Boxing legend, social icon :

Muhammad Ali dies

Heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, a 20th Century icon whose fame transcended sport during a remarkable career that spanned three decades, died Friday, his family said.

The 74-year-old sports hero, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease for decades, passed away in a hospital here where he had been admitted earlier this week suffering from respiratory problems.

“After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74,” spokesman Bob Gunnell said.

“The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening.”

Funeral arrangements for Ali would be announced on Saturday, he added, with the champion to be buried in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

Ali had been living in the Phoenix area with his fourth wife, Lonnie, whom he married in 1986. He was survived by nine children, seven daughters and two sons.

As the family gathered at his bedside on Friday, concern for Ali had grown. Upon his death tributes immediately poured in for “The Greatest,” who was known globally not only for his storied ring career but also for his humanitarian activism. “Muhammad Ali transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit,” said longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum. “His legacy will be part of our history for all time.

“He is, without a question in my mind, the most transformative person of our time,” Arum said. Ali had been hospitalized multiple times in recent years. In 2014 he was treated for a mild case of pneumonia and again in 2015 for a urinary tract infection.

His Parkinson’s, thought to be linked to the thousands of punches he took during a career studded by bruising battles inside the ropes, had limited his public speaking. But he continued to make appearances and offer opinions through his family members and spokes people.

In April, he attended a Celebrity Fight Night Dinner in Phoenix that raised funds for treatment of Parkinson’s. In December, he issued a statement rebuking US presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. - ‘The greatest’ -

Ali’s 30-year career, which stretched from 1960 to 1981 and saw him retire with a record of 56-5, included such historic bouts as the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman.

Don King promoted that watershed bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974, in which Ali used his “Rope a Dope” strategy to beat Foreman and become just the second fighter ever to regain the heavyweight world title.

“His spirit will go on forever,” King said of Ali. “He represents what every athlete and sports person tries to do, an attitude of getting it done, success, he was fabulous. “A great human being, and a champion of the people. The greatest of all times.”

(AFP)