Frazier dies after fight with cancer

 

AP In this March 8, 1971, file photo, boxer Joe Frazier, (left) punches Muhammad Ali during the 15th round of their heavyweight title fight at New York's Madison Square Garden.

 

  Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion who handed Muhammad Ali his first defeat yet had to live forever in his rival’s shadow, has died after a brief final fight with liver cancer.
   Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century, battled him nearly to the death in the Thrilla in Manila, then spent the rest of his life trying to fight his way out of Ali’s shadow.
   He was 67.