Legendary heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali has been hospitalized in Phoenix because of a respiratory issue, family spokesperson Bob Gunnell confirmed on Thursday, June 2, according to ESPN.
“He is being treated by his team of doctors and is in fair condition,” Gunnell said of the 74-year-old former athlete. “A brief hospital stay is expected. At this time, the Muhammad Ali family respectfully requests privacy.”
The three-time World Heavyweight Champion was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984 at age 42, just a few years after he retired from the boxing ring in 1981. In recent years, he has been hospitalized several times, including once for almost three weeks after suffering a severe urinary tract infection originally diagnosed as pneumonia.
Ali has made very few public appearances in recent years. In September, he stepped out to attend a ceremony at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, where he was honored as a hometown hero. The boxing great now resides in Phoenix. He is married to Yolanda Williams, and he has seven daughters and two sons.
