(NECN/CNN: Mark McKay, Atlanta, Ga.) - He was one half of the greatest boxing rivalry in the history of the sport. Joe Frazier died Monday night after losing a brief fight with liver cancer. He was 67-years-old.
Joe Frazier made his indelible mark on boxing during the sport's heavyweight heydays.
Born the son of a South Carolina sharecropper, Smokin' Joe, as he was known, rose through the ranks to become one of the most recognized fighters in history.
After winning a gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Frazier turned professional and quickly began ringing up opponents in the ring.
Using a vicious left hook, Frazier floored fighters at a dizzying pace en-route to capture the undisputed heavyweight crown in 1970. It was the catalyst for one of the greatest rivalries the sport has ever known.
In 1971, Frazier stared down Muhammad Ali in a bout dubbed the "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden in New York. Through 15 bruising rounds, Frazier staggered Ali and was awarded a unanimous decision.
Three years later, Ali finally got his revenge by winning a 12-round unanimous decision which set the stage for the "Thrilla in Manilla" in 1975. Frazier battled through 14 rounds before his corner stopped the fight handing victory to Ali who'd say years later that Frazier was the toughest opponent he had ever faced.
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In typical boxing fashion, Smokin' Joe retired in 1976 only to make a short-lived comeback in the early 1980's before retiring for good.
Frazier left boxing with 32 victories, 4 defeats and 1 draw...but he never truly walked away from the fight game. In his later years, Frazier owned a gym in Philadelphia, where he taught the finer points of the sport to a new generation of boxers eager to learn from one of the all-time greats.
