A statue honoring the late boxing legend Joe Frazier has found a new home.
Crews have relocated the statue to the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s iconic steps, where the Rocky statue previously stood.
The Frazier statue had been on display outside Stateside Live! in South Philadelphia, where it stood for the past 10 years.
An unveiling ceremony for the statue is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday, June, 29. Frazier’s daughter, Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde; Stephen Layne, who created the Frazier sculpture; Mayor Cherelle Parker; and other city officials are expected to attend the grand reveal.
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Frazier was born January 12, 1944, in Beaufort, South Carolina, but would later live and train in Philadelphia, where he operated his own boxing gym in his later years.
The Hall of Famer won the Olympic gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games. He then turned pro in 1965.
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 then go on to lose two more fights to Ali, including the epic 1975 “Thrilla in Manila.”
Frazier passed away on November 7, 2011, at the age of 67, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after a brief battle with liver cancer.