked him down!

The two would meet again,
And another soon after;
A rivalry long enduring,
One of boxing's greatest chapters!

Sportin' those colorful trunks,
Way below the knees;
Folks all got their money's worth,
He was guaranteed to please!

Those aren't clouds in Philly,
They're raging puffs of smoke;
Make way for the locomotive,
That left hook ain't no joke!

Goodbye for now Joe Frazier,
You'll be sorely missed;
Boxing's lost its glory,
Real men fought with their fists!
Copyright © | Year Posted 2012


Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 7/23/2013 6:54:00 PM
The Ali-Frazier era was boxing's greatest era, bar none. Good for a re-read.
Login to Reply
Toran Avatar
Milton Toran
Date: 7/23/2013 7:10:00 PM
Thanks Vince!
Date: 7/23/2013 6:56:00 AM
I just love it, hard hitting like Joe with the verbosity of Ali!
Login to Reply
Date: 1/15/2013 3:34:00 PM
I was an ALI fan. Funny, but being military, I had a dislike for Clay (Ali), but after he stood up for what he believed in and they stripped him of the crown, I became a die hard fan. Sometimes I wonder if he, Joe Frazier and George Foreman had a thing going to put the matches on the map. They were glory days for boxing.
Login to Reply
Toran Avatar
Milton Toran
Date: 1/17/2013 5:36:00 PM
Thanks Vince! I too and still am an Ali fan. However, I loved Frazier's "no nonsense" approach he brought to the ring. Sometimes Ali would frustrate me because he'd clown around too much. Boxing this day and age is a joke! Thanks for the review! Milt
Date: 2/28/2012 8:08:00 PM
Milt, how can i thank you for this wonderful tribute to a wonderful man. i was a kid in that era also. an era that will never be forgotten or retold. we lived in glory days without even knowing it. but here's to Smokin Joe the ultimate nemisis.
Login to Reply
Loving Iii Avatar
John Loving Iii
Date: 2/28/2012 8:10:00 PM
we waited for fight like we waited for christmas.
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Reflection on the Important Things

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter