Following Smokin Joe's 15-Round Decision victory over the 'tough and burly' Oscar Bonavena in December 1968, everyone anticipated a Joe Frazier vs. Sonny Liston bout for early-1969.
While there was hope that it would take place, negotiations hit the proverbial 'brick wall,' when several Boxing Commissions would not sanction the bout due to Sonny's past connections.
As a 'fill-in date', Frazier looked at several possibilites for a 'quick one' while waiting for Sonny Liston, as well as the possibility of fighting Jerry Quarry.
Enter one Dave 'Ziggy' Zyglewicz, an upstate New York Heavyweight who made his way south to Houston, Texas. The 25 1/2 year-old 'Ziggy' with a built-up record of 28-1-0 (15 KO's), was a popular Texas Heavyweight who had a brash-style called 'slug-and-bug.'
At 5' 10" 190 lb. and a new found fame in Texas, had claimed to have never been floored, and stated a fact that 'he had sparred 3-rounds with 'Smokin Joe' and lived to tell about it'.
On April 22, 1969, Frazier showed why his left hook was the most lethal weapon in boxing sending Zyglewicz to the canvas twice in the first round with no chance for another.
Joe Frazier vs Joe Zyglewicz
