Boxing legend Muhammad Ali passes away

ByArun S Kaimal, SportsCafe Editor

06/04/2016

Former World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali passed away at the age of 74 at a Phoenix-area hospital earlier today, family spokesman Bob Gunnell said. Ali had suffered from Parkinson's Disease for almost three decades and was hospitalized after struggling from respiratory problems.

"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," Bob Gunnell told NBC News.

Ali, who was born as Cassius Clay, in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942, started boxing when he was 12. He won the Golden Gloves title in 1960 before heading to the Olympics in Rome to win the gold medal in light heavyweight division.

Ali turned to professional boxing shortly afterwards the victory in Rome and was nicknamed "the Louisville Lip," for his style of talking up his own talents. He also packed a real punch in the boxing ring and went on to become three-time World heavyweight champion. The ‘Greatest’, as he was called, retired in 1981, having won 56 of his 61 fights.

The Champion boxer has been fighting with the Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological condition, for almost 32 years before succumbing to it earlier today. The family also confirmed that a funeral service will be held in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, reported BBC.

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