Legendary heavyweight champion and social icon Muhammad Ali has died, a family spokesman said late Friday in a statement.
He was 74.
Ali had been hospitalized in the Phoenix area this week with respiratory issues. The Paradise Valley Police Department told ABC News that an emergency medical services call was made from Ali's address in the Phoenix area on Tuesday, and the Phoenix Fire Department confirmed it responded to a call for mutual aid for a 74-year-old male with respiratory issues at that time.
Retired from boxing since 1981, Ali had battled Parkinson's disease for years. He had been hospitalized a few other times in recent years, including in early 2015, due to a severe urinary tract infection initially diagnosed as pneumonia.
Ali had looked increasingly frail in public appearances, the last coming April 9 when he wore sunglasses and was hunched over at the annual Celebrity Fight Night dinner in Phoenix, which raises funds for treatment of Parkinson's. He had been living quietly in the Phoenix area with his fourth wife, Lonnie, whom he married in 1986.
His death reaches far beyond the sport of boxing.
Ali was one of the world's most recognized people for his actions in and out of the ring. His stance on the military draft and conversion to Islam polarized America mainly along racial lines. Yet later he unified people with his messages of freedom, peace and equality.
"His contribution to this country and the world will be remembered for generations to come," Bob Arum, who promoted a multitude of Ali fights, told ESPN's Michele Steele. "He meant so much to so many around the world -- he had such a transformative effect on American society and such an impact on the world because of his spirit -- he will remembered as one of the iconic people of the time."
Said Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James: "The reason why he's the GOAT [Greatest of All Time] is not because of what he did in the ring, which was unbelievable.
"It's what he did outside of the ring, what he believed in, what he stood for -- along with Jim Brown and Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor, obviously who became Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson. Those guys stood for something. He's part of the reason why African-Americans today can do what we do in the sports world. We're free. They allow us to have access to anything we want. It's because of what they stood for, and Muhammad Ali was definitely the pioneer for that."
Article courtesy of Yahoo
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