JOE FRAZIER
BOXING CHAMPION
Joe Frazier, former heavyweight champion, is in last stages of liver cancer
Is in a fight for his life, battling the final stages of liver cancer, according to published reports.
Leslie Wolff, Frazier’s manager, told CNN that the 67-year-old is in a Philadelphia hospice in the final stages of liver cancer that was discovered “four or five weeks ago.”
Promoter Don King, who matched Frazier against Muhammad Ali in “The Thrilla in Manila” in the Philippines on Oct. 1, 1975, learned of Frazier’s grave condition on Saturday morning and planned on honoring him before a cruiserweight title match between Guillermo Jones and Mike Marrone in Hollywood, Fla., that he was promoting on Saturday night.
“Joe Frazier is a giant among men,” King said. “He was a great gladiator and a great fighter. When Smokin’ Joe came to the ring you knew you had someone who was coming to fight. He edified himself and qualified himself as a champion among champions in his fights with Ali. My prayers are with him.'”
Frazier, who was born on Jan. 12, 1944, the son of a sharecropper in Beaufort, S.C., was noted for his devastating left hook. When Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for his stance against the Vietnam War in 1967, Frazier emerged as the man who cleared up the confusion in the division. Frazier knocked out Buster Mathis in the 11th round to win the title in a match sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission in 1968. Later he added the WBA title with a victory over Jimmy Ellis.
CLICK BELOW TO READ FULL STORY......
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/joe-frazier-heavyweight-champion-stages-liver-cancer-article-1.972836#ixzz1ctesYESm
No comments:
Post a Comment