One of the towering figures of the 20th century is dead. Muhammad Ali's fierce independence and poetic soul made him impossible to overlook...and he changed the world. What are your thoughts and memories? With host Duncan McCue.

Muhammad Ali burst on the scene in the 1960s as Cassius Clay, loudly and repeatedly claiming to be the greatest. He was the "mouth that roared," the "Louisville lip" who promised to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee." It wasn't long before he proved the doubters — and there were many — wrong.

He went on to become what many declare the greatest sports figure of the century. He was so much more than a boxing champion. He was also a champion of social, political, and religious freedoms using his own unique rap-style poetry (before rap was invented) to poke and prod at the sensibilities and prejudices of the day.

But he suffered for his words and beliefs, and was at one point stripped of his world heavyweight champion title. Over the years, always a hero and a role model for African Americans, he also won the hearts of so many others throughout the world.

He died wracked by Parkinson's as a king of kings, still a champion to the end for underdogs and the downtrodden.

Guests Dale Walters won an Olympic bronze medal for Canada in boxing at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Danny McGarvie is a boxing promoter and matchmaker. Stephen Brunt is a commentator and columnist with Sportsnet. Mark Lee is a sportscaster who has covered 12 Olympics. Hear Mark tell the story of his one-on-one interview with Muhammad Ali in 1987 on our Facebook page. Dave Zirin is sports editor at The Nation.