The “Sunshine Showdown” between George Foreman and Joe Frazier was one of the most brutal dethronings of a heavyweight champion. Frazier still managed to amaze everyone, though.
Joe Frazier was bursting with power when he stepped into the ring in Kingston, Jamaica, on January 22, 1973. The world champion, the destroyer with the crushing left hook, undefeated in 29 professional fights to date, had defeated the great Muhammad Ali two years earlier in the “Fight of the Century.”
Frazier was at the top of his game, so what could his opponent George Foreman possibly do to him? The answer to this question turned out differently than many had anticipated—including Foreman himself.
Joe Frazier defeated in the “Sunshine Showdown”
To everyone’s surprise, 53 years ago today, Foreman was not only the superior man in the ring, he beat Frazier like a helpless child, sending the champion to the canvas three times in the first three minutes. The second round was even more disastrous, and there was no third round. “Down goes Frazier!”, the legendary exclamation by TV commentator Howard Cosell, became a catchphrase in the USA.
To this day, the “Sunshine Showdown” is probably the most devastating, brutal dethroning of a heavyweight champion in modern times—the only comparable event was Sonny Liston’s double demolition of Floyd Patterson in 1962 and 1963. In retrospect, however, victor Foreman views his great triumph differently than many would assume.
George Foreman did not want to fight Frazier
“If I said I was confident I could beat Joe Frazier, I’d be lying,” Foreman recalled of the first of two fights with “Smokin’ Joe.” Foreman ‘had’ to compete at the time, but “I didn’t want to do it.” However, “I trained harder than ever before, and I had rhythm. But was I confident? No, I wasn’t. I had no self-confidence back then.“
Foreman, who died in March 2025, was impressed by what his rival could take. ”People often talk about how Joe Frazier was knocked down six times in that fight. But the amazing thing is that he got up six times. I’ve never seen anything like it,“ Foreman said.
When referee Arthur Mercante ended the uneven fight, ”I was so glad it was over.”
Muhammad Ali disenchanted Foreman
Frazier, who died in 2011, also proved his resilience in retrospect, coming back to fight several more big fights – all of which he lost, however: in 1974, he lost on points in a rematch with Ali, and in 1975, he lost the destructive and life-threatening “Thrilla in Manila” against the icon.
A final major duel with Foreman in 1976 ended with another knockout victory for Foreman, who by this point had lost his magic: after his defeat in the “Rumble in the Jungle” against Muhammad Ali, he was unable to regain his former strength despite his second triumph over Frazier.
He only managed to return to the world championship throne after his late comeback in the nineties – which was then diminished by his dubious victory over Axel Schulz.
