Frazier saluted with 10-bell tribute

LAS VEGAS – A 10-bell salute and moment of silence to pay tribute to the late Joe Frazier was staged on Saturday before Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez fought in a welterweight showdown.

A video is shown in memory of boxer Joe Frazier, who died Monday before Manny Pacquiao takes on Juan Manuel Marquez in the WBO world welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 12, 2011. AFP/HARRY HOW

The traditional 10-count boxing ringside farewell, using the bell that signals the end of rounds in fights, was an homage to the former undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion who died Monday at age 67 from liver cancer.

The Pacquiao-Marquez matchup marked the first major fight in boxing mecca Las Vegas since Frazier’s death.

Spectators gave Frazier a moment of silence as the bell’s rings echoed throughout the arena. A video presentation featuring Frazier commenting about his career followed.

Thousands of fans in Frazier’s hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, paid their respects to the fighter at a public memorial on Friday and Saturday.

Private funeral services are scheduled for Monday at a Philadelphia church, with Muhammad Ali, who fought three epic bouts against Frazier in the 1970s, and Mike Tyson among those expected to attend.

Ali lost his first fight against “Smokin’ Joe” in 1971 at New York’s Madison Square Garden but won a 1974 rematch and stopped Frazier after 14 rounds in their final fight, the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 in Pacquiao’s homeland.

“His memory in boxing will remain,” Pacquiao said of Frazier earlier this week. “We lost a great champion. He was a great fighter. He left a huge legacy.”