Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Marcellus Clay, about to punch Hungarian-born British boxer Joe Bugner, in their title fight at the Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
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Earlier in the day, an estimated 100,000 people came out to honour Ali on a hot and sunny day, chanting his name and throwing flowers along the route of a 23-mile (37-km) funeral procession unlike any other in recent USA history.
The cherry-red casket was draped in an Islamic shroud was loaded into the hearse around 10:30 a.m.by a group of pallbearers that included Smith and former boxers Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
Hours before the indoor ceremony, some 1,500 people gathered outside Ali’s boyhood home in a traditionally African-American section of town, awaiting the procession. Others were quiet and reverent as the champ went by. She said he had wanted his memorial service to be used to promote his ideals.
Rumors that Donald Trump would attend were quashed Friday morning when Gunnell said the Republican presidential candidate called Ali’s wife, Lonnie, to inform her that he was unable to make it.
FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: I think he decided, before he could possibly have worked it all out, and before fate and time could work their will on him, he decided that he wouldn’t be ever disempowered.
There is one word on his headstone.
The interfaith memorial service led by an imam began in the mid-afternoon at a huge sports arena, bringing together VIPs and fans alike.
The processional moved throughout the city Louisville, visiting some of the places that bear his name – the Ali Center museum and Muhammad Ali Blvd., and then the route went by his childhood home where the crowds were the largest, barely letting the procession through the streets. And concluded with, “Ali taught us that life is best when we build bridges between people, not walls”. When the actor saw him for the first time in person Crystal admitted: “I couldn’t stop looking at him.He was amusing, he was handsome”. Orrin Hatch, who remembered the three-time heavyweight champion at his funeral on Friday.
“The world will literally be watching tomorrow as Muhammad’s processional and memorial service are broadcast to a global audience”. “He did a tremendous job playing that role, and he will forever be associated with my father, because as an actor, that’s kind of a spiritual thing, playing Muhammad Ali – and being able to do it so well”.
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“I was very surprised that it was none other than the champion”, Hatch said. Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, planned to read a letter from Obama at the service. From an early age, Muhammad Ali was breaking barriers and unifying people. Thousands of free tickets were snatched up within an hour, many fans waiting hours for the chance to witness history. From his boxing championships to his stance on the Vietnam War to his hope for world peace, judging by the high praise at his funeral and the worldwide response to the loss of him, it is clear how Muhammad Ali earned the moniker “The Greatest”. City buses flashed “Ali – The Greatest” in orange lights across their marquees.
