Joe Frazier was a boxing legend, but more than that he was a huge personality and a humble man who enjoyed a joke and a song.

I was fortunate to spend some time with Frazier at his home in Philadelphia last year. Some people say you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but that doesn’t apply if your hero is Joe Frazier.

Sitting at a table in an outside bar on Benjamin Franklin Boulevard in Philadelphia, I was reminded of the great boxing history of the city, minutes before I made the short walk to Frazier’s hotel apartment.

Frazier had relocated to the city centre following the sale of his gym and he enjoyed views of the flag-lined strip leading up to the Museum of Art, the steps of which were made famous by fictional boxer Rocky Balboa.

Sipping my drink in the Philly sun, I was accompanied by Suzie, my fiancée and cameraperson for the interview. I reviewed my notes and questions and thought back to Frazier’s fights: his world heavyweight title winning victory over Jimmy Ellis in 1970, dishing out Muhammad Ali’s first defeat and knocking him down in the process, the devastating defeat at the hands of George Foreman and the gruelling showdown with Ali in Manilla in ‘75 that almost left him blind.

I wasn’t around when Frazier was fighting but my interest in boxing developed when I began training as an amateur back in my early teens and I would watch all the fights I could get my hands on, old and new. What attracted me to Frazier was his short stature which he used to his advantage as he bobbed and weaved to make himself a smaller target, before pouncing and unleashing his trademark left hook.

He was a warrior in the ring with the power of a bull. Indeed, of the 29 fights Frazier had before his title loss to Foreman in 1973, only three fighters had managed to last the distance with Smokin’ Joe. In that devastating defeat against Foreman, Frazier was knocked down six times yet was still standing when the referee decided he had seen enough; it takes a lot of heart to get up off the canvas even once.

We met his advisor Leslie Wolff in the reception area and were taken up to the suite which was wall to wall with boxing memorabilia, awards and pictures. The piece de resistance was the huge canvas hanging on the wall depicting Frazier’s knockdown of Ali in their Fight of the Century first meeting.

Dressed smartly and accompanied by a red hat and a walking stick, Frazier made his entrance from one of the rooms off the hallway and immediately began laughing and chatting. He revealed how he had enjoyed time spent in Edinburgh, where he wanted to meet the Queen at Edinburgh Castle but she wasn’t in. He was bursting with energy, despite still suffering a little from a hangover due to a meet and greet event the night before.

Frazier’s strong Philadelphia accent was slightly slurred and he spoke fast making him difficult to understand at times. I, on the other hand, have a Glaswegian accent which is difficult for people two miles up the road to understand, never mind someone across the Atlantic. Needless to say there was a lot of repetition going on at the beginning but as the interview went on we both acclimatised to the others’ language.

As I mentioned, I was a fan of Frazier and it was a dream come true for me to not only meet him but to have the opportunity to pick his brain about a whole host of subjects. These included Rocky Balboa: “Stallone stole the steps running and meat punching story from my life and didn’t even thank me”; Rocky Marciano: “I wouldn’t have had any problems beating Rocky”; and George Foreman: “He beat me in the second round first time then the fifth round in the rematch, I was getting better.”

Eventually our chat turned to Ali and the trilogy of fights which defined their careers and indeed their relationship with each other. The one-time friends had one of the bitter rivalries in boxing due to comments made by Ali in the run up to their Fight of the Century bout in 1971. Ali called Frazier an Uncle Tom – a reference to his all-white management company Cloverlay. This cut Frazier deep and he remained bitter about it, despite an apology from Ali years later.

Frazier had petitioned then-President Richard Nixon to reinstate Ali’s boxing license following his refusal to be drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. This helped set up the fight between the two undefeated world champions where Frazier knocked Ali down en route to a unanimous points decision at Madison Square Garden. With that victory, he confirmed his standing as heavyweight world champion, which many failed to recognise until he faced Ali

Their second meeting was a domestic fight in which Ali took the decision, but it was their third meeting, the legendary Thriller in Manila, which pushed both fighters to the limit of their physical ability.

The war lasted 14 rounds and ended when Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch refused to allow him to leave the corner for the final round because of severe swelling over his one good eye.

Speaking to Frazier, he revealed that he was partially blind in one eye through his whole career and now that his good eye was damaged, Futch knew he couldn’t go on and feared permanent blindness.

Ali, who collapsed in the ring after his victory was announced, said the fight was the closest thing to death he could imagine. Frazier told me that he should have won all three fights, but insisted he had no hard feelings towards Futch, who died in 2001, for pulling him out of the biggest fight of his career.

The bitterness against Ali was certainly there when I met Frazier, especially when he spoke of the effect Ali’s insults had on him. However, over the years the pair had appeared together at various events, including a surprise appearance by Frazier on Ali’s This is Your Life in 1978. Ali fell off his chair in mock shock at seeing Frazier standing before him. Frazier paid tribute to his rival on the show: “A great guy. We love him and I would say a fine champion.”

Following the news of Frazier’s death, Ali released a statement. “The world has lost a great Champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Frazier died of liver cancer in a hospice in Philadelphia on November 7, a month after being diagnosed. In the corner at the end of the 14th round in the Philippines, Futch told a protesting Frazier: “Sit down son. It’s over. No one will ever forget what you did here today”.

IN DETAIL

• Frazier lost the battle against Ali but believes he won the war
• Frazier: I would’ve had no problem with Marciano or Tyson
• Joe Frazier sings ‘My Way’ his way