Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier Dies at 67

Joe Frazier, hard-hitting heavyweight boxing who presented the legendary Muhammad Ali his first defeat, died on Monday, shortly after the diagnosis of liver cancer, his family said in a statement.

Former heavyweight champion, who was 67, became a legend in his own right and personified gritty style of working hard knuckled his native city, Philadelphia - Installation of a setting for "Rocky" movie series, starring Sylvester Stallone as the boxer Rocky Balboa hardscrabble.

"Did you hear how it goes, snorting and grunting and puffing like a locomotive climbing a steep grade," Bill Lyons wrote in a column about the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fraser, and nicknamed Joe Smokin '.

"He was swarmed and ruthless, and he was proud that he never took a step back, and he is reduced to the Sweet Science of this cruel little elementary mathematics:" I'll let you hit me five times if you let me tell you just one time. "

Fraser family made a brief statement about his death.

"We are family ... Joe Frazier Smokin ', regret to inform you of his death," the statement said. "He passed from this life, as" one of God's people, "the eve of the November 7, 2011 at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

Muhammad Ali said in a statement that "the world has lost a great champion."

"I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. My sympathy goes out to his family and friends," the statement said Ali.

Star boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather offered to pay for the funeral Fraser.

"My condolences go out to the family of the late great Joe Frazier," read the post on the official feed Mayweather on Twitter. "# TheMoneyTeam will pay for his funeral service."

Fans and well-wishers were invited to post their thoughts and prayers on the Facebook page for joefrazierscorner.com.

"RIP Smokin 'Joe Frazier you have heavy hands and a big heart you will be missed," read the message from Facebook.

Another message said: "One of my childhood heroes left us ... I am very sad."

The son of South Carolina sharecropper, Frazier box during the glory days of the heavyweight division, going against the great George Foreman, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Bugner and Jimmy Ellis. He made his name by winning the gold medal in the USA in 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

He used his devastating left hook with impunity during his professional career, retiring in 1976 and setting a record 01/04/32 one last fight back in 1981.

But it was three of his much-hyped fight against Ali, who helped seal his legend.

Fraser took over Ali in 1971 "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden. In the 15th round, Frazier landed perhaps the most famous left hook in history, catching Ali on the jaw and down the former champion in four counts, according to the bio Fraser International Boxing Hall of Fame. Fraser left the ring as the undisputed champion and handed Ali his first professional loss.

Ali won a 12-round decision in January 1974 rematch, setting the stage for the classic "Thrilla in Manila" near the Philippine capital in 1975.

Ali took the early rounds, but Frazier rebounded to the point of the last five rounds. By the end of the 14th, Fraser's eyes were almost swollen shut, and his corner stopped the fight, according to the biography.

Later, Ali said: "It was the closest I've come to death."

Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stan Hochman Fraser noted that "caused the skill and courage to fight Ali in the 14th round in Manila."

"He was a fighter, pure and simple, in a style that seemed destined for a short career. Plod ahead, rely on the other guy take two to land one", Hochman wrote.

"You must breathe on it," Frazier would say, in the rare attempt to define his style. 'No shortcuts' was his mantra. There's a lesson there for us all, "Hochman said column on Tuesday.

Fraser, two-time champion for nearly three years, until he lost in January 1973, with George Foreman, ran a famous hall in Philadelphia for many years.

"I do not mind working with children," Fraser said CNN Don Lemon in 2009. "Children of tomorrow And if we do not do what we must do for them now, how are you going (to) expect them to behave?"

The question was whether he looks like Rocky Balboa, Fraser said: "Of course. I worked in a slaughterhouse. I'm the guy who ran the streets of Philadelphia. "