Muhammad Ali, the greatest athlete of all-time, passed away on Friday night after a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease at a Phoenix hospital.
The three-time heavyweight boxing champion made his presence felt in and out of the ring. A dominant, relentless fighter that earned a 37-5 record, and used that same fight in his everyday life as a humanitarian who devoted most of his life to bettering it for everyone else as a civil rights activist.
Ali won SI’s “Sportsman of the Century” award in 1999, which is about as good as it gets. The People’s Champion also won a gold medal for the light heavyweight class in 1960. Ali, as a humanitarian, even went to rough inner-city neighborhoods to break up fights in an effort to instill peace. That’s just the type of person he was.
ESPN put together a thoughtful, comprehensive video that takes a look back at his career. Check it out.
Former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. had this to say about Ali on Instagram after hearing news of his passing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGOTCgFx3Sm/
Mike Tyson paid tribute as well.
God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest #RIP pic.twitter.com/jhXyqOuabi
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) June 4, 2016
Ali’s funeral will take place in Louisville, Ky., and the date/time will be announced in the next few hours.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. It’s hard to see another athlete as dominant and influential as Ali emerging anytime soon, if ever. Ali left his mark, and will always be remembered, for his accolades both in and outside the ring.