Muhammad Ali Has Died

The legendary boxer Muhammad Ali died Friday at age 74.

.He famously refused to be drafted and become a government trained killer during the Vietnam War.

 "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong," he said.

He was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his title and for awhile was banned from boxing. Ali appealed the conviction on grounds he was a Muslim minister. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction on an 8-0 vote.

Ali once calculated he had taken 29,000 punches to the head and made $57 million in his pro career.

In later life, he suffered from Parkinson's disease possibly related to his his boxing..

Born Cassius Clay, he converted to the Muslim religion and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

In 1990, he went to Iraq on his own initiative to meet with Saddam Hussein and returned to the United States with 15 Americans who had been held hostage.

-RW