Boxing champ Frazier battling liver cancer

The 67-year-old was diagnosed four or five weeks ago, according to his manager, Leslie Wolff.

He revealed that doctors have not yet told the US fighter how long he has to live.

“We have medical experts looking into all the options that are out there,” Mr Wolff said. “There are very few. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop looking.”

Mr Wolff, who has been Frazier’s manager for seven years, said the boxer had been in and out of the hospital since early October and began receiving hospice treatment last week.

“We appreciate every prayer we can get,” Mr Wolff added. “I’ve got everybody praying for him. We’ll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for a miracle.”

Frazier was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali, knocking him down and taking a decision in the so-called “Fight of the Century” in 1971. He would go on to lose two more fights to Ali, including the epic “Thrilla in Manila”.

Frazier was bitter for many years about the way Ali treated him then. More recently, he said he had forgiven Ali for repeatedly taunting him.

Smokin’ Joe was a small yet ferocious fighter who smothered his opponents with punches, including a devastating left hook he used to end many of his fights early.