USA gossip website radaronline.com quoted an anonymous source as saying Ali was on life support and that anxious family members had gathered at his bedside.
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Gunnell stated Ali was in fair condition on Friday morning when he spoke to the Louisville Courier-Journal. A source close to the family told news agency Reuters that Ali was close to death.
The boxing legend was previously hospitalized for several days in December 2014 and January 2015 after suffering a severe urinary tract infection initially thought to be pneumonia. “Boxing benefitted from Muhammad Ali’s talents but not almost as much as mankind benefitted from his humanity”, professional boxer Manny Pacquiao said in a statement.
Muhammad Ali, the fleet-footed, trash-talking, butterfly-floating, bee-stinging heavyweight boxing champion of the world, died Friday evening.
Nicknamed “The Greatest”, Ali was known in the boxing circle for his excellence footwork, awful hand speed, superb reflexes, and constant movement in the ring, holding his hands low and lashing out with quick shots from unpredictable angles.
Since news broke, athletes, entertainers and other celebrities have been paying their respects to the three-time World Heavyweight Champion on social media.
Ali’s daughter Laila, a former boxer, tweeted a photo of her father kissing her own daughter, Sydney. “I feel your love and appreciate it!!”
Ali, who battles Parkinson’s disease, has been in failing health in recent years.
His last public appearance was in April at a gala in Arizona which he attended with his wife, Lonnie.
The two people told the AP separately that Ali is battling respiratory problems that are complicated by his Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 1984.
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During and after his championship reign, Ali met scores of world leaders and for a time he was considered the most recognizable person on earth, known even in remote villages far from the United States. Ali’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s came about three years after he retired.
