Nightly News   |  November 08, 2011

Smokin’ Joe Frazier dies

Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier died Monday of liver cancer. He was 67. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.

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This content comes from a Full-Text Transcript of the program.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: And late last night we received word that Smokin' Joe Frazier had died. He died of liver cancer. He was just 67 years old. And because most of his fans are still around, it felt today like a part of the recent history of sports had just left us. He was once the heavyweight champ, back in a time when boxing was a much bigger deal than it is now. And, of course, back in the time of Ali . Smoke was born a poor kid in Beaufort , South Carolina . When not boxing, he worked as a butcher and a janitor. And that was the difference. He was the working class guy with the crushing left hook, while Ali was the poet provocateur, the performer, " The Greatest " they called him. And they called Joe the guy who knocked Ali down. They didn't get along, and their fights may have been the greatest of all time. Up