Joe Frazier’s manager hopes for ‘miracle’ cure

Philadelphia: ‘Smokin' Joe Frazier, the 67-year-old former world heavyweight champion, diagnosed just over a month ago with liver cancer and in hospice care in Philadelphia, "needs a miracle" according to his agent. Doctors have not yet told him how long he has to live.

"We have medical experts looking into all the options that are out there," said Leslie Wolff, Frazier's manager, on Sunday. "There are very few. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop looking. We appreciate every prayer we can get. We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for a miracle. Joe's a fighter, and doesn't give up."

Ring wars with Ali

‘Smokin' Joe, all 5ft 9ins of him, whose upper body was built for wrecking other men's careers in combat, and whose legs once threw his powerful torso fearlessly forward, is close to his final curtain call.

The great American former heavyweight prize fighter is widely recognised for his trilogy of ring wars with Muhammad Ali, who once called Frazier — amongst other things — "a real, real fighter; the toughest man in the world".