TRIBUTES have been paid to Muhammad Ali who has died at the age of 74, by a Rawdon journalist who knew him intimately and covered all his fights.

John Rimington was a Fleet Street correspondent based in Las Vegas for 25 years and became close to the three times world heavyweight champion, who has died in hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona, after being admitted last Thursday.

Ali had been suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition complicated by Parkinson's disease.

"During those Las Vegas years, I met Muhammad Ali many times," said Mr Rimington, who is the author of The Last Hurrah – a book about Ali's ill-advised final fight with Larry Holmes.

"I attended all his fights on which I reported from ringside and interviewed him both before and afterwards.

"I'll leave it to the boxing pundits to decide whether he was the best boxer of all time. But to me he was, as he so often boasted, The Greatest."

Ali also provided a magical moment for young Pippa Midgley, from Horsforth, who was holidaying with her parents at Caesar's Palace Las Vegas in 1980, where the boxer was promoting his upcoming fight with Larry Holmes.

"Ali picked little Pippa up and said: 'I'm the greatest, but you the cutest. You are going to be my lucky charm'," Mr Rimington recalled.

"Holmes then approached and tied to snatch Pippa from Ali's arms saying: 'Hey, that's my gal. She's the champ's sweetheart and I'm the champ.'

"Ali did his famous side shuffle and said: 'I was here first, this kid's a knockout. If you want her you'll have to knock me out.'

"They then had a mock fist fight before Pippa piped up: 'My teacher told me big boys shouldn't fight over girls.'"

Mr Rimington said the 38-year-old Ali should never have stepped into the ring with Holmes, a battle he lost on a technical knock-out in the 11th round and left him broken in his corner.

"He made an unwise decision to come out of retirement in an attempt to win the crown for an unprecedented fourth time.

"Ali was a victim of his own incomparable fame and status. People had such faith in him that if he said he was going to do something, no matter how illogical, they believed he would do as he said.

"His ego told him he could still win, but really he had no chance and the fight should never have happened. But then he was, and will always be, The Greatest."