Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight boxing champion renowned for his legendary three fights with Muhammad Ali, has received a diagnosis of liver cancer.
At the age of 67, he was diagnosed roughly a month ago and is currently residing in a hospice in Philadelphia, according to his manager, Leslie Wolff.
“We are doing everything we can… but I would be a liar if I did not tell you it is very serious,” Mr. Wolff stated.
He described ‘Smokin’ Joe’, who claimed the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal for the U.S. in 1964 in Tokyo and held the world heavyweight title from 1970 to 1973, as being in a “very painful and serious situation.”
However, Mr. Wolff remarked: “Joe is a fighter. Joe doesn’t give up.”
Frazier, father to 11 children, is forever associated with Ali due to their trilogy of matches in the 1970s, which are considered some of the most iconic in the history of the sport.
Frazier triumphed in the first fight, while Ali emerged victorious in the subsequent two.
Their final encounter took place on October 1, 1975, in the Philippines, famously dubbed ‘The Thrilla in Manila.’
Frazier stepped away from boxing in 1976 following his second loss to George Foreman but returned for a fight in 1981 before retiring for good.
His only defeats came at the hands of Ali and Foreman.
