SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA (CNN)–Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 74.
The sports legend is being remembered for his tremendous athletic feats in the boxing ring, and his contributions long after he fought his final fight.
The boxer who proclaimed himself “The Greatest” died Friday (June 3) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A family spokesman said Ali had been at a hospital since Thursday suffering from respiratory problems.
Born Cassius Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky, he started training at 12 years old, and at 22 he stunned the boxing world, becoming heavyweight champion by defeating the legendary Sonny Liston.
The 60s were Ali’s glory days but also a controversial period in his life. He joined the nation of Islam. Ali began a three-and-a-half year exile from championship fights until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction on a technicality.
Barely back in the ring, Ali’s undefeated professional record came to an end in 1971 when he lost to Joe Frazier in a match dubbed “the fight of the century”, but he would get revenge in a rematch—the famous “Thrilla in Manila”
Ali’s last fight in was in 1981, when he lost his title to Trevor Burbick.
Three years later, he revealed he was fighting a new battle. He’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
In 1996, he lit the Olympic flame at the summer games in Atlanta – one of the most poignant moments in sports history.
