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FanHouse's Christopher Botta reports from Flyers' training camp
VOORHEES, NJ - Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier visited Philadelphia Flyers training camp on Monday and met with goaltender Ray Emery. The new Flyer is honoring the local legend this season with an image of Frazier on his goalie mask.
Emery presented Frazier with a Flyers jersey, while the boxer presented the goalie with a DVD of "The Thrilla in Manilla" and signed it for him. "That's very cool. Thank you, sir," said Emery, clearly touched.
Frazier, who still lives in Philadelphia, invited Emery to his boxing gym in town -- and that was before he learned the goaltender was a willing participant in hockey fights. "You should come down to my gym," Frazier said to Emery. "I'll show you a few things." Later, the 65-year old former champ told reporters his most important advice: "If you're gonna hit a guy, hit him quick."
In anticipation of the meeting, Emery watched highlights of many of Frazier's biggest matches, including his iconic battles with Muhammed Ali. "I'm a fan, not a boxer," said the first-year Flyer. "It's man against man. I love the skill and the technique."
Emery took boxing lessons in Hamilton, Ontario when he was 15, more for conditioning purposes than the expectation he would fight Martin Biron and Andrew Peters within minutes of an NHL game. "The amount of work you have to put in to be prepared for a 12-round fight is incredible," said Emery. "I have a lot of respect for what boxers do."Frazier more than returned the compliment, saying, "Boxing is not close to hockey. It is a tough, tough game. In boxing, it's one-on-one. In hockey, you can get hit by two or three guys at the same time. Man, that's rough.
"Hockey is much harder than boxing," said Frazier. "A guy like Ray is much tougher than me. I see these hockey guys after games getting rubbed down and worked on. Sometimes it looks like they're trying to save a leg or an arm. It's crazy out there on the ice.
"For my fights, we used to have one doctor. These hockey games, it's like there's a whole hospital back there."
Emery's mask also includes Philadelphia native and former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins, along with the fictional Philly heavyweight champ Rocky Balboa. The goaltender signed a one-year deal with the Flyers after a season in Russia. He is calling the opportunity his "final chance" after his time in Ottawa was marked by disputes with management and a pair of fights with teammates during practice.
Frazier, who said he's putting his boxing gym up for sale, said he has high blood pressure and takes 12 pills a day but, "I'm feeling good. I stay away from the bad stuff, like the alcohol. Well, maybe just a social drink every once in a while. I'm not the wild man I used to be."
Before leaving he said to Emery, "Stay out of trouble, son."
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