BOXING:JOE FRAZIER, the relentless slugger who became the heavyweight champion of the world and earned boxing immortality with three epic battles against Muhammad Ali, died on Monday at age 67.

“Smokin’ Joe” Frazier, who was the first boxer to beat Ali, died in Philadelphia a month after being diagnosed with liver cancer.

Frazier won the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal for the United States in 1964 in Tokyo and held the world heavyweight boxing crown from 1970 to 1973.

He is eternally linked with Ali thanks to their trilogy of fights in the 1970s, among the most famous in the history of the sport. Frazier won the first and Ali took the next two.

“The world has lost a great champion,” Ali said in a statement on Monday. “I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Promoter Don King who put on the famous “Thrilla in Manila” fight between Frazier and Ali, said: “Smokin’ Joe Frazier was the embodiment of what a great heavyweight champion and person should be. He was a great gladiator.

“The courage Smokin’ Joe showed in The Thrilla in Manila – answering every Ali onslaught with an equally withering response – will remain in the hearts and minds of boxing fans around the globe forever.”

It was one of the most dramatic fights in history. The brutal encounter left both men hospitalised. Frazier later lost his title in 1973 to hard-hitting George Foreman.

According to former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson, “Frazier and Ali were quintessentialy the apex of pedigree fighting in which each man would not give an inch until they were dead. Their era was competitive fighting at the highest level. As a young fighter it has always been an honour to be compared to Frazier.”

British fighter Joe Bugner, who lost to Frazier five months after being beaten by Ali in 1973, told BBC Radio 5:

“You literally had to hit him with a sledgehammer to put him away. Joe took everything away I thought I had and made me realise I needed more. If I was going to succeed I needed a lot more. It hit me like a lightning bolt when I heard he died.”

Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said: “I am extremely saddened at the news of the passing of Smokin’ Joe Frazier. He made history in the greatest era ever of heavyweight boxing and his contributions to the sport are profound and immeasurable.”