PHILADELPHIA — They braved the November cold and the whipping winds to line up outside the Wells Fargo Center on Friday morning in tribute to a legend.
Old men with cowboy hats and canes, young men, fathers with children, and businessmen in suits standing alongside construction workers in mud-caked boots taking some time from their jobs to pay respects.
Mourners began arriving around 9 a.m. for the public memorial viewing of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. The two-day affair, put together by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in cooperation with Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider, is expected to draw 15,000 fans.
Frazier was laid out in the middle of the arena in a white, closed casket, as per his will, with his trademark black cowboy sitting atop and a white blanket that said, “Heavyweight Champion of the World, Smokin’ Joe Frazier — Your friend, Jake.” To the left of the casket was an original fight poster of Frazier’s first epic fight against Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971, and an encased American flag. To the right was an autographed portrait of Frazier.
Private funeral services for Frazier will be held Monday at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Ali is scheduled to arrive, as well as former heavyweight champions Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson.
Welterweight world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is donating money to incur some of the costs of the services. George Foreman, another old Frazier nemesis, will not be able to make it, but has offered to help pay for some of the funeral expenses.
Almost every passing mourner, it seemed, had either met Frazier personally or had an indelible recollection of the Hall of Fame fighter. Some stopped to take pictures with the casket, with glistening gold handles and embroidery on the sides. Others took shots in front of Frazier’s portrait, and still others took camera phone shots of the casket and the memorial blanket lying on top.
