"I am the greatest," Ali thundered again and again.
"Rumble, young man, rumble," cornerman Bundini Brown would yell to him.
And rumble Ali did. He fought anyone who meant anything and made millions of dollars with his lightning-quick jab. His fights were so memorable that they had names - "Rumble in the Jungle" and "Thrilla in Manila."
But it was as much his antics - and his mouth - outside the ring that transformed the man born Cassius Clay into a household name as Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali died Friday at age 74, according to a statement from the family. He was hospitalized in the Phoenix area with respiratory problems earlier this week, and his children had flown in from around the country.
"It's a sad day for life, man. I loved Muhammad Ali, he was my friend. Ali will never die," Don King, who promoted some of Ali's biggest fights, told The Associated Press early Saturday. "Like Martin Luther King his spirit will live on, he stood for the world."
A funeral will be held in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The city plans a memorial service Saturday.
Source: kcra.com