Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., in January, 1942, Ali started boxing at age 12, and earned the nickname, “The Louisville Lip”, for his quick wit and flamboyant fighting style.
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Tributes cover the pavements of Louisville in memory of boxing legend Muhammad Ali as actor Will Smith and former boxing world champion Lennox Lewis prepare to serve as pallbearers at the funeral.
Louisville, the largest city in the southern state of Kentucky and home to 600,000 people, will play host Thursday and Friday to a mass public celebration of Ali’s life. It will be open to the public and streamed live on the internet at alicenter.org.
Members of his family will attend a private family funeral before joining members of the public for the Jenazah – also a ticket event – at the Freedom Hall in Louisville.
The memorial service of Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, will be followed by a private funeral where former United States president Bill Clinton will participate, Efe news reported.
Bob Gunnell, spokesman for the Ali family, said: “I’m personally disgusted and amazed that someone would try to profit off of Muhammad Ali’s memorial service”.
The 74-year-old three-time heavyweight champion, who died on Friday, wanted the memorial service in an arena.
“I didn’t know that he continued to follow my work; I certainly followed him, what he was doing and the courage he did it with”, Lerner said.
Ali died June 3 from septic shock due to unspecified natural causes after a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s syndrome.
Funeral services are planned for this weekend in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where the city plans to hold a memorial.
Ali is internationally recognised as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
He won and defended the heavyweight championship in epic fights in exotic locations, spoke loudly on behalf of blacks, and famously refused to be drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War because of his Muslim beliefs.
Former US President Bill Clinton will deliver a eulogy while comedian Billy Crystal and sports journalist Bryant Gumbel are also expected to speak.
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“It’s only fitting that the people have the opportunity to send him off with a very robust commemoration so we thank the family for that”, Shakir said Monday during the same press conference.
