Memorial for Muhammad Ali grows outside Ariz. hospital

PHOENIX — As news spread of the passing of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, a makeshift memorial for him grew outside the Scottsdale hospital where he died late Friday night at age 74.

Outside HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, local Ali admirers trickled in throughout Saturday morning to pay respects to their fallen idol.

"I've been following Ali since I was a kid," said 57-year-old Lynn Boyd Jr. of Sun City. He wore a gray T-shirt with a photo of Ali captioned “#GreatestOfAllTime” underneath. "I just wanted to come out and see where he passed away."

Boyd brought his 9-year-old son, Jayden, to the sidewalk memorial Saturday morning to tell him more about a man he revered.

"He's definitely the greatest," Boyd said. "(And) he was a better man than he was a boxer."

Boyd recalled Ali's impact on his life and said he wished he could have met the iconic boxer.

Posted on a pole alongside Drinkwater Boulevard, a sepia-toned print of Ali with a young Michael Jackson is the site of numerous candles, flowers and notes.

Jayden looked at the poster and said Jackson was his idol, but that his father's whispers have taught him Ali "was a great man and he did a lot of things for other people."

Ali's family members reportedly arrived at the Scottsdale hospital earlier Friday to be by his side as his condition worsened. On Saturday morning, Hana Ali posted a statement on Twitter about her father's passing and thanked people for their love and support.

"Our hearts are literally hurting," she wrote. "But we are so happy daddy is free now.