R.I.P. To The Greatest: Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali Passes Away At Age 74

After battling Parkinson’s disease for the last three decades and spending the last couple of days hospitalized in Phoenix and in intensive care, Muhammad Ali has passed away. He was 74 years old.

Premature reports of his passing poured in earlier in the evening from a Miami Marlins game, despite no evidence or any reports that the legend had passed. However, around midnight east coast time, the champ officially died while surrounded by friends and family. The boxing legend made history for his prowess in the ring, his brash and boastful demeanor, and his refusal to bite his tongue when it came to social, political, and racial issues — well into his elderly years and despite his condition. Via NBCnews:


Muhammad 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.

Even as his health declined, Ali did not shy from politics or controversy, releasing a statement in December criticizing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States. “We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda,” he said.