For years, a statue of Philadelphia’s most famous fictional boxer – Rocky Balboa – has drawn crowds to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

Soon, one of the city’s most accomplished real-life fighters – Joe Frazier – will be there, too.

The statue of Sylvester Stallone’s blue-collar boxer protagonist has been a Philly fixture since 1982, coinciding with a scene in that year’s Rocky III. The statue moved to multiple locations before landing in 2006 near the bottom of the steps that the character famously runs up in the first installment of the film franchise.

In March, the statue was brought inside the museum for an exhibit that opens on April 25. Stallone has loaned another Rocky statue, which will be temporarily available to the public atop the steps, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. In August, the original statue will then replace it outside atop the steps.

Frazier’s statue will move to the bottom of the steps. He was memorialized surprisingly long after his hall-of-fame career concluded. Frazier, a former heavyweight champion best known for his remarkable trilogy with Muhammad Ali in the 1970s, last fought in 1981 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Frazier died in 2011 at the age of 67.

But Philadelphia didn’t have a statue of Frazier until 2015. It has stood since then in South Philadelphia near the city’s pro sports stadiums and arenas.

The Philadelphia Art Commission has approved spending $150,000 to move Frazier to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the spring.

“As the city approaches the nation’s 250th anniversary, leaders want visitors to experience Philadelphia's authentic history,” read a press release. “Placing Frazier at the base [of the museum steps] ensures tourists will encounter the real-life heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist before the myth. As public art director Marguerite Anglin noted, ‘It’s not a competition between the two, but a conversation between the city’s greatest real and fictional fighters’.”

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.