The chief of the YTL conglomerate recounted his meeting with the legendary boxer at the Celebrity Fight Night charity event, where he received the Muhammad Ali Award for Philantrophy.
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“This was very important for me because I was a very very big fan of Muhammad Ali”. He raised his hands to the sky, eyes closed, surrounded by congregants at the church where the brothers’ father once worshipped.
The importance of Muhammad Ali goes beyond boxing and embeds itself in the turbulent times in the 1960s, during the African-American Civil Rights Movement, when the boxer refused military service in Vietnam and called for the equality of all people regardless of religion, social status and skin color.
Scores of people of all faiths and races packed River Road Mosque at the Louisville Islamic Center for an interfaith service to celebrate Ali, a man who made his living through violence but who preached peace outside the boxing ring.
They say the “Great One” was a great inspiration not only as an athlete, but as an ambassador for the religion.
Louisvillians mourning the loss of their hometown heavyweight champion turned out to create makeshift memorials of flowers and signs at the Ali Center and his childhood home in west Louisville.
They did not mention Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump by name, but the reasons for the theme were clear.
Saban said he has often referenced Ali to his Crimson Tide teams.
“We all tried to stay strong and whispered in his ear, ‘You can go now”.
“I was sorry to hear about his death” said Peter Hardy, sometime war reporter (fittingly) with the Daily Express, who was a sent to interview him – circa 1981 – for a “Rumble in Victoria” at a London boxing club. He was the most famous person on earth and one of its most revered; celebrated because he could jab and dance in the ring but could also take a punch and hold his ground outside of it.
Dr. Muhammad Babar pondered who, without Ali, might “testify for our innocence in this season of witch hunting”. He also said: “It’s just a job”. He painted a mural of Jesus’ baptism that still hangs behind the pulpit. “There can only be one Muhammad Ali, but his journey from Grand Avenue to global icon serves as a reminder that there are young people with the potential for greatness in the houses and neighborhoods all over our city, our nation, our world”, he said. A photo of Ali, who died Friday at age 74, was shown on the jumbo screen overlooking the Court Philippe Chatrier. “But Ali stood his ground”, Obama said.
Elliott’s father, the Rev. Charles Elliott Jr., knew Muhammad Ali for decades.
After seeing his older brother for the last time in the hospital Rahaman said some of Ali’s final words were about “going to Allah”.
“He was asked every question that you could ask a person, and he came through as totally honest”, Brown said. “I’ll give you a check, ‘” the elder Elliott said. But the gym, at least a new version of it, still exists in Miami Beach, with photos of Ali on the walls – partly to pay homage to the past, partly to inspire the fighters who train there now.
Ali’s family ultimately removed him from life support on Friday, Gunnell said.
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Famed fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco once said: “Cassius Clay was born in Louisville”.
