Culture

Boxing’s Most Iconic Figure Muhammad Ali Has Died, Aged 74

RIP to 'The Greatest'.

by Junkee  4 June 2016

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Tributes are flowing for Muhammad Ali, who passed away today aged 74.

Considered the greatest boxer of all time, Ali has been named “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC. The news was confirmed by family spokesman Bob Gunnell: “Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali has died at age 74 in a Phoenix hospital due to respiratory problems stemming from Parkinsons Disease,” Gunnell told NBC News.

Nicknamed “the greatest”, Ali won three world heavyweight titles – in 1964, 1974, and 1978 – in a glittering career that began at age 18. Out of the boxing ring, Ali was a towering figure in the civil rights movement. He was conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, famously stating, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong—no Viet Cong ever called me n***r.”

Ali’s famous “Rumble in the Jungle” bout against George Foreman was depicted in the 1996 Oscar-winning documentary When We Were Kings. He was portrayed by Will Smith in the 2001 biopic Ali. Directed by Michael Mann, the film earned Smith an Oscar nomination, despite the actor’s initial reluctance to play him. Ali personally requested Smith’s participation in the film, stating: “Man you’re almost pretty enough to play me.”

Ali is almost as famous for his trash-talking as his exploits in the ring. His claim to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee” has become one of the best known phrases in sporting history. And who can forget Ali’s infamous appearance at the 1979 Logie Awards, where Bert Newton referred to Ali as “boy”, not knowing about the racial connotations of the term. The pair later “kissed and made up”.