PA ImagesBoxing icon Muhammad Ali’s family have revealed that he died of ‘septic shock due to unspecified natural causes’.
The 74-year-old died on Friday night at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, he’d been suffering from a respiratory illness, which the BBC report was being complicated by his Parkinson’s disease.
A public funeral will be held for the three times heavy-weight champion of the world in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky this Friday.
PA ImagesThe family spokesman, Bob Gunnell said: “He was a citizen of the world and would want people from all walks of life to be able to attend his funeral.”
Meanwhile Ali’s family have claimed that his heart kept beating for an incredible 30 minutes after he died, The Mirror reports.
His daughter Hana said on Twitter:
All of us were around him hugging and kissing him and holding his hands, chanting the Islamic prayer.
“All of his organs failed but his HEART wouldn’t stop heating. For 30 minutes… his heart just keep beating.
No one had ever seen anything like it. A true testament to the strength of his Spirit and Will!
— Hana Ali (@Hanayali) June 4, 2016
Hana added: ‘We are so happy daddy is free now. We all tried to stay strong and whispered in his ear, ‘You can go now. We will be OK. We love love. Thank you.’
Tributes have begun to pour in for the legendary sportsman, including one from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who will give a eulogy at the funeral, saying he lived a life ‘full of religious and political convictions that led him to make tough choices and live with the consequences’.
YouTubeWhile the Brazilian footballer, Pele, claimed that the sporting universe had suffered a huge loss.
US President Barack Obama paid tribute as well saying: ‘Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it’.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.