Joe Frazier Statue to Be Unveiled Next Month at Xfinity Live
Joe Frazier and a model of his statue that will be unveiled next month at Xfinity Live.
Philly artist Stephen Layne’s 12-foot-tall, 1,800-pound Joe Frazier statue has been bronzed and is finally ready to be erected in its permanent home at Xfinity Live. It will be unveiled in a special ceremony next month.
The statue captures the former heavyweight boxing champion mid-punch. It was modeled after a photograph of the moment Frazier floored Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in 1971. Layne, who attended and taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, says he chose that pose because of the way it represents Philadelphia. “The moment captured in the sculpture reflects the work ethic of Frazier and the city he called home,” he says.
The work was commissioned by the City of Philadelphia and took 14 months to create. It will join five other statues at Xfinity Live commemorating iconic Philly sports figures, including Philadelphia Flyers Gary Dornhoefer, Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent, and 76ers legend Julius Erving
The free, open-to-the-public unveiling ceremony will take place at 1 pm on Saturday, September 12th at Xfinity Live.
