Muhammad Ali is dead
Heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, whose fame transcended the sport during a remarkable career that spanned three decades, died Friday at 74, his family said.
Heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, whose fame transcended the sport during a remarkable career that spanned three decades, died Friday at 74, his family said.
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English learners: I have included a short video so you can hear the young Mohammad Ali speak. Many people remember as much for what he said as what he did.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies at 74
Phoenix, AFP – Heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, an icon of the 20th Century whose fame transcended the sport during a remarkable career that spanned three decades, died Friday, his family said.
The beloved 74-year-old sports hero, who had been battling Parkinson's disease for decades, passed away in a hospital here where he had been admitted earlier this week suffering from respiratory problems.
Concern for Ali had grown throughout Friday, and tributes immediately poured in for "The Greatest," who was known globally not only for his storied ring career but also for his civil humanitarian activism.
His Parkinson's, thought to be linked to the thousands of punches he took during a career studded by bruising battles inside the ropes, had limited his public speaking.
This file photo taken on September 30, 2015 shows Larry Holmes, SI Editor Chris Stone, Muhammad Ali (C), Sports Illustrated Group Editor Paul Fichtenbaum and George Foreman attending the Sports Illustrated Tribute to Muhammad Ali at The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. / AFP PHOTO / Stephen Cohen
But he continued to make appearances and offer opinions through his family members and spokespeople.
His 30-year career, which stretched from 1960 to 1981 and saw him retire with a record of 56-5, included such historic bouts as the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman.
Muhammad Ali at Harvard University. Before he was hit with Parkinson’s disease, Ali was almost as famous for his quick wit as he was for his quick hands. Here's an example from a speech at Harvard University. Notice that he has a little fun referring to his main rivals Joe Frazier and George Foreman.
"I was told that it's a big honour to be invited to speak in a place like Harvard. I'm trying to be serious but you want to make me laugh anyway. I understand that out of people such as you all come presidents and governors and mayors and great doctors, physicians and scientists and everything. So I said to get something together to talk to these people it's got to be pretty heavy. If you had told me I'd be offered a professorship to teach philosophy and portrait (?) at Oxford and to speak at Harvard, man I never would have believed it, so I'm real humbled and I thankful to be here. It's such a high seat of learning and I'm just a boxer and most boxers can't even talk.You couldn't invite Joe Frazier and George Foreman...This is the Ali show."
Don King promoted that watershed bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974, in which Ali used his "Rope a Dope" strategy to best Foreman and become just the second fighter to regain the heavyweight world title.
This file photo taken on October 30, 1974 shows the fight opposing former world heavyweight boxing champion the American Muhammad Ali (R) and his compatriot and titleholder George Foreman (L) in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali won and got back his title.
"His spirit will go on forever," King said of Ali. "He represents what every athlete and sports person tries to do, an attitude of getting it done, success, he was fabulous.
"A great human being, and a champion of the people. The greatest of all times."
Other defining moments of Ali's career included two knockouts of Sonny Liston and his thrilling rivalry with Joe Frazier – which saw the two men slug it out in the ring and verbally spar out of it.
Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr in Louisville, Kentucky, dazzled fans with slick moves in the ring, and with his wit and engaging persona outside it.
His refusal to serve in the Vietnam War saw him banned from the sport for years, but the US Supreme Court overturned his conviction for draft dodging in 1971.
He took the name of Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam in 1964, soon after he had stunned the sport by claiming the title with a monumental upset of Liston.
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