The Washington Times: Muhammad Ali, considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time, died Friday in Phoenix, according to CNN. He was 74.
Mr. Ali had been in a hospital in the Arizona capital since Thursday for what a hospital spokesman said was a “respiratory issue.” Mr. Alifamously had battled Parkinson’s disease since 1984.
Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942, Mr. Ali began boxing as a young man, quickly amassing an amazing record in the ring — and attaining a near-mythic status for his outsize, boastful personality.
According to Olympic.org, Mr. Ali won gold in boxing at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, knocking down three-time European champion Zbigniew Pietrzykowski to win the gold medal. Mr. Ali was just 18 at the time.
After turning pro, in 1964 Mr. Ali knocked out Sonny Liston to become heavyweight champion, according to CNN.
At the museum named for him on the banks of the Ohio River, a display shows how, even after he was famous, Mr. Ali often returned home to Louisville only to be met with poor treatment at the hands of the racist policies of the Jim Crow South. He joined the Nation of Islam and was converted by Malcolm X in 1964, changing his name to Muhammad Ali.
In 1974 Mr. Ali faced off against George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, at what became known as “the Rumble in the Jungle,” with Mr. Ali ultimately emerging victorious. The lead-up to to the historic bout was chronicled in the documentary “When We Were Kings.”
Mr. Ali infamously refused to sign up for the draft during the height of the Vietnam War, claiming conscientious objector status. He was convicted of draft evasion, but the Supreme Court overturned his conviction, CNN reported.
Mr. Ali won the heavyweight title two more times before retiring in 1981. After his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1984, Mr. Ali filled his time as an advocate for awareness of the degenerative disease and also worked tirelessly against racism and social injustice, both in the U.S. and abroad — notably in South Africa.
Tweets from the boxing world were swift when the news broke. Mike Tyson tweeted: “God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest #RIP”
Mr. Ali, a former Olympian, was tapped by the U.S. Olympic team to light the torch during the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta. Visibly shaking from the effects of Parkinson’s, Mr. Ali lit the cauldron to open the Games, a testament to his spirit as an athlete, a humanitarian and a warrior for equality for all.
