BOXING legend Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 74.
Family spokesperson Bob Gunnell confirmed the death of the three-time world heavyweight champion in Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday evening, local time.
Having had battled Parkinson's disease for 32 years, Ali was admitted to hospital with a respiratory condition earlier in the week.
It has been reported that the funeral will take place in Ali's home town of Louisville, Kentucky.
Muhammed Ali had many connections to Ireland - his mother’s grandfather came from Clare.
It wasn’t the first time Ali had set foot in Ireland though.
As outlined in the RTÉ documentary When Ali Came to Ireland, the former heavyweight champion of the world spent a week in the country surrounding his 1972 bout with Alvin ‘Blue’ Lewis.
The fight itself wasn’t a huge challenge for Ali, but he was still rebuilding his career following the previous year’s defeat to Joe Frazier, who he would eventually gain revenge against in 1974.
Lewis wasn’t exactly a big pull, but approximately 20,000 tickets were sold.
The remaining 5,000 spectators inside Croke Park had scaled the walls and bundled their way in over Hill 16 seconds after the opening bell.
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