On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Art Commission voted unanimously to move the statue of heavyweight champion Joe Frazier from outside Stateside Live in South Philadelphia to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art – to the same place where the Rocky statue has stood since 2006.
The three-foot bronze statue, created by artist Stephen Layne and installed in 2015, depicts Frazier landing the left hook that dropped Muhammad Ali in the 15th round of the “Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden in 1971.
The decision comes after the commission voted in January to move the Rocky statue to the top of the steps. Rocky will first enter the museum for an exhibition running from April to August, and then be permanently installed at the top – near where it was originally unveiled at the end of “Rocky III.” A replica of the Rocky statue loaned by Sylvester Stallone will be returned to the actor.
The Frazier statue is expected to be in place in spring 2026. The relocation cost is estimated at $150,000. Interpretive panels will be added to educate visitors about Frazier’s life and legacy.
Real Rocky Philadelphia
Frazier moved to Philadelphia from Beaufort, South Carolina at age 15 and began boxing in the Police Athletic League. He won a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, became the undisputed heavyweight champion and was the first man to defeat Muhammad Ali, winning a unanimous decision in a fight at the Garden in 1971. He finished his professional career 32-4-1 with 27 knockouts.
Frazier’s training habits – running up the Art Museum stairs and punching beef in the meat locker – directly inspired details of the Rocky character. Stallone gave Frazier a cameo in the first Rocky film and was considering him for the role of Clubber Lang in Rocky III before a sparring session convinced Stallone otherwise.
Frazier founded Joe Frazier’s Gym on North Broad Street in 1968 and mentored local youth and amateur boxers there for more than 40 years. He died in Philadelphia in 2011 at the age of 67.
The family’s reaction
Frazier’s daughter and former boxer Jacqueline Frazier-Lyde took part in the vote. “My father taught staircase training at the Art Museum,” she said. “We come from the great tradition of boxing and the sporting tradition of Philadelphia. We are very elated to celebrate reality so that inspiring truth can truly inspire everyday people.”
Frazier’s two granddaughters expressed concerns during the public comment session about why the real champion would be at the bottom of the stairs while the fictional boxer sat at the top. Gabrielle Gibson told the commission: “The story of these stairs is well known to those who know it, and it is not the Rocky Staircase. It is Joe Frazier’s Smokin’ Staircase.”
The commission noted that tourists approaching the museum would first encounter the Frazier statue, and the statue’s larger footprint made the base a more practical location. The monument will be surrounded by reading rails displaying historical information about Frazier, and directions to the Frazier monument will be provided in the Rocky store at the foot of the stairs.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker supported the move. “The placement of the Joe Frazier statue in the Museum of Art reaffirms Philadelphia’s commitment to honoring real-life achievements combined with cultural mythology,” Parker said.
The Rocky statue attracts approximately 4 million tourists to the museum each year. The city hopes that a statue of Frazier in the same busy location will finally give one of boxing’s greatest champions the visibility his legacy deserves.
Sources:
Billy Penn in WHY
Philadelphia
NBC10 Philadelphia