He was the first man on the planet to beat Muhammed Ali, landing a left hook in the 15th round in 1971. But since early October, Joe Frazier, 67, has been up against his toughest opponent yet.
Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer is currently under hospice care, according to The Associated Press.
"We have medical experts looking into the all the options that are out there," his manager, Leslie Wolff said. "There are very few. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop looking."
Smokin' Joe stood at just 5-foot-11, but he had a 73-inch reach, helping him to a 32-4-1 career record. Twenty-seven of his wins were by knockout, including his KO of Ali in what was dubbed "the fight of the century."
Frazier lost a heavyweight title fight to George Foreman in 1973 and would never regain the honor, but his career would last three more years. Frazier had been doing autograph appearances in his later years, even appearing in Las Vegas as recently as September.
