Frazier’s gym down but not out
It ain't so: Reports of Smokin' Joe Frazier's Gym going down for the count are "grossly premature," Frazier's business manager said yesterday.
It ain't so: Reports of Smokin' Joe Frazier's Gym going down for the count are "grossly premature," Frazier's business manager said yesterday.
The venerable boxing club, at 2917 N. Broad Street, was shuttered Monday for renovations, said Leslie Wolf, spokesman for the former heavyweight champ.
Two part-time trainers were let go and boxers were told to find another training facility, Wolf said.
On Tuesday, media outlets received an e-mail claiming the history-laden club was now history.
Not true, Wolf said.
"Smokin' Joe Frazier Gym will never close," Wolf said. "Whether it moves to a different site is another question."
The e-mail, Wolf said, was sent by a fighter who had been kicked out of the club.
Run by Frazier's son, the Rev. Marvis Frazier, the gym has trained aspiring boxers for four decades.
The building, which once housed a ballroom, is 100 years old and has not been well-maintained, Wolf said.
The former champ - he held the title from 1970 to 1973 and waged a trio of battles against Muhammad Ali - lived in the club's second floor apartment and visited the training ring until a car accident left him with a severe back injury.
The gym recently has been on the ropes. In November, lawyers for the city of Philadelphia announced they were suing the gym for $127,000 in back taxes and labeled it one the city's biggest tax delinquents.
Smokin' Joe, Wolf said, is in much better shape than his building.
Despite back surgery Feb. 20 that resulted in weeks of complications, Frazier is keeping busy and has set his sights on a comeback, of sorts.
He just signed a deal with Electronic Arts for a video game, director Penny Marshall is interested in filming his life story, and two documentaries about him are in production in the United Kingdom, Wolf said.
Frazier - who previously dabbled in R&B leading Smokin' Joe and the Knock Outs - is relaunching himself this year as a soul singer.
Philadelphia vocal group Boyz II Men will sing backup for him when the champ competes April 29 on the new CBS reality series Secret Talents of the Stars.
"Right now we're developing a music career for him," Wolf said. "It's his biggest passion."
