Thousands of people of all races and creeds gathered on Thursday for a Muslim funeral service in Muhammad Ali’s hometown in Kentucky to pay their respects to a man who fought in the ring and sought peace outside it.
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The procession will pass by Ali’s boyhood home on the West End, traditionally an African American section of town, and the Muhammad Ali Center, a museum in the center of the mid-sized city, which is also home to the Kentucky Derby.
On Friday afternoon, Ali is honored at an interfaith memorial service at a large sports arena that will bring together heads of state, VIPs and fans alike.
Throngs of supporters are expected to line the streets of his final journey, including Muhammad Ali Boulevard, as the procession starts at 9 a.m. ET through Louisville. Centre will begin at 14:00 local time. It was a few weeks before Ali would refuse to step forward in the draft, and Jackson said his presence in the room both emboldened King and made him feel he had someone powerful on his side.
More than 15,000 people attended the funeral.
Barack Obama will not be present at the funeral of the man he calls a “personal hero” since it coincides with his daughter Malia’s graduation.
“What I learned was that he really was rooting for me the whole time that I was running for the U.S. Senate, running for the presidency”, Obama says. “Do you think you are Muhammad Ali?’ That’s how much he meant to young people growing up in Sudan”.
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett – who knew Ali – will represent the president.
Ali’s pallbearers will include actor Will Smith, who earned an Oscar nomination for playing the title role in the 2001 film “Ali”, and former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis. “He is an icon and a legend of boxing”, he said.
Born Cassius Clay, the boxer converted to Islam in 1964, changing his name to Muhammad Ali and shocking America. It will pause briefly as it overlooks the Muhammad Ali Center in the heart of downtown. “He was the number one”.
The funeral will be live-streamed on the internet and is also being shown at London’s 02 Arena, the site of his I Am The Greatest Exhibition.
The Ali family is not pleased with those trying to sell tickets that were meant to be free.
Tyson took a red-eye flight from Las Vegas to be in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, according to Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell.
“He’s a part of my heart, he was a part of my heart, he was a part of my heart”, Muhammad Ali, who flew from Bangladexh for the Jenazah, said. “Something solid, something big, handsome and life-affirming has left”.
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Boxing promoter Don King, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, were among those at the event.
