Lieberman said he didn’t think boxing contributed to Ali contracting Parkinson’s disease but he couldn’t be “a hundred per cent” certain.
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Ali was arguably the most beloved and recognized sports figured in the world – but it was not always that way.
“Everything that we’re doing here was blessed by Muhammad Ali, and was requested”, Mr Gunnell told journalists.
Daughter Hana Ali tweeted, “Our hearts are literally hurting”.
The funeral of the former three-time world boxing heavyweight champion will be held on 10 June at Louisville, Kentucky, where people will be allowed to pay their respects.
For those who do not receive tickets, the funeral will be live-streamed on the Jumbotron outside of the Yum!
On hand were boxing greats Gerry Cooney and Saoul Mamby, both of whom were inspired by Ali.
Ali died Friday night near Phoenix, officially from septic shock due to unspecified natural causes.
One of the services will be held at Ali’s last hometown fight in Louisville, Kentucky; the jenazah, will take place on June 9 at Freedom Hall, where Ali defeated Willi Besmanoff on November 29, 1961.
Earlier in the week he was admitted to hospital with respiratory issues linked to Parkinson’s disease, which he had been diagnosed with in 1984.
The Dalