Boxing Legend 'Smokin' Joe Frazier Also Battled Diabetes

Legendary boxer 'Smokin' Joe Frazier, who died of liver cancer at age 67 Monday night, had a boxing career that included 32 wins, four losses and one draw, with 27 knockout wins. He won the Fight of the Century against Muhammad Ali in 1971.

But did you know he also had type 2 diabetes?

Diabetes landed the boxer in the hospital with a life-threatening toe infection in 2000. He was determined not to let the disease get the better of him, though: Frazier took oral medication and consulted regularly with his doctor to keep his disease in check, and he was careful with his diet:

Frazier spoke about his condition on DLife:

November is American Diabetes Month. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently released the following statistics:

• Every 17 seconds, someone is diagnosed with diabetes.
• Diabetes kills more people each year than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
• Recent estimates project that as many as 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take action.

You can take the pledge to stop diabetes on the American Diabetes Association's homepage.

Photo: Jeff Christensen/AP