The former heavyweight champion was admitted to a Phoenix hospital earlier this week for a respiratory issue.
Muhammad Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine.
John Rooney / AP
Muhammad Ali, a former heavyweight boxing champion and 20th century icon, has been hospitalized and reportedly is in grave condition.
Ali was hospitalized this week in Phoenix for a "respiratory issue," according to a statement from his spokesperson Bob Gunnell. The hospital stay was originally expected to be brief, Gunnell said.
NBC News and the Los Angeles Times reported Friday that Ali was in "grave" condition and his family had gathered at his bedside. According to the Times, Ali was on life support.
Gunnell did not immediately respond to a BuzzFeed News request for comment Friday.
A spokesperson for Laila Ali, Muhammad Ali's daughter, said her "number one priority is her father's well-being." The statement said Laila was with her father.
"She truly appreciates the outpouring of love for her family, as she spends quality time with her dad," Amber Noble Garland, Laila's spokesperson, said.
Ali suffers from Parkinson's disease, according to Gunnell's statement, and was being treated by his doctors.
Muhammad Ali is shown before the Ali Humanitarian Awards ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky on Sept. 27, 2014.
Timothy D. Easley / AP
Born Cassius Clay, Jr., Ali rose to fame in the early 1960s as he racked up a series of boxing victories. After defeating Sonny Liston he became the World Heavyweight Champion.
In 1964, after his first victory over Liston, Ali announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam. His conversion initially led him to change his name to Cassius X, but Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad later renamed him Muhammad Ali.
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