Boxing Icon Muhammad Ali 'The Greatest' Dies At 74

Phoenix: Muhammad Ali, the magnificent heavyweight champion whose fast fists and irrepressible personality transcended sports and captivated the world, has died according to a statement released by his family. He was 74.

Ali suffered for years from Parkinson's disease, which ravaged his body but could never dim his larger-than-life presence. He was hospitalized earlier this week.

A towering figure in his prime, he still traveled and made appearances in his later years despite being muted by the thousands of punches he took during his remarkable career.

The 74-year-old former heavyweight world champion was hospitalized on Thursday. US media reported his respiratory trouble was complicated by his Parkinson's disease.
 
Gunnell noted the "media frenzy" touched off each time the iconic fighter is hospitalized, but multiple media reports that Ali's condition was deteriorating triggered widespread concern on Friday evening.

US celebrity news website radaronline.com quoted an anonymous source as saying Ali required help breathing and that worried family members had gathered at his bedside.
 Ali, known globally not only for his storied ring career but also for his civil rights activism, has been hospitalized multiple times in recent years.

He spent time in hospital in 2014 after suffering 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 that spanned three decades, has limited his public speaking for years.

But he has continued to make appearances and offer opinions through his family members and spokespeople.

Ali made a surprise appearance at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, stilling the Parkinson's tremors in his hands enough to light the Olympic flame.

He also took part in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012, looking frail in a wheelchair. He has been married four times and has nine children.