Muhammad Ali Dead: What Cauaed Legendary Boxer to Die At 74?

Former world heavyweight champion and all-time boxing legend Muhammad Ali has succumbed to respiratory illness complicated by his existing Parkinson's disease at age 74 at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. His funeral is set to take place in his Louisville home in Kentucky.

"After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, told NBC News.

Ali was responsible for elevating boxing to worldwide sensation with his phenomenal in-ring performance augmented by his larger-than-life persona as a silver-tongued sportsman who confidently nicknamed himself as 'The Greatest'- a de facto celebrity title for which he was known generations after his retirement.

He first made his shot to fame by bringing home the light-heavyweight gold for the US at the 1960 Olympics. He then entered pro climbed up his way through the ladder by nabbing his first world title by defeating fellow American boxer Sonny Liston. He retired from active boxing in 1981 after his glorious 56-5 record.

Many media outfits also contributed to the enlargement of his post-ring persona such as when he was named 'Sportsman of the Century' by Sports Illustrated Magazine and 'Sports Personality of the Century' by BBC. Like his 'float-like-a-butterfly-but-sting-like-a-bee' boxing skills, he was also sought after for his trash talk and bold fight predictions. In his heyday, America was still grappling with serious racial issues that he became a civil rights campaigner especially at the height of the controversy over his refusal to fight in Vietnam.

In his boxing tenure, the great sportsman left history books with his iconic classic fights such as his defeat of Sonny Liston as a championship contender; the 'Thrilla in Manila' and 'Fight of the Century' match against Joe Frazier; and his 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle' against George Foreman in a successful bid to regain his lost title, The Guardian reported.

He was once interviewed on how he would like to be remembered long after his passing, the boxing icon simply said as quoted from a BBC report: "As a man who never sold out his people. But if that's too much, then just a good boxer. I won't even mind if you don't mention how pretty I was."