Joe Frazier Dead: Former Heavyweight Champion Boxer Dies Aged 67
Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion who went down in history as the first person to ever beat Muhammad Ali, has died Monday night just days after announcing that he was fighting liver cancer. He died aged 67.
The boxer’s family has issued a press release confirming the boxer's death.
Frazier, most famous for bouts with Ali including the “Thrilla in Manila,” received a cancer diagnosis just a few weeks ago and was being treated from home.
Ali beat Frazier in their first fight together; the so called “Fight of the Century” in 1971, but went on to lose two rematches.
Frazier won the heavyweight title in 1970 by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden. Frazier defended his title four times before George Foreman knocked him down six times in the first two rounds to take the title from him in 1973.
Frazier would never be heavyweight champion again.