04 June,2016 10:08 AM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Legendary former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who had been hospitalised following respiratory problems, has passed away, the spokesman for his family said
Legendary former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who had been hospitalised following respiratory problems, has passed away, the spokesman for his family said.
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Muhammad Ali at an event in 2003. Pic/AFP
"After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74," family spokesman Bob Gunnell said in a statement on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Ali was hospitalised for a respiratory problem on June 2.
One of the greatest boxers in the history, Ali retired in 1981 and soon found signs of sluggishness and neurological damage. He thereafter received treatment for Parkinson's disease.
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Ali had been hospitalized several times in recent years, most recently in early 2015 when he was treated for a severe urinary tract infection initially diagnosed as pneumonia. Ali has looked increasingly frail in public appearances in recent years, including on 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.
Ali, known as Cassius Clay before he converted to Islam, began boxing training at the age of 12 years.
He won the World heavyweight championship at the age of 22 in 1964. He again won the title again in 1974 and 1978.
With inputs from agencies
