Boxing Legend, Muhammad Ali Dies at Age-74

Muhammad Ali, arguably the world's most popular and influential athlete of all time, died on Friday, June 3. He was 74-years-old. The revered three-time world heavyweight boxing champion was admitted into a Phoenix hospital Thursday due to respiratory issues. Overnight those issues grew more serious and were complicated by his Parkinson's disease. Things then took a turn for the worse Friday afternoon, when reports surfaced that Ali was on life support and in grave condition.

After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74.  What a indelible legacy "The Greatest" leaves behind.
After retiring from boxing in 1981, Ali began what turned out to being an arduous 32-year, post-retirement bout with Parkinson's disease, which he was first diagnosed with in 1984 at the age of 42. Now, that Ali's fight is over, he can finally rest in peace.

As much as he was known for delivering tongue lashings to his opponents outside of the ring before defeating boxing greats such as Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman in the ring, Ali transcended the sport he dominated for over two decades by making significant socially-conscious moves that were ahead of his time.

Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17th, 1942, he turned to boxing when he was only 12-years-old, progressing enough through the years to win the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Clay would turn pro the same year and rapidly rise through the ranks.

By 1964, Clay had earned a shot against feared champion Sonny Liston, shocking him with a seventh-round technical knockout, to become the then-youngest heavyweight champion of all time at 22-years-old in February 1964. Shortly after the bout, Clay converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. More than a year later in May 1965, after a huge buildup to their rematch, Ali left no doubt that he was the superior boxer, knocking Liston out in the first round and standing over the fallen boxer in what became an iconic sports image, hanging on the walls of many homes, offices and gyms to this day.
 
He refused to be drafted into the U.S. military to battle in the Vietnam War in 1967, citing his Islamic religious beliefs and notoriously exclaiming, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong."

Standing his ground cost Ali, as he was arrested, had his boxing license suspended and was stripped of his heavyweight title, banned from boxing for three years during his prime years (25 to 28-years-old). Even in recent months, Ali used his fame to make bigger impact, jabbing Donald Trump's stance on Muslims in the United States, while imploring politicians for a greater understanding of lslam.

We'll never have another like Muhammad Ali. Rest in peace, legend. You can finally stop fighting now.