Muhammad Ali passed (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/muhammad-ali-greatest-all-time-dead-74-n584776) this evening in Phoenix;
QuoteMuhammad Ali, the silver-tongued boxer and civil rights champion who famously proclaimed himself "The Greatest" and then spent a lifetime living up to the billing, is dead.
Ali died Friday at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications, a family spokesman confirmed to NBC News. He was 74.
"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, a family spokesman, told NBC News.
Ali had suffered for three decades from Parkinson's Disease, a progressive neurological condition that slowly robbed him of both his legendary verbal grace and his physical dexterity. A funeral service is planned in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
:bluesad:
No f**king way.
He's a hometown hero.
I meet him-a nice guy.
RIP the Greatest. An incredible boxer, athlete, and showman.
RIP to the Greatest. RC's right; he's a hometown hero. My hometown.
http://youtu.be/oPaxQUYpg_s (http://youtu.be/oPaxQUYpg_s)
http://youtu.be/4UHt4U949YE (http://youtu.be/4UHt4U949YE)
RIP :bluesad:
Legend
My enduring memory - also my first - of him was me as a kid seeing him in a documentary where he went up against a fearsome opponent: a ten year old kid who knocked Muhammad on the chin, the champ went down, got up painfully slowly and then started chasing the referee around the ring. :teddyr: :teddyr:
The commentator said "And now he's taking out his frustrations on the referee!" :teddyr:
RIP.
http://youtu.be/OmiWLoKzWO0 (http://youtu.be/OmiWLoKzWO0)