Muhammad Ali dies at 74

US: Former world heavyweight champion and boxing legend Muhammad Ali has died on Friday evening at a Phoenix hospital at the age of 74, according to a statement released by family spokesperson Bob Gunnell on Friday night, a day after he was admitted to a Phoenix intensive care

facility with a respiratory ailment. At the time of the announcement, the cause of his death was unknown.

Ali had been suffering from respiratory problem which was complicated his Parkinson's disease which impaired his speech since he was diagnosed with the disease in the 1980s. He had remained active for the past 30 years despite the challenges posed by the ailment. His family gathered around him as he was hospitalized.

Ali was born on January 17, 1942, and was the first man to win the heavyweight world championship three times. He was banned for three years in the late 1960s for refusing to join the armed forces, but he returned to the sport and won the Rumble in the Jungle and the Thrilla in Manila. Ali is considered as one of the greatest boxers of all time

 His athletic prowess was at its peak in the 1960s. With his quick fists and dancing feet and as he would say, Ali could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. 

Ali became much more than a colorful and interesting athlete. He stood and spoke boldly against racism in the 1960s, as well as the Vietnam War.

Ali met several world leaders and at the time he was considered the most recognizable person in the world

According to his family, his funeral would be held in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. In a statement, Ali's family thanked the public for the outpouring of support.