Popular Legendary boxer, often referred to as ‘The Greatest’, Muhammad Ali, is dead.
Reports claim that the 74-year-old boxer died yesterday, Friday, June 3, at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications.
The family spokesman, Bob Gunnell, who confirmed the news to NBC News said: “After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening.”
Ali had suffered for three decades from the Parkinson’s Disease, a progressive neurological condition that slowly robbed him of both his legendary verbal grace and his physical strength. A funeral service is planned in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
Even as his health declined, Ali did not shy from politics or controversy. In December 2015, he was said to have released a statement to criticize Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
“We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda,”
he said.
Ali who burst into the consciousness of everyone in the early 1960s as a young heavyweight champion was born in Cassius Clay on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ali started boxing when he was 12, winning Golden Gloves titles before heading to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, where he won a gold medal as a light heavyweight… which immediately turned him into a professional.
Ali is highly regarded for the skills he displayed in the ring plus the values he exemplified outside of it. He is one of the most recognized sports figures of the past 100 years, crowned”Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC.
May his legendary soul rest in peace in Jesus name… Amen!