Heavyweight hero Frazier - Ali's foe for Thrilla in Manila - dies after losing liver cancer battle, aged 67

By Sportsmail Reporter

Last updated at 9:44 AM on 8th November 2011



Former world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier has died aged 67.

The American took part in the legendary Thrilla in Manila - the final of three epic fights with Muhammad Ali - during a brilliant career in the ring.

It emerged over the weekend that Frazier was fighting liver cancer and he was taken in for hospice care. Sadly, Frazier lost his battle on Monday night.

Champion: Smokin' Joe Frazier, left, beat Muhammed Ali, right, in the 'fight of the Century' becoming the first heavyweight to defeat Ali

Epic: The referee points Frazier back to his corner after flooring Ali during the 'Fight of the Century'. Frazier won the title fight

Legends: Muhammad Ali gained his revenge on Frazier in the 'Thrilla in Manila' in the Philippines in 1975

Losing battle: Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier has died after being diagnosed with cancer last month

A family statement read: 'We, the family of the 1964 Olympic boxing heavyweight gold-medallist, former heavyweight boxing champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame member Smokin' Joe Frazier, regret to inform you of his passing.

'He transitioned from this life as "One of God's Men," on the eve of November 7, 2011 at his home in Philadelphia. We thank you for your prayers for our father and vast outpouring of love and support.

'Respectfully, we request time to grieve privately as a family. Our father's home going celebration will be announced as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.'

Frazier won Olympic gold in 1964 after going to the Games as a replacement for the injured Buster Mathis, who had beaten him in the trials.

He won the professional heavyweight title in 1970 by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden and defended it successfully four times before losing it to George Foreman in 1973.

Frazier is best remembered for his three bouts with Muhammad Ali, the first of which saw him unify the world title when he inflicted Ali's first professional defeat in the 'Fight of the Century' in 1971.

But in two further fights, including the epic Thrilla in Manila in 1975, it was Ali who was victorious.

Ali paid tribute to his great rival, saying: '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.'

The pair shared a fraught relationship, dating back to taunts Ali directed at his rival in the build-up to their famous trilogy of fights. But they were reported to have been on better terms in recent years.

Another rival in the ring, George Foreman, left a touching message on Twitter that read: 'Good night Joe Frazier. I love you dear friend.'

Boxing stars of a more recent era took to Twitter to share their thoughts, with Floyd Mayweather writing: 'RIP Smokin Joe. My thoughts and prayers go out to to the Frazier family. We lost an all time great tonight.

The fighter known as 'Money' continued: 'My Condolences go out to the family of the late great Joe Frazier. £TheMoneyTeam will pay for his Funeral services.'

'Boxing lost a great champion, and the sport lost a great ambassador,' said Manny Pacquiao.

Oscar De La Hoya wrote simply: 'I will miss you my friend. R.I.P. Joe Frazier'.

WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM ALL THREE FRAZIER V ALI FIGHTS...

No 1: Fight of Century - Madison Square Garden, New York (March 8, 1971)



No 2: Re-match - Madison Square Garden, New York (January 28, 1974)

No 3: Thrilla in Manila - Araneta Coliseum, Philippines (October 1, 1975)

Life and times of Smokin' Joe

1944: Born January 12 in Beaufort, South Carolina.
1964: Wins Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, beating German Hans Huber in the final. Frazier had been beaten by Buster Mathis in the USA trials and only went to the Games following an injury to Mathis.
1965: Turns professional and beats Woody Goss in his first bout.
1966: Beats Argentina's Oscar Bonavena by unanimous decision at Madison Square Gardens despite being knocked down twice in one round.
1968: Stops Mathis in the 11th round to win the New York State world title
1970: Defeats Jimmy Ellis by fifth-round technical knockout to win the WBA belt vacated when Muhammad Ali was stripped of the title, becoming undisputed world heavyweight champion.
Successfully defends undisputed title against Bob Foster.
1971: March 8 - Beats Ali in the 'Fight of the Century', winning a unanimous decision after a shuddering left-hook floored his great opponent for a four-count in the last of 15 rounds.
1973: Loses his title in a brutal defeat to George Foreman, in which Frazier was knocked down six times in two rounds.
1974: Loses a rematch with Ali in 12 rounds.
1975: Renews hostilities with Ali for a final time in the 'Thrilla in Manila'. Ali won a gruelling fight in 14 rounds but later claimed: 'It was the closest I've come to death.'
1976: Retires after second defeat to Foreman, with a record of 32 wins and 27 KOs from 36 fights.
1981: A brief comeback yields only a draw with Floyd 'Jumbo' Cummings before Frazier retires for good.
1990: Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
2011: November 7 - Dies aged 67 after battle with liver cancer.

WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins explained his appeal by saying: 'About two or three years ago, everybody is asking me why I was fighting.

'Joe Frazier said you fight as long as you feel you can do it and win with dignity. That was in Joe Hand's Gym while I was in Philly. I told him I could and that I was in great shape. He walked out of the place. I remember that.

'Those few minutes were like an hour. You've got to listen to him and listen to him clearly.'

Britain's former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said: 'I am extremely saddened at the news of the passing of former world heavyweight champion Smokin’ Joe Frazier.

'He made history in the greatest era ever of heavyweight boxing and his contributions to the sport are profound and immeasurable.

'My deepest sympathies go out to the Frazier family during this time of loss and grief and I would like them to know that they are in my prayers. He will be missed but never forgotten. May he rest in peace.'

Vitali Klitschko, WBC champion and brother of fellow heavyweight Wladimir, said Frazier's legacy resonated down the generations.

'He was a huge fighter, huge champion, huge personality,' Klitschko, 40, told BBC Radio 5 Live. 'I didn't have a chance to see his fights live because in 1971 I was just born, when Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali.

'In the Soviet Union professional boxing was forbidden but we studied and listened about this fighter a lot, and after that we had a chance to see the fights. It was a great lesson for all new generations.

'I didn't have a chance to meet him personally but I listened about him so much and that's why he will be always in the memory of the new generations.

'He was a great fighter and for me and my brother I want to say sorry for the whole of boxing because he died and together with him died a big era of great champions.'

Promoter Frank Warren believes his fights with Ali and George Foreman mean Frazier will be remembered as one of the sport's greats.

Warren told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'He was part of that era of the best heavyweights there have ever been.

'The trilogy of fights that he had with Muhammad Ali, the tough fight he had with George Foreman and the good wins on the way - he was one of the most exciting heavyweights ever.

'People talk about Mike Tyson at the age of 21 - Joe Frazier, when he was a young fella, was every bit (as good as), if not better than, Mike Tyson.'

Foreman's long-time publicist Bill Kaplan, who worked with Frazier while promoting the two bouts with his principle client, said: "He was a very fun guy and he was a great fighter.

'The first fight with Ali, at the time it was considered to be the biggest fight promotion of all time and it probably still is.

'Ali and Frazier were both undefeated, Ali had been on a forced hiatus for three-and-a-half years and while he was gone Joe became what we knew as the undisputed heavyweight champion.

'Ali came back, had a couple of fights and then felt he was ready to fight Joe to prove who was the real heavyweight champion.

'I'm sure his proudest moment was when he won that fight.'

Frazier, who hailed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, retired in 1976 after losing a re-match against Foreman, and aborted an attempted comeback five years later after a draw with the unheralded Jumbo Cummings.

Tough guy: Joe Frazier defended his heavyweight title four times after he won it from Muhammad Ali

Joe Bugner, another pre-eminent fighter of the era widely considered to be the greatest in boxing history, lost to Frazier five months after being beaten by Ali in 1973.
But it was the fight against Frazier, who visited Bugner in Australia for his 60th birthday last year, which the Hungary-born fighter felt was a turning point in his career.
'Joe Frazier was relentless,' Bugner told BBC Radio 5 Live. 'Here was a man about 5ft 10, he weighed about a stone lighter than myself, but he was so courageous and ferocious, you had to literally hit him with a sledgehammer to put him away.
'In 1973 I was 23 years old. I became a man after that fight because I realised you can't go through a career like boxing without seeing and feeling the power of the greats.
'I happened to have the privilege of fighting Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali and a few others but those two to me were the greatest.
'Joe took everything away I thought I had and made me realise I needed more, if I was going to succeed I needed a lot more.
'I'm so proud I fought him and I'm so proud he came to my birthday last year. It hit me like a lightning bolt when I heard he died.'

Meeting his match: George Foreman, right, responded to Frazier's constant attack by putting him on the canvas in their 1973 bout in Jamaica

Best of enemies: Frazier and Muhammad Ali at the ESPY Awards in Hollywood in 2002

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