Joseph William "Smokin' Joe" Frazier (January 12, 1944 – November 7, 2011) was a world heavyweight boxing champion, active mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. Frazier is considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, but he is perhaps most famous for his trilogy of fights with Muhammad Ali, the first of which, won by Frazier in a unanimous decision, has often been called one of boxing's greatest bouts.