Muhammad Ali, 'The Greatest of All Time', Dead at 74
He was fast of fist and foot -- lip, too -- a heavyweight champion who promised to shock the world and did. He floated. He stung. Mostly, he thrilled, even after the punches had taken their toll and his voice barely rose above a whisper.
He was "The Greatest."
Muhammad Ali died Friday, according to a statement from his family. He was 74.
"We lost a legend, a hero and a great man," Floyd Mayweather told ESPN.
Ali had been hospitalized in the Phoenix area this week with respiratory issues, and his children had flown in from around the country.
One of them, Rasheda Ali, took to Twitter early Saturday morning to mourn her father.
Muhammad Ali dies at age 74 after long battle with Parkinson's disease
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Remembering Muhammad Ali's legacy (10:13)
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He was fast of fist and foot -- lip, too -- a heavyweight champion who promised to shock the world and did. He floated. He stung. Mostly, he thrilled, even after the punches had taken their toll and his voice barely rose above a whisper.
He was "The Greatest."
Muhammad Ali died Friday, according to a statement from his family. He was 74.
"We lost a legend, a hero and a great man," Floyd Mayweather told ESPN.
Ali had been hospitalized in the Phoenix area this week with respiratory issues, and his children had flown in from around the country.
One of them, Rasheda Ali, took to Twitter early Saturday morning to mourn her father.
Another daughter, Hana Ali, described her father's last moments on Instagramon Saturday, saying his heart wouldn't stop beating for 30 minutes after all of his other organs failed.
"No one had even seen anything like it," she wrote, calling it "a true testament to the strength of his spirit and will."
She said the family was surrounding Ali, hugging and kissing him, holding his hands and chanting an Islamic prayer.
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 that it responded at that time to a call for mutual aid for a 74-year-old male with respiratory issues.
Retired from boxing since 1981, Ali had battled Parkinson's disease for decades. He had been hospitalized a few other times in recent years, including in early 2015 because of 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.
Ali's funeral will be held in his hometown of Louisville, with further details to come, spokesman Bob Gunnell said. The city put flags at half-staff Saturday morning.
Ali's death reaches far beyond the sport of boxing. He 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 his conversion to Islam polarized America, mainly along racial lines. Yet later, he unified people with his messages of freedom, peace and equality.
"Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period," President Barack Obama said in a statement released Saturday morning. "If you just asked him, he'd tell you. He'd tell you he was the double greatest; that he'd 'handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder into jail.'
"Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing. But we're also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.
"... Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it. We are all better for it."
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Muhammad Ali dies at age 74 after long battle with Parkinson's disease
play
Remembering Muhammad Ali's legacy (10:13)
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmailcomment
3:48 AM CT
ESPN.com news services
He was fast of fist and foot -- lip, too -- a heavyweight champion who promised to shock the world and did. He floated. He stung. Mostly, he thrilled, even after the punches had taken their toll and his voice barely rose above a whisper.
He was "The Greatest."
Muhammad Ali died Friday, according to a statement from his family. He was 74.
"We lost a legend, a hero and a great man," Floyd Mayweather told ESPN.
Ali had been hospitalized in the Phoenix area this week with respiratory issues, and his children had flown in from around the country.
One of them, Rasheda Ali, took to Twitter early Saturday morning to mourn her father.
Another daughter, Hana Ali, described her father's last moments on Instagramon Saturday, saying his heart wouldn't stop beating for 30 minutes after all of his other organs failed.
"No one had even seen anything like it," she wrote, calling it "a true testament to the strength of his spirit and will."
She said the family was surrounding Ali, hugging and kissing him, holding his hands and chanting an Islamic prayer.
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 that it responded at that time to a call for mutual aid for a 74-year-old male with respiratory issues.
Retired from boxing since 1981, Ali had battled Parkinson's disease for decades. He had been hospitalized a few other times in recent years, including in early 2015 because of 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.
EDITOR'S PICKS

Full coverage: Remembering Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali died at age 74. His life and his legacy left an unforgettable imprint on sports, society and culture.

