The World Will Miss Muhammad Ali

The death of Muhammad Ali, the three times heavyweight champion of the world, set off a torrent of tributes from sporting stars, civil rights campaigners and ordinary fans on Saturday reflecting how the silver-tongued boxer transcended barriers of race and expectation.

He died with four of his daughters gathered at his hospital bedside in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was being treated for breathing difficulties.

The man who called himself “The Greatest” and spent a career living up to his own description died at the age of 74 on Friday night.

His death was confirmed by Bob Gunnell, his long-time spokesman, who said the cause was "septic shock" due to natural causes.

“It was a very peaceful passing and they are with him as we speak,” he said. “You know, we lost a great person in this world tonight.

Ali is survived by his fourth wife Lonnie, whom he married in 1986, and nine children.

A public funeral will take place in Ali's home town of Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday.

Fans gathered outside the Osborn Medical Centre, where he died, taping roses to the wall and lighting candles at a makeshift memorial.

His daughter Hana Ali encapsulated what many saw as his unique combination of strength and tenderness, describing her father as a "humble mountain”.

Even Parkinson's could not stop him expressing his views in his usual eloquent and outspoken manner.

In one of his final public statements at the end of last year, he took aim at not just violent jihadists who brought carnage to Paris but at politicians such as Donald Trump who sought to make political capital from terrorist attacks.

"We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda. They have alienated many from learning about Islam,” he said. “True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anyone."

Inevitably, Donald Trump, Republican candidate for president, sent a tweet in tribute, describing Ali as a “wonderful guy”.

His rival for the White House, Hillary Clinton, issued a statement with her husband saying: “From the day he claimed the Olympic gold medal in 1960, boxing fans across the world knew they were seeing a blend of beauty and grace, speed and strength that may never be matched again."

Friends and rivals in the ring spoke of a boxer with an unorthodox style and a magnetic personality. George Foreman, who lost the world title to Ali in Zaire in a classic 1974 bout known as the Rumble in the Jungle, said: "No doubt he was one of the best people to have lived in this day and age. To put him as a boxer is an injustice."

He added that Ali always loved London. “If he had been born and raised and fought, he never would have changed his name,” he told the BBC's Today programme. “They made him even as Cassius Clay feel like he was the toast of the town.”

He lived his latter years near Phoenix, Arizona. 

Source: MSN