By Ryan Maquiñana
Muhammad Ali is expected to attend funeral services in Philadelphia for lifelong archrival Joe Frazier, according to a Fox Sports report.
Frazier, the first man to defeat Ali by capturing a unanimous decision in 1971, passed away Monday at age 67 after a bout with liver cancer.
After the “Fight of the Century,” the two legends would meet twice more in the ring, with Ali winning both subsequent battles on the cards, including “The Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 to cap their historic trilogy.
Over the years, Ali exacerbated the tension in their rivalry by repeatedly taunting Frazier on a personal level, a tactic that hardened the Philadelphia fighter for decades.
However, in 2009, Frazier told Sports Illustrated that he no longer felt ill will toward Ali.
There will be two public viewings of Frazier's body at the Wells Fargo Center, with the first on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the second on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The funeral service is scheduled for next Monday at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church at 11:00 a.m., with another viewing slated to precede it.
Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
