The entire world was rocked with the news boxing legend Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, had passed away at the age of 74.
Ali was hospitalised with respiratory problems a few days ago, and it seems the complications arising from it, coupled with his decades long battles against Parkinson’s, finally proved fatal.
Ali was, without a doubt, the greatest boxer this world had ever seen, arguably the greatest athlete ever. His sublime skills in the ring were coupled with a flamboyance and eloquence that provided a combination hard to find anywhere else. Seeing Ali in action was poetry, hearing him speak was akin to reading the finest prose.
Sporting legends worldwide have been responding to the death of this great legend. Read what some of them wrote below….
Heavyweight great and Ali ‘successor’, Mike Tyson…
“God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest #RIP”
God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli#TheGreatest#RIPpic.twitter.com/jhXyqOuabi
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) June 4, 2016
Ali’s nemesis George Foreman wrote:
“Ali, Frazier & Foreman we were 1 guy a part of me slipped away “the greatest piece” Muhammad Ali.”
Ali, Frazier & Foreman we were 1 guy a part of me slipped away “the greatest piece” Muhammad Ali.
— George Foreman (@GeorgeForeman) June 4, 2016
Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather:
Football great David Beckham:
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
A photo posted by David Beckham (@davidbeckham) on
Boxing legend Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao
We lost a giant today. You will always be GOAT. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Ali family. May God bless them. pic.twitter.com/g7s6GETODG
— Manny Pacquiao (@mannypacquiao) June 4, 2016
Fellow boxing legend, Roy Jones Jnr: