Ali joins funeral crowd honoring Joe Frazier

With his championship belt and a pair of gloves draped over his casket, Joe Frazier was going one more round. The Rev. Jesse Jackson asked mourners to rise, put their hands together and for one last time “show your love” for the former heavyweight champion. Muhammad Ali obliged. Wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, a frail and trembling Ali rose from his seat and vigorously clapped for “Smokin’ Joe,” the fighter who handed Ali his first loss. Ali was among the nearly 4,000 people who packed the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia for a two-hour “joyful celebration” of Frazier’s life. He died last week of liver cancer; he was 67. Also attending were former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes and promoter Don King. – AP