A picture taken in January 1973 of US heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier during a training in Kingston before his match against George Foreman.Joe Frazier, the former undisputed heavyweight champ famed for his epic fights against Muhammad Ali, died on November 7, 2011 after a brief but brave battle with liver cancer. He was 67. The family issued a statement confirming Frazier's death late Monday night. The boxing icon won an Olympic gold medal in a brilliant career that spanned almost 20 years but he was best known for fighting Ali in a famed 1970s trilogy of bouts, including the epic "Thrilla in Manila." AFP PHOTO / FILES

A picture taken on March 8, 1971 shows US heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier (L) keeping his title at the end of the fight called the "match of the century" against his compatriot Muhammad Ali at the Madison Square Garden, in New York. Joe Frazier, the former undisputed heavyweight champ famed for his epic fights against Muhammad Ali, died on November 8, 2011 after a brief but brave battle with liver cancer. He was 67. The family issued a news release confirming Frazier's death late Monday night. AFP PHOTO / FILES

A picture taken on March 8, 1971 shows US heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier (foreground) keeping his title at the end of the fight called the "match of the century" against his compatriot Muhammad Ali at the Madison Square Garden, in New York. Joe Frazier, the former undisputed heavyweight champ famed for his epic fights against Muhammad Ali, died on November 8, 2011 after a brief but brave battle with liver cancer. He was 67. The family issued a news release confirming Frazier's death late Monday night. AFP PHOTO / FILES

A picture taken on March 8, 1971 shows US heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier (background) keeping his title at the end of the fight called the "match of the century" against his compatriot Muhammad Ali at the Madison Square Garden, in New York. Joe Frazier, the former undisputed heavyweight champ famed for his epic fights against Muhammad Ali, died on November 8, 2011 after a brief but brave battle with liver cancer. He was 67. The family issued a news release confirming Frazier's death late Monday night. AFP PHOTO / FILES

Joe Frazier, world heavyweight boxing champion, keeps an eye on glove on sparring partner as he wound up final public training session in Philadelphia on Friday, March 5, 1971 for his Monday night title defense fight with Muhammad Ali in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Ingraham)

** FILE **Heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali makes a point during a news conference that he conducts from inside the ring in Atlanta, Ga., in this Oct. 24, 1970, file photo. A new book,

FILE - A June 18, 1963 photo from files showing world famous boxer Muhammad Ali (or Cassius Clay as he was then known), right, and British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper as they seem to be trying to out shout each other at weigh-in in London for their heavyweight fight the same evening. Ali holds up five fingers, the number of rounds he modestly predicts he'll knockout Cooper.Sir Henry has died aged 76, sources told Britain's Press Association Sunday May 1, 2011. He was well known for two famous clashes with Muhammad Ali in the 1960's flooring Ali in the 4th round of a 1963 non-title fight at London's Wembley, though Ali eventually won the fight. He fought Ali again in 1966 but was again beaten. (AP Photo)