"The Greatest of All Time" and "The People's Champion," legendary heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali died yesterday at the age of 74 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Ali had been hospitalized earlier in the week with respiratory problems. ABC News disclosed a press release from Ali's camp confirming the death last night of the estimable "Louisville Lip":
"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," said family spokesperson Bob Gunnell.
Spokesman Gunnell went on to state that Ali's funeral will take place in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and he relayed the family's thanks to the memorable fighter's throngs of fans worldwide.
Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., began his professional sport career in 1960. Now celebrated as one of the most accomplished fighters in boxing history, he won the title of world heavyweight champion in 1964 from Sonny Liston in a remarkable upset.
Ali later changed his name after becoming a member of the Nation of Islam. In 1967, he became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, refusing conscription into service and thereby becoming a hero of the '60s countercultural movement.
In his later years, Ali became a champion for the cause of Parkinson's sufferers after being diagnosed with the disease himself. He helped to establish his namesake Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
As recently as March of this year, Ali's fourth and latest wife, Yolanda "Lonnie" Williams, claimed to the Daily Mirror that the former boxer still enjoyed watching old interview clips of himself:
"The thing he loves most is watching himself on YouTube. He becomes so intense. It's as if he hasn't ever seen it before," she added.
Ali married Williams in 1986 after meeting her in Louisville. The two most recently resided in Scottsdale, Arizona with their adopted son, Asaad Amin Ali.
Below, listen to Bane's "Ali v. Frazier I," its title a nod to Ali's historic 1971 bout with Joe Frazier, the epoch-making match known as "The Fight of the Century."
