Updated (12:30pm ET): Muhammad Ali has passed away.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who arose to be a cultural icon has died at the age of 74. He had been admitted to a Phoenix-area hospital and had been on life support due to respiratory issues.
Bob Arum, who promoted a multitude of Ali fights, told ESPN's Michele Steele when Ali had been placed on life support, "I know it's not looking good. He's a fighter and he's going to continue to fight."
Sources close to the Los Angeles Times had reported that Ali’s situation was “very grave.”
Ali had been fighting Parkinson’s disease for more than 20 years, which was reportedly part of what had exacerbated the situation that led to his death
The LA Times had reported earlier this evening that "it could be hours" before his passing, and he did so late Friday evening.
In an era when athletes rarely involve themselves in politics, Ali had been seen as a cultural icon for his stance on civil rights and the Vietnam War. On June 20, 1967 Ali was convicted in Houston for refusing to report for induction into the armed forces.
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?,” Ali said. “No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars.”
Ali was stripped of his title for resisting the war due to religious belief. At the height of his peak years, he did not box for another four years. Ali was vilified at the time for the comments, but since most have seen his willingness to make a stand at the potential cost of his boxing career as a mark of integrity.
Ali had been married four times and had seven daughters and two sons. He had resided in Scottsdale, AZ with his wife, Lonnie.
