R.I.P. Muhammad Ali

Three time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali passed away on June 3rd, 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He had been hospitalized for a respiratory condition; a spokesman for the family said he died from septic shock.

The story of Muhammad Ali’s incredible life fills volumes and is beyond the scope of a blog post, but here’s a few highlights. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist at the Rome Games in 1960; heavyweight champion of the world; civil rights activist; anti Vietnam War activist who was stripped of his boxing license for three of the prime years of his career for refusing induction into the military despite his claiming of conscientious objector status. He was convicted of refusing to enter military service, but the Supreme Court overturned that in 1971. His interviews with ABC sportscaster Howard Cosell were legendary.

Ali perfected the art of trash talking his opponents, but he backed that up with success. He was one of the most recognizable people in the world, and that lasted well beyond his boxing years. Ali was 56-5 in his professional boxing career that ran from 1960 to 1981. Three of his losses occurred in his last four fights when he was past his prime.

In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Syndrome, no doubt caused by years of punches to the head, beginning a slow decline. He was visibly shaking when he lit the Olympic Flame at the Atlanta Games in 1996, Ali remained active in philanthropic work, and received many honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 from President George W. Bush. But the Parkinson’s took its toll, and Ali’s public appearances tailed off in recent years. Ali is on most experts lists as one of the top two or three boxers of all time, and number one on many.