'The Greatest,' in and out of the ring
The world inside the ring just wasn't big enough to contain the irrepressible Muhammad Ali on his way to becoming the best-known athlete in the world, William Nack writes.

Boxing icon Muhammad Ali mourned by sports world
Athletes around the world reacted to the passing of boxing and social icon Muhammad Ali on Friday night.
He had been living quietly in the Phoenix area with his fourth wife, Lonnie, whom he married in 1986.
Ali's funeral will be held in his hometown of Louisville, with further details to come, spokesman Bob Gunnell said. The city put flags at half-staff Saturday morning.
Ali's death reaches far beyond the sport of boxing. He 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 his conversion to Islam polarized America, mainly along racial lines. Yet later, he unified people with his messages of freedom, peace and equality.
"Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period," President Barack Obama said in a statement released Saturday morning. "If you just asked him, he'd tell you. He'd tell you he was the double greatest; that he'd 'handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder into jail.'
"Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing. But we're also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.
"... Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it. We are all better for it."
"Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it. We are all better for it. Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family, and we pray that the greatest fighter of them all finally rests in peace."
President Barack Obama
Reaction to the news was immediate.
"A true great has left us," said Bob Arum, who promoted 27 Ali fights. "Muhammad Ali transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit. His legacy will be part of our history for all time."
Said 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."
With a wit as sharp as the punches he used to "whup'' opponents, Ali dominated boxing for two decades before time and Parkinson's disease, triggered by thousands of blows to the head, ravaged his magnificent body, muted his majestic voice and ended his storied career in 1981. He fought in three decades, finished with a record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts and was the first man to win heavyweight titles three times.
"It's a sad day for life, man," promoter Don King said. "I loved Muhammad Ali. He was my friend. Ali will never die. Like Martin Luther King, his spirit will live on. He stood for the world.''
Despite his debilitating illness, Ali traveled the world to rapturous receptions even after his once-bellowing voice was quieted and he was left to communicate with a wink or a weak smile. Revered by millions worldwide and reviled by millions more, Ali cut quite a figure, at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds in his prime.
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,'' his cornermen exhorted, and he did just that in a way no heavyweight had ever fought before. He whipped the fearsome Sonny Liston twice, toppled the mighty George Foreman with the rope-a-dope in Zaire and nearly fought to the death with Joe Frazier in the Philippines. Through it all, he was trailed by a colorful entourage who merely added to his growing legend.
"Rumble, young man, rumble,'' cornerman Bundini Brown would yell to him. Rumble Ali did. He fought anyone who meant anything and made millions of dollars with his lightning-quick jab. His fights were so memorable that they had names -- "Rumble in the Jungle'' and "Thrilla in Manila.'' But it was as much his antics -- and his mouth -- outside the ring that transformed the man born Cassius Clay into the household name Muhammad Ali.
"I am the greatest,'' Ali thundered again and again. Few would disagree.
"Muhammad Ali is a legend and one of the world's most celebrated athletes, the fighter who ushered in the golden era of boxing and put the sport on the map," Oscar De La Hoya said in a statement. "He paved the way for professional fighters, including myself, elevating boxing to become a sport watched in millions of households around the world.
"Beyond his incredible talent, he also made boxing interesting. Ali was fearless in the ring and took on the toughest, most challenging opponents. Ali exemplified courage. He never took the easy route, something to be admired in and outside of the ring."
President Bill Clinton who awarded Ali the Presidential Citizens Medal, mourned Ali's death.
"Hillary and I are saddened by the passing of Muhammad Ali," Clinton said in a statement. "From the day he claimed the Olympic gold medal in 1960, boxing fans across the world knew they were seeing a blend of beauty and grace, speed and strength that may never be matched again."
Athletes, celebrities and dignitaries shared those sentiments. Manny Pacquiao called Ali "a giant." Tiger Woods, "a champion."
"Boxing benefited from Muhammad Ali's talents but not nearly as much as mankind benefited from his humanity," Pacquiao said.
From
ESPN.com
