Joe Frazier's Statue to Join Rocky Balboa's

For years, a statue of the iconic fictional character, Rocky Balboa, has drawn crowds to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Soon, one of the city's most successful real-life fighters, Joe Frazier, will join him.

The statue of the working-class boxer, portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, has been a fixture in Philadelphia's landscape since 1982. The monument has been moved several times, before being placed near the base of the steps in 2006, the very steps the character famously ascended in the first film of the series. In March, the statue was brought into the museum for an exhibition set to open in April. According to "NBC10 Philadelphia," Stallone has loaned another Rocky statue, which will temporarily be accessible to the public at the top of the steps. In August, the original statue will replace it outside once more, but this time at the summit of the staircase.

Frazier's statue will be relocated to the foot of the steps. The American, a former heavyweight champion best known for his remarkable trilogy with Muhammad Ali in the 1970s, last fought in 1981. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Frazier passed away in 2011 at the age of 67.

Despite his legacy, Philadelphia only acquired a statue of Frazier in 2015. Since then, it has been located in South Philadelphia, near the city's professional sports stadiums and arenas. The Philadelphia Art Commission has approved a $150,000 expenditure to move Frazier's monument to the front of the Museum of Art this spring.