Boxing legend Muhammad Ali died yesterday at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications. Ali had been admitted to the hospital on Thursday.

"After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, told NBC News.

Ali had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease, a progressive neurological condition, since 1984 at 42 years old.

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay on Jan. 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, according to NBC News Ali started boxing when he was 12, winning Golden Gloves titles before heading to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, where he won a gold medal as a light heavyweight.

He turned professional afterward, supported at first by Louisville business owners who guaranteed him an "unprecedented 50-50 split in earnings."

A funeral service is planned for Ali in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.