Saturday 4 June 2016

Boxing legend, Muhammad Ali dies aged 74

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali - one of the world's greatest sporting figures - has died at the age of 74.
The former world heavyweight champion died late on Friday at a hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona, having been admitted on Thursday.
He had been suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson's disease.
Ali's funeral will take place in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, said his family.


Tributes for the heavyweight great have been pouring in from across the world.
"Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it," said US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
Former President Bill Clinton - husband of Democratic frontrunner Hillary - said the boxer had been "courageous in the ring, inspiring to the young, compassionate to those in need, and strong and good-humoured in bearing the burden of his own health challenges".
Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, meanwhile, tweeted that Ali was "truly great champion and a wonderful guy. He will be missed by all!"
George Foreman, who lost his world title to Ali in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in Kinshasa in 1974, called him one of the greatest human beings he had ever met.
American civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson said Ali had been willing to sacrifice the crown and money for his principles when he refused to serve in the Vietnam war.
 Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali shot to fame by winning light-heavyweight gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Nicknamed "The Greatest", the American beat Sonny Liston in 1964 to win his first world title and became the first boxer to capture a world heavyweight title on three separate occasions.
He eventually retired in 1981, having won 56 of his 61 fights.

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