He was once the boxing heavyweight champion of the world, beating the likes of Muhammad Ali, but now Smokin’ Joe Frazier has a tougher battler, liver cancer. Reports indicate that Frazier is now under hospice care, and is weighing his alternatives in regards to cancer treatment.

Frazier’s manager, Leslie Wolff, told the Associated Press that Joe was diagnosed about four to five weeks ago, and is unsure as how long he has to live. “We have medical experts looking into the all the options that are out there,” Wolff said. “There are very few. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop looking. We appreciate every prayer we can get, I’ve got everybody praying for him. We’ll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for a miracle.”

Frazier, who was the first man to defeat Muhammed Ali in 1971, also participated the well known Thrilla in Manilla in which Ali got his redemption. Joe Frazier had won the heavyweight title a year before in 1970, having defeated Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden in the fifth round. Frazier then went on to defend his title a whopping 4 times before being knocked down repeatedly by George Foremanin 1973.

Like many tough individuals, Joe Frazier fought hard and overcame obstacles to win many fights. However, we all to often realize that battling cancer can be tougher than a heavywight fight against the great Muhammed Ali. Best of luck to Smokin’ Joe on his battle with liver cancer…

[UPDATED 11/8/2011]

Just hours after writing this post, we came to find out that Joe Frazier has lost his battle with liver cancer.

Joe’s biggest adversary, Muhammed Ali said in a recent statement: “I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration…My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”

And Manny Pacquiao weighed in, saying that “Boxing lost a great champion, and the sport lost a great ambassador,”.

RIP Joe Frazier … The Peoples’ Champ