CRI听力:Looking Back on the Record-breaking Career of Ali

The former boxer died in a Phoenix-area hospital where he had spent the past two days.

Ali was hospitalized earlier this week for a respiratory ailment.

Ali had suffered from Parkinson's disease for more than three decades and kept a low profile in recent years.

Reaction is already rolling in from Ali's family, friends, and the general public.

Sonny Fishback was Ali's childhood friend in Louisville, Kentucky.

"Because trust me man this town loves him, you hear me, and the world loved him, you know you don't hear no, who talked bad about Ali? There's nothing to talk bad about, he loved everybody, no matter he was a stranger he'd do anything for you and you know I've never seen him mad, honestly, you know he's just a fabulous person man."

Louisville-based sports historian and boxing coach Bud Scharden says Ali's truly kind-hearted character shined through despite his often braggadocios tendency to promote himself and his fights.

"People who didn't even care about boxing knew who he was and you know you can talk about the brashness, the bragging, the guy was shrewd, he, you saw that public face, he knew how to promote his fights but he was also a very kind and humble person, I saw him on a number of occasions in gyms here in Louisville, after he retired, sit for hours and sign autographs for kids who lined up at the door, he didn't charge any money, he gave his time and he talked to kids."

Ali, born in Louisville, Kentucky, as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, changed his name in 1964 after his conversion to Islam.

Ali's last public appearance was in April at the "Celebrity Fight Night" gala in Arizona, a charity that benefits the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.

At the height of his career, Ali was known for his dancing feet and quick fists and his ability, as he put it, to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

He held the heavyweight title a record three times, and Sports Illustrated named him the top sportsman of the 20th century.

Nicknamed "The Greatest," Ali retired from boxing in 1981 with a record of 56 wins, 37 by knockout, and five losses. Ali's diagnosis of Parkinson's came about three years after he left the ring.

Journalist Howard Fineman calls Ali a champion for those affected by Parkinson's.

"Muhammad Ali has been a champion for those suffering from Parkinson's disease. He and his family and friends have contributed mightily to a very important effort in that regard and it's just another sign of his humanity and concern for people in need throughout the world."

Ali had a show-time personality that he melded with dazzling footwork and great hand speed. His bouts with such fighters as Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman made him an international celebrity like boxing had never seen.

He became a symbol for black liberation during the 1960s as he stood up to the U.S. government by refusing to go into the Army for religious reasons.

Ali made a surprise appearance at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, stilling the Parkinson's tremors in his hands enough to light the Olympic flame.

Ali's daughter Laila, a former boxer, tweeted a photo of her father kissing her own daughter, Sydney. She thanked supporters for their wishes for Ali, saying, "I feel your love and appreciate it!"