Joe Frazier statue to be unveiled at Philadelphia Art Museum steps

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The statue of late boxing champ Joe Frazier will be unwrapped Monday at its new and permanent home at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.

The hundreds of visitors who come through the area everyday will now learn about Philadelphia's beloved boxing legend.

"Smokin" Joe was the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali in what was billed as the "Fight of the Century" in 1971.

His statue was initially outside of Stateside Live in South Philadelphia since 2015, and is inspired by the massive left hook that took down Ali in the 15th and final round.

The journey to its new spot began last week.

That's when crews carefully relocated the statue to the base of the Art Museum steps, a popular tourist destination where one of the Rocky Balboa statues used to be.

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The beloved fictional character ran up the steps in the movie, but it was "Smokin" Joe who did it in real life while training in Philadelphia.

The city was his longtime home and where the Olympic gold medalist didn't only develop his skills, but inspired so many and is forever cemented as a legend within Philadelphia's rich history of boxing.

The debut ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Monday.