Muhammad Ali beat every top heavyweight and changed the world - but it cost him dearly

Muhammad Ali, the most glorious boxer ever to lace up a pair of gloves, has been counted out at the age of 74.

The statistics show he won Golden Gloves titles, was an Olympic gold medallist and three-time world heavyweight champion.

He was involved in some the most-legendary fights ever, which still roll off the tongue so easily - the Fight of the Century, the Thrilla in Manila and, of course, the Rumble in the Jungle.

He beat every top heavyweight - Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman and Leon Spinks - in boxing's golden age.

But his enduring legacy goes far beyond all those feats.

He helped shape not just the US, but the world in the 1960s and 70s.

He was prepared to take on the white, establishment in America over religion, race, and his beliefs, even though it cost him dear.

Yet, even though they took away his world title and banned him, robbing him of his best years and his ability to float like a butterfly, he never wavered from his principles.

He stood firm and ultimately the mountain came to Muhammad when the establishment accepted him for what he was.

To African-Americans, he was a hero, like his one-time mentor Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, because he made them proud to be black.

Even the establishment, which tried so hard to destroy him, ended up respecting him and he became a national treasure.

This boxing thoroughbred was born in Louisville, the home of the Kentucky Derby, on January 17, 1942.

The State's famous bluegrass produced many fine champions of the four-legged variety, but Cassius Marcellus Clay, as he was known then, was its most famous son.

He took up boxing aged 12 because, as he put it, he wanted to "whup" whoever had stolen his bike.

He enjoyed a glittering career as an amateur, culminating in winning light-heavyweight gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

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He was not the biggest heavyweight, causing some opponents to underestimate him, but what he lacked in height, he more than made up in speed, coining the 'Ali shuffle'.

He turned pro after Rome and beat Our 'Enry in 1963 when he recovered from being floored, thanks partly to a bit of skulduggery by trainer Angelo Dundee over the infamous ripped glove.

This set up a world title clash in 1964 in Miami with Liston and he was portrayed as the villain because of his merciless trash talking.

He claimed Liston was "too ugly to be champion", that he "smells like a bear" and that he would "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee".

Few gave him any chance against the seasoned Liston and most hoped the champion would shut his big mouth.

Instead he mesmerised the champion, forcing him to quit on his stool.

"I shook up the world" he screamed as he celebrated in the ring.

He was right and the world would never be the same again.

The next day he provoked more hostility when he announced he had converted to Islam and was renouncing his "slave name" to be called Muhammad Ali.

Ali's reign - and world - came crashing down in 1967 when he was drafted into the US Army as the Vietnam War raged.

He refused, claiming he was a conscientious objector, and said: "I ain't got no quarrel with the Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me n*****."

The boxing authorities stripped him of his titles and banned him for three-and-a-half years.

His passport was even taken away, denying him the possibility of fighting overseas and he became a vociferous critic of the war.

He refused to be broken and in 1971, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction for refusing the draft.

Ali had been allowed back in the ring a year earlier and in 1971 clashed with world champion Frazier in The Fight of the Century.

The trash talking turned nasty when Ali branded Frazier "an Uncle Tom" and the champion was deeply wounded by his vicious and personal attacks.

Frazier's bitterness towards Ali lasted for decades and when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, he claimed it was because of the punishment he had dished out to him.

The fight at Madison Square Garden was a classic and Ali suffered his first pro loss on a unanimous decision.

His career went downhill afterwards - he even considered quitting when he broke his jaw in a defeat to Norton.

But beating Frazier in a rematch in 1974 propelled him back towards the big time and a showdown with the new heavyweight king, George Foreman.

The fight was arranged for Kinshasa, Zaire, and the Rumble in the Jungle has gone down as the greatest fight ever.

Ali was in fine form in the build-up and he rapped, before rapping had been invented, as he rhymed off poem after poem of what he as going to do to Foreman.

Few shared his confidence and many feared for his life because Foreman was so heavy-handed.

But Ali's 'rope-a-dope' tactics worked a treat as he let Foreman unload on him, taunting him saying: "Is that all you've got George?"

He knew Foreman's stamina was an issue and simply let him punch himself out before stopping him in the eighth to regain the world title.

Ali had shaken up the world again in what was the high-water mark of his career.

He met Frazier again for a third deciding fight in the Thrilla in Manila in 1975 in temperatures approaching 38C.

They fought to a virtual standstill before Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch pulled his man out at the start of the 15th and final round.

By now, the one-time establishment outsider was being invited to the White House for photo opportunities with then President Jimmy Carter.

He became distracted and was out of shape when he lost to rookie Leon Spinks in 1978.

He bounced back by beating Spinks in a rematch the following year to become the first person to win the world title three times.

Ali announced his retirement, only to make a comeback in 1980 when he challenged Larry Holmes in an attempt to win the world title a fourth time.

By now, the first signs of Parkinson's were beginning to show and his defeat to Holmes was a pitiful spectacle for someone who had been so great.

Still, he fought one last time, losing to Trevor Berbick in 1981 to finish with a record of 56(37)-5(1)-0.

He was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1984 and finally he had met an opponent he could not beat.

The four-times married Ali tried to remain active and in an emotional moment, lit the torch at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

This horrible disease took its toll as well as the quick hands, feet and tongue, which had been his trademarks.

It was a cruel end that someone who had lit up the world so brilliantly had become so dulled.

Yet, typical of Ali he never wallowed in self-pity or courted sympathy.

The sporting world has produced three towering figures, greats in their own fields - Pele, Jack Nicklaus and Ali.

But few would dispute that he truly was The Greatest.