Boxing legend Muhammad Ali passes away

June 4, 2016

American boxing icon Muhammad Ali passed away after 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease in Phoenix, Arizona. He was 74.
He was former three times world heavyweight champion (1964, 1974 and 1978) who had record-setting boxing career, which had made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century. He was also known globally for his civil rights activism.

About Muhammad Ali

Born as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, US.
He had started his boxing career at young age of 12 years. In 1964, at the age of 22 he had won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston.
In 1975, he had converted to Sunni Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. 30 years later began adhering to Sufism.
In 1967, he was stripped of his boxing title after refusing to be conscripted into US military, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War and was convicted.
Later in 1971, US Supreme Court overturned his conviction. His actions as a conscientious objector to the war made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation.
In boxing career, he was nicknamed The Greatest, and was involved in several historic boxing matches.
Some of his notable matches were the first Liston fight, three with rival Joe Frazier, and one with George Foreman, in which he regained titles that were stripped in 1967.
Honours: Sports Illustrated had crowned him as “Sportsman of the Century” and BBC had named him as “Sports Personality of the Century”.
Books: He had written several best-selling books about his career including The Greatest: My Own Story and The Soul of a Butterfly.