The world invited to say goodbye to a champion
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THE world is invited to the funeral of Muhammad Ali in his hometown on Friday where the boxing legend’s life will be celebrated with a public funeral procession and memorial service, a family spokesman said yesterday.
Ali, a three-time world heavyweight champion and civil rights activist who was an iconic figure of the 20th century, died on Friday at the age of 74 from health problems complicated by a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
After a private family funeral on Thursday, Ali’s coffin will be transported through the streets of Louisville, his hometown in the southern state of Kentucky, on Friday, before a public memorial service at an arena, with former President Bill Clinton among celebrities expected to offer eulogies.
The procession has been organized to “allow anyone that is there from the world to say goodbye,” family spokesman Bob Gunnell told reporters.
Louisville flew flags at half-staff in his honor, as fans flocked to the boxer’s modest childhood home, now a museum, to pay their respects.
“Our hearts are literally hurting. But we are happy daddy is free now,” Ali’s daughter Hana Ali tweeted.
US President Barack Obama led tributes for Ali, issuing an unusually personal statement in which he said he keeps a pair of Ali’s boxing gloves and a photo in his private study.
“Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period,” Obama said. “His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground.”
Obama later called Ali’s widow Lonnie to offer condolences, the White House said.
Ali was admitted to hospital early last week, but his condition quickly deteriorated.
“His final hours were spent with just immediate family,” Gunnell said. “He did not suffer.”
Ali had been living in the Phoenix area with Lonnie, his fourth wife whom he married in 1986. He is survived by nine children — seven daughters and two sons.
Ali will be buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, where he was born in 1942.
Walk of Fame tributes
Outside the family home and the hospital in Scottsdale, fans left flowers, letters and mementos.
They also gathered in Los Angeles to snap photos and leave flowers at Ali’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Ali had been in hospital several times in recent years.
His Parkinson’s had limited his public speaking, but he continued to make appearances and statements via his entourage.
Ali’s career stretched from 1960 to 1981 and he retired with a 56-5 record, including historic bouts such as the “Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman.
“He hit me with a quick one-two, knocked me down to the canvas and my whole life changed,” Foreman said of the fight. “I was devastated. Little did I know I would make the best friend I ever had in my life.”
Other career-defining moments included two knockouts of Sonny Liston and his rivalry with Joe Frazier
Ali — born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr on January 17, 1942 — dazzled fans with his moves in the ring and his engaging persona outside it. He famously said he could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
He took the name Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam in 1964, soon after he stunned the sport by claiming the world title with a monumental upset of Liston.
Ali’s refusal to serve in the Vietnam War saw him prosecuted for draft evasion, and led to him being effectively banned for boxing for three years of his prime. The US Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1971.
Ali held firm to his beliefs and eventually earned accolades as a civil rights activist.
He received the highest US civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2005 and was chosen to light the Olympic torch in 1996, his hands trembling due to Parkinson’s — a poignant moment for the sports world.
Floyd Mayweather, who retired from boxing last year with a perfect 49-0 record, was in awe when met Ali in 1996.
Twenty years on, he summarized Ali’s legacy: “Never be afraid. Never stop believing. And never settle for less.”
Mayweather’s great rival Manny Pacquiao said: “Boxing benefited from Muhammad Ali’s talents, but not as much as mankind benefited from his humanity.”
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