all rights reserved 2011
by Mark Memmott
March 8, 1971: Joe Frazier, left, hits Muhammad Ali during the 15th round of their heavyweight title bout — the "Fight of the Century" at New York's Madison Square Garden.
You didn't have to be a boxing fan in the '70s to know the name Joe Frazier and to know that he'll forever be linked to Muhammad Ali.

Now, the 67-year-old Frazier is in hospice care. He has liver cancer.

"While promoting their fights, Ali infamously labeled Frazier an 'Uncle Tom' and a 'gorilla.'
"[But] it was Frazier who petitioned President Richard Nixon to intervene to have Ali's boxing license reinstated after Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Frazier also boycotted the tournament to crown a new champion after Ali was stripped of the title in 1967.
"Both [Leslie Wolff, Frazier's manager] and Ali's publicist, Craig Bankey, said they believed the two to be on good terms, as they had done a photo shoot together at Frazier's now-shuttered North Philadelphia gym a few years ago."
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