Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies aged 74
Saturday 4 June 2016 20:36, UK
Tributes are being paid to boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who has passed away at the age of 74.
The three-time world heavyweight champion had suffered from Parkinson's disease since 1984 - three years after he retired from the sport.
In the days before his death, Ali had been admitted to hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, suffering from respiratory issues.
It has since been confirmed he died of septic shock due to unspecified natural causes.
A statement from family spokesman Bob Gunnell said: "Muhammad Ali's funeral will take place in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
"The Ali family would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and support and asks for privacy at this time.
Sky Sports boxing pundit Johnny Nelson told Sky Sports News HQ: "This guy was very, very humble. He'd joke with you to say: 'I am the greatest', I know it's a silly thing to say, but he knew how good he was.
"They use the words 'legend' and 'great' too freely in this world - Ali was a true legend and a true great, a living legend and a living great and now he's passed away more people will appreciate who this man was and what he achieved.
"The things he said when he refused to enter the Vietnam War, when he embraced Islam, when he hit racism head on in America at a very sensitive time, he was the face of a changing era, and all he did was box."
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said: "Everybody involved with boxing, and everyone who has even watched boxing, will feel the element of sadness this morning.
"Icon is a word that gets bandied around, but I think it's the best word to use to describe Muhammad Ali. He transcended the sport.
"I think he's a true legend of the sport, and after a long period of suffering, he can rest in peace now, God willing."
Sky Sports' Adam Smith added: "Muhammad Ali was quite simply the greatest. Not just the greatest of fighters but the greatest of people.
"What he did in boxing was phenomenal. He was the first three-time world champion in boxing's blue riband division at a time when there were all there - Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson, Ernie Shavers, Larry Holmes... that era was incredible.
"He will also be remembered for what he did outside of the ring - he was also such an imposing, huge figure in the black community. He took on the US Government, he stood for his principles... he was one of the greatest men who ever lived.
"It's really tough because he leaves such a gaping hole because he was so brilliant."
Born in January 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, a name shared with a 19th century slavery abolitionist, the boxer changed his name to Muhammad Ali after his conversion to Islam.
Although he had shied away from public life in recent years, Ali spoke out against Donald Trump's calls for Muslims to be banned from entering the United States.
Back in December, he urged people to "stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda", adding: "True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion."
One of the boxing legend's final public appearances was in April, when he attended a Celebrity Fight Night in April to benefit a Parkinson's treatment facility in his name.
Ali is survived by his fourth wife Lonnie, along with his nine children.
Many of his loved ones reportedly flew to Arizona to be by his bedside following his admission to hospital on Monday.
