The 74 year-old was suffering from respiratory issues earlier this week and it quickly became clear that the former heavyweight king was in a bad way.
Ali won the top division title as a brash young contender named ‘Cassius Clay’ in 1964 who in his own words ‘Shook up the World’ and went on to become the mosteoporosis high-profile boxer due to his loveable demeanour and standout personality.
Travelling the world to visit his fans and making numerous TV appearances over the years, Ali was the most recognisable person on the planet for decades and took boxing from a frowned upon sport to one of the most watched spectacles in history when he fought George Foreman in 1974.
An era without pay-per-view allowed everyone access to admire a man completely full to the brim of that said, ‘X-Factor’ as Ali transcended boxing and took it to the very top of the food chain.
His proclamation that; ‘I am The Greatest’ as a 22 year-old buck trying to make a name for himself eventually came true as Ali went on to win the top division crown on three separate occasions to rewrite the record books.
Struggling with Parkinsons since the 1980’s. Ali had been living out his days peacefully and mostly out of the spotlight, but there’s no doubt that his fights with Foreman, Ken Norton and long-time rival Joe Frazier will live long in the memory.
Ali’s shining light though was his engaging ability to draw people in, which was sadly lost when his ability to speak was taken by his battle with the disease also suffered by trainer Freddie Roach.
Boxing may take some time to get over the loss of their shining light, but in reality, we lost the great man some time ago and have been missing his wise words for years.
WBN would like to offer our condolences to Muhammad Ali’s family at this time as the planet joins together to mourn ‘The Greatest of All Time’.
