No, he wasn’t as athletic, handsome, charismatic or lionized as Muhammad Ali. Former Olympic Gold Medalist and Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier was, however, far classier.
He bore the brunt of Ali’s racist taunts that he looked like a “gorilla” and was an “Uncle Tom.” He was never loud, boorish and braggadocious. And he was never called a “useful idiot” for an association with the Nation of Islam.
And when they both met in their undefeated primes in 1971–“Smokin’ Joe” Frazier won.