"Smokin" Joe Frazier died after battling liver cancer November 7, 2011

Joseph William "Joe" Frazier was born January 12, 1944, also known as Smokin' Joe, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981. Frazier emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, defeating opponents that included Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones, George Chuvalo, and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali on points in the highly-anticipated "Fight of the Century" in 1971. Two years later Frazier lost his title when he was knocked out by George Foreman. He fought on, beating Joe Bugner, losing a rematch to Ali, and beating Quarry and Ellis again.

Joe Frazier, the hard-hitting boxing heavyweight who handed the legendary Muhammad Ali his first defeat, died Monday, just a month after being diagnosed with liver cancer, his family said in a statement.

Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011 and admitted to hospice care. He died November 7, 2011.

Muhammad Ali said in a statement that the "world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones," Ali's statement said.

"You could hear him coming, snorting and grunting and puffing, like a steam engine climbing a steep grade," Bill Lyon wrote in a Philadelphia Inquirer column about Frazier, nicknamed Smokin' Joe.

"He was swarming and unrelenting, and he prided himself that he never took a backward step, and he reduced the Sweet Science to this brutal bit of elemental math: 'I'll let you hit me five times if you'll let me hit you just once.'"

He made his name by winning a gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo. U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said Frazier was "one of the greatest boxers of all time" and "was an Olympic champion and an American icon."

retiring in 1976 with a 32-4-1 record and staging one last comeback fight in 1981.

Frazier bested Ali at 1971's "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden. In the 15th round, Frazier landed perhaps the most famous left hook in history, catching Ali on the jaw and dropping the former champ for a four-count, according to Frazier's bio at the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Frazier left the ring as the undisputed champ and handed Ali his first professional loss.  Ali was talking to him and Joe never did bow down. Ali would make a comment and Joe would talk right back. He always had that determination.  Ali won a 12-round decision in a January 1974 rematch, setting the stage for the classic "Thrilla in Manila" just outside the Philippine capital in 1975. Ali took the early rounds, but Frazier rebounded before losing the last five rounds. By the end of the 14th, Frazier's eyes were nearly swollen shut, and his corner stopped the bout, according to the biography. Later, Ali said, "It was the closest I've come to death."

Boxer Mike Tyson sent Twitter messages saying the era of Frazier and Ali represented an age of "competitive fighting at the highest level. Each man would not give an inch until they were dead," he said, adding that "it has always been an honor to be compared" to Frazier.