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Joe Fraizer


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Former heavyweight champion and boxing legend Joe Fraizer was amongst the most feared knoxkout artists in the history of boxing but the opponent he's facing now very few can KO.

According to the N.Y, Post's very own Kevin Kernan, the 67 year old star is battling an advanced stage of liver cancer.

Kevin Kernan:

"He's in serious shape, we're looking for a miracle,'' said a source close to the former heavyweight champ. "They're only giving him a short time to live. We need to have as many people as possible praying for Joe right now.''

Also according to Leslie Wolf, Fraizer's personal and business manager, the boxer was diagnosed with four or five weeks ago but has not been told how long he has to live.

Leslie Wolf:

"We have medical experts looking into all the options that are out there." "There are very few. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop looking."

Fraizer is most known for his stature and being one of the most powerful fighters in boxing history and his is also known for being linked to the world prolaimed "World Greatest in History" Muhammad Ali and their series of fights between 1971-1975.

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Former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier has died after a brief battle with liver cancer, his family said.

Frazier - also known as Smokin' Joe - had been receiving hospice care in Philadelphia after being diagnosed with cancer several weeks ago.

The 67-year-old was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali in 1971, but lost his next two bouts with Ali.

He held the world title between 1970 and 1973.

Frazier won an Olympic gold medal in 1964 after going to the Games as a replacement for Buster Mathis, who had beaten him in the trials but could not attend the Games due to an injury.

He won the heavyweight title in 1970, after Ali had been stripped of the championship in 1967 for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, by defeating Jimmy Ellis in New York.

Three years later he lost his crown to George Foreman.

But the boxer is perhaps most widely-known for three great fights with Ali, including the epic "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975.

The pair had a fraught relationship dating back to taunts Ali directed at his rival in the build-up to their famous bouts.

But in recent years, they were reported to be on better terms.

"The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration," said Ali, 69.

"My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones."

Frazier retired in 1976 after again being beaten by Foreman. He then made an unsuccessful comeback in 1981, fighting only once before ending his career for good.

"Goodnight Joe Frazier. I love you dear friend," said Foreman on Twitter.

British former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis told BBC Radio 5 live: "Without him, other boxing heroes wouldn't be great because they tested their talent against him.

"He definitely was legendary and he made a great contribution to boxing.

"I'm so sad for his family. Nobody likes to hear about great heroes passing on. It's a very sad day for boxing."

Life & times of Joe Frazier

Muhammad Ali has paid tribute to his great rival Joe Frazier, saying: "The world has lost a great champion." Frazier, who had been suffering from liver cancer, died overnight at the age of 67, his family confirmed in a statement.

Frazier beat Ali on points in the so-called "Fight of the Century" in 1971, but lost in two further meetings including the epic Thrilla in Manila in 1975. Today Ali said: "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 had an at times fraught relationship, dating back to taunts Ali directed at his rival in the buildup to their famous trilogy of fights. But they were reported to have been on better terms in recent years.

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 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."

Oscar De La Hoya wrote simply: "I will miss you my friend. RIP Joe Frazier", while Shane Mosley added: "Joe Frazier one of the greatest heavy weight champion (sic) ever. RIP."

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."

Vitali Klitschko, the 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 the BBC. "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."

The promoter Frank Warren believes his fights with Ali and George Foreman mean Frazier will be remembered as one of the sport's greats. Warren said: "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 principal 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.".

Born 12 January 1944, Beaufort, South Carolina

Total fights 37 - 32 wins (27KOs), 4 losses, 1 draw

Won gold for USA at 1964 Tokyo Olympics

Won NYSAC version of world title with victory over Buster Mathis in 1968

Won WBA and WBC versions of world title with victory over Jimmy Ellis in 1970

Last world title fight in 1975 against Muhammad Ali

Retired in 1976 and made a comeback in 1981, fighting just once, before retiring for good

Dies 7 November 2011 after suffering from liver cancer

R.I.P

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