Philly's Joe Frazier statue is lookin official
Swiffness!
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That Rocky statue was a ? movie prop made for Rocky III. They actually banned it from the Art Museum for 20 years because they felt it was a movie prop and not "real art". So chill with that hate. BTW Bernard Hopkins bought his old gym and is turning it into a community center. You out-of-towners better go back to ? about snowballs at Santa or summin.
Busloads of tourists line up every day in Philadelphia to take photos with a statue of Rocky Balboa, the fictional heavyweight fighter made famous by Sylvester Stallone.
Will they line up for pictures with a sculpture of real hometown champion Joe Frazier?
"Properly promoted, I think it would be much, much bigger than Rocky," said Robin Hazel, who was visiting the city recently from Ottawa, Canada. "Rocky is great, it's a movie. But Joe Frazier's real. And he's Philadelphia."
Artist Stephen Layne is finishing up a 9-foot-tall clay version of "Smokin' Joe" that captures Philly's local hero in mid-punch. Frazier became the first fighter to beat Muhammad Ali when he outslugged "The Greatest" for the heavyweight title in 1971.
Steering clear of the victorious, raised arms stance of the Rocky statue — which was originally a prop in "Rocky III" — Layne instead found his spark in a photo of Frazier flooring Ali with his powerful left hook. The moment captured in the sculpture reflects the work ethic of Frazier and the city he called home, said Layne.
"That pose of glory ... the Rocky pose, I don't think that's quite the vibe of Philadelphia," Layne said while working in his studio in the Fishtown neighborhood.
Two of Frazier's daughters, Weatta Collins and Renae Martin, said they are thrilled with Layne's work, noting the artist has been receptive to feedback from family members as the piece progressed.
"It's really long overdue," Collins said. "We're very happy that it's finally being done."
Layne plans to finish the clay work by the end of September. The statue will then go through a molding process before being cast in bronze and installed at Xfinity Live, an entertainment complex by the city's three sports stadiums. Frazier fought near the site at the now-demolished Spectrum.
The unveiling of the 1,800-pound likeness is expected next spring, probably in April, said Richard Hayden, an attorney for Xfinity Live.
The sculpture's location will be off the beaten path for visitors — about five miles south of the Rocky statue, which stands by the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps that Stallone famously ran up. Collins said her family is working with tourism officials to ensure sightseeing maps include the Frazier memorial.
Arnaud du Croix, of Veenendaal, the Netherlands, took a picture with Rocky recently because the movies were "part of my youth." He questioned how many foreign tourists would recognize Frazier's name, though as a boxing fan he enthusiastically supports the Smokin' Joe tribute.
"It's a bit silly to have a statue of someone that was never a professional boxer," du Croix said of Rocky. "It made the city of Philadelphia very famous, but they should have a statue of a great boxer — of Joe Frazier."
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/foot-joe-frazier-statue-rising-philadelphia-25209485
btw me & my pops got to kick it with Smokin Joe at a rib cookoff for a hour and dude kept talking about how he hated Ali lol (i love telling this story)
"THAT ? ! I WON ALL 3 OF DEM FIGHTS! LOOK AT 'IM! HE CAN'T EVEN TALK NOW!!!!" - direct quote from Joe Frazier lmfao
when my dad asked him to give me advice, he told me to be a great fighter you gotta learn to give up things.....drinking, smoking, staying up late......."unless you wanna wind up like Ali"
i was shocked like wow that's ? up lol
yeah, he let Ali sleep on his couch, helped him get reinstated, and then dude called him a ?
he hated Ali
Busloads of tourists line up every day in Philadelphia to take photos with a statue of Rocky Balboa, the fictional heavyweight fighter made famous by Sylvester Stallone.
Will they line up for pictures with a sculpture of real hometown champion Joe Frazier?
"Properly promoted, I think it would be much, much bigger than Rocky," said Robin Hazel, who was visiting the city recently from Ottawa, Canada. "Rocky is great, it's a movie. But Joe Frazier's real. And he's Philadelphia."
Artist Stephen Layne is finishing up a 9-foot-tall clay version of "Smokin' Joe" that captures Philly's local hero in mid-punch. Frazier became the first fighter to beat Muhammad Ali when he outslugged "The Greatest" for the heavyweight title in 1971.
Steering clear of the victorious, raised arms stance of the Rocky statue — which was originally a prop in "Rocky III" — Layne instead found his spark in a photo of Frazier flooring Ali with his powerful left hook. The moment captured in the sculpture reflects the work ethic of Frazier and the city he called home, said Layne.
"That pose of glory ... the Rocky pose, I don't think that's quite the vibe of Philadelphia," Layne said while working in his studio in the Fishtown neighborhood.
Two of Frazier's daughters, Weatta Collins and Renae Martin, said they are thrilled with Layne's work, noting the artist has been receptive to feedback from family members as the piece progressed.
"It's really long overdue," Collins said. "We're very happy that it's finally being done."
Layne plans to finish the clay work by the end of September. The statue will then go through a molding process before being cast in bronze and installed at Xfinity Live, an entertainment complex by the city's three sports stadiums. Frazier fought near the site at the now-demolished Spectrum.
The unveiling of the 1,800-pound likeness is expected next spring, probably in April, said Richard Hayden, an attorney for Xfinity Live.
The sculpture's location will be off the beaten path for visitors — about five miles south of the Rocky statue, which stands by the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps that Stallone famously ran up. Collins said her family is working with tourism officials to ensure sightseeing maps include the Frazier memorial.
Arnaud du Croix, of Veenendaal, the Netherlands, took a picture with Rocky recently because the movies were "part of my youth." He questioned how many foreign tourists would recognize Frazier's name, though as a boxing fan he enthusiastically supports the Smokin' Joe tribute.
"It's a bit silly to have a statue of someone that was never a professional boxer," du Croix said of Rocky. "It made the city of Philadelphia very famous, but they should have a statue of a great boxer — of Joe Frazier."
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/foot-joe-frazier-statue-rising-philadelphia-25209485
btw me & my pops got to kick it with Smokin Joe at a rib cookoff for a hour and dude kept talking about how he hated Ali lol (i love telling this story)
"THAT ? ! I WON ALL 3 OF DEM FIGHTS! LOOK AT 'IM! HE CAN'T EVEN TALK NOW!!!!" - direct quote from Joe Frazier lmfao
when my dad asked him to give me advice, he told me to be a great fighter you gotta learn to give up things.....drinking, smoking, staying up late......."unless you wanna wind up like Ali"
i was shocked like wow that's ? up lol
yeah, he let Ali sleep on his couch, helped him get reinstated, and then dude called him a ?
he hated Ali
Comments
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Well done, Philly. Well done.
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I never liked the way Ali use to call him dumb and Uncle Tom. When you are young as i was and one of your heroes is saying this you might tend to believe this and overlook the fact that this is another black man he is murder mouthin'. I was smarter than that tho. it was business but unnecessary business imo.
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About time
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This makes me want a statue
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Ghostdenithegawd wrote: »This makes me want a statue
Lol the ? -
Swiffness! wrote: »"That pose of glory ... the Rocky pose, I don't think that's quite the vibe of Philadelphia," Layne said while working in his studio in the Fishtown neighborhood.[/b]
"It's a bit silly to have a statue of someone that was never a professional boxer," du Croix said of Rocky. "It made the city of Philadelphia very famous, but they should have a statue of a great boxer — of Joe Frazier."
wonder what REALLY motivated them to do this now though. Im checking it out when its finished next year. Hopkins gets respect for buying the old gymSwiffness! wrote: »
yeah, he let Ali sleep on his couch, helped him get reinstated, and then dude called him a ?
he hated Ali
they reconciled in early 2000's (he dmitted in beyond the glory)
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Bill Burr probably had something to do with this lol
"the pride of your city is built around a ? guy who doesn't even exist"
"Joe Frazier is from there but he's black so you can't deal with him"
Glad they finally doing this. -
Shout out to Marvis, Tho. Starts @ 2:44.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRCVwsIokEw
And shout out to the Real Mike Tyson.
