I should say up front that today, I have no interest in boxing or that other popular “ultimate fighting” either. The idea of watching people beating each other senseless just doesn’t do it for me. It wasn’t always that way, though. When I was a boy and Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali fought their battles, I thought it was important. At the time, these guys were major cultural figures for us. Boxing, it seemed to me, had a much different stature then.

I suppose I think of those guys as dinosaurs, engaged in epic dramas that coincided with the sport dying away, at least in my imagination. I know there were other boxers later who became popular figures, or were strong fighters, but in my mind, by the time Ali fought George Forman, it was already over.

When I hear Joe Frazier’s name, it transports me way back to my childhood. I don’t know much about him except that he had a big left hook, a smokin’ nickname and a lasting bitterness toward his fellow dinosaur, Mr. Ali. I remember the excitement my dad shared about the fights. Those were good times in my childhood and so I remember the fights with fondness too. I’m not interested in watching boxing today, but  I think I would consider watching those particular fights again. Call me nostalgic.