Bad blood - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

Smokin’ Joe Frazier waited over 25 years for the chance to avenge his bitter defeat to Muhammad Ali in Manila. Now, it’s payback time.

Frazier, however, won’t be in the ring to exact his pound of flesh. Neither will Ali. Their daughters will settle the family feud in an eight-round bout at the Turning Stone Casino Convention Center in Verona, New York. The fight will be aired on RPN-9 at noon tomorrow.

Laila (She Bee Stinging) Ali, 23, battles Jacqui (Sister Smoke) Frazier-Lyde, 39, in a showdown that is both dramatic and intriguing. It’s a duel for pride. They’ve got their family reputations to uphold.

Smokin’ Joe never forgave Ali for mocking him – even if it was only to hype their trilogy.

"First two fights, he tried to make me a white man," complained Frazier in Thomas Hauser’s book Muhammad Ali – His Life and Times. "Then he tried to make me a nigger. How would you like it if your kids came home from school crying, because everyone was calling their daddy a gorilla? God made us all the way we are. I’d like to fight Ali, Clay, whatever his name is, again tomorrow. Twenty years, I’ve been fighting Ali and I still want to take him apart piece by piece and send him back to Jesus. He still wants you to think he’s the greatest and he ain’t. I know him better than anyone. He’s finished and I’m still here."

In his book Smokin ’Joe – The Autobiography, Frazier said: "People ask me if I feel bad for him, now that things aren’t going so well for him. Nope. I don’t. I don’t give a damn. They want me to love him but I’ll open up the graveyard and bury his ass when the Lord chooses to take him. Clay always mocked me – like I was the dummy. Getting’ hit in the head. Now look at him – he can hardly talk and he’s still out there trying to make noise."

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It was Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch who raised the white flag at the "Thrilla In Manila" after the 14th round. Frazier wouldn’t surrender but Futch told referee Carlos Padilla he’d seen enough. Jacqui was at ringside and cried when Padilla raised Ali’s arm in triumph. Curiously, Laila’s mother Veronica Porsche was also at ringside.

Veronica was then Ali’s mistress. He was still married to Belinda Boyd, his second wife. Ali brought Veronica, not Belinda, to Manila.

In 1974, Veronica entered a beauty contest to choose poster girls for Ali’s fight against George Foreman. She was one of four entries, among 70, later picked to promote the bout in US tours and made the trip to Zaire. Veronica – a statuesque fashion model of mixed blood – was of black, French, Spanish, Indian, and Jewish descent.

When Ali first saw Veronica, he was smitten on sight.

Ali eventually divorced Belinda and married Veronica who bore two children, Hana and Laila.

Veronica turned out to be a shrewd operator. She conned Ali into disregarding their pre-nuptial agreement and walked away with millions when they divorced in July 1986. Veronica took over Ali’s Los Angeles mansion, got a generous cash settlement, and claimed $500,000 worth of his paintings, rugs, and other expensive stuff.

Laila was only eight when her parents split up. Veronica remarried and raised Laila who graduated from Santa Monica Community College. Laila operated a nail salon and was planning to enroll at the University of Southern California Business School when she saw a future in pro boxing. She married former cruiserweight contender Johnny McClain last year.

Jacqui went to American University on a basketball scholarship and earned a law degree at Villanova. She has three children.

While Laila was never an athlete, Jacqui has been involved in sports since she was a kid. She excelled in basketball, hockey, lacrosse and softball. Now, she’s into boxing.

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Like her father, Jacqui is a pressure fighter who never backs down. She calls it the "attack" style.

Both are unbeaten. Laila is 9-0, with eight KOs, while Jacqui’s record is 7-0, with seven KOs. From their ring histories, Laila seems to be more vulnerable. She was floored by an uppercut by Karen Bill and came close to losing to Kendra Lenhart. Jacqui had no difficulty pulverizing her seven opponents so far.

Laila’s advantage is she appears to be more technically proficient. Jacqui is a brawler who fights with little science. Laila’s approach is clinical.

But what makes the fight interesting is the family feud.

"Her face is just going to be so beat up because of the mess she’s been talking," said Laila. "Yeah, there’s true dislike because Jacqui’s a fool, she doesn’t know how to act. Somebody like me who has a lot of class, can’t stand a woman like that. I really got to just put her on the spot when we get in the ring."

For her part, Jacqui said: "My father dusted Ali off in 1971 and that’s exactly what going to happen to Laila. The Fraziers have great love for the Ali family. We especially love giving them a good butt-kicking."

For a change, the girls will provide the fireworks tomorrow.