Legendary former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who had been hospitalised following respiratory problems, has passed away, a family spokesman said.

“After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74,” family spokesman Bob Gunnell said in a statement on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ali was hospitalised for a respiratory problem on June 2.

One of the greatest boxers in the history, Ali retired in 1981 and soon found signs of sluggishness and neurological damage. He thereafter received treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Ali, known as Cassius Clay before he converted to Islam, began boxing training at the age of 12 years.

He won the World heavyweight championship at the age of 22 in 1964. He again won the title again in 1974 and 1978.