Former Heavyweight Champ Joe Frazier Has Cancer

Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier is seriously ill with liver cancer.

His personal and business manager says Saturday the 67-year-old boxer was diagnosed four or five weeks ago and is under hospice care. Leslie Wolff tells The Associated Press that those close to Frazier are hoping for the best, but calls it a “serious situation.”

Frazier was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali, knocking him down and taking a decision in the so-called Fight of the Century in 1971. He would go on to lose two more fights to Ali, including the epic “Thrilla in Manilla” bout.

Frazier was bitter for many years about the way Ali treated him then. More recently, he said he had forgiven Ali for repeatedly taunting him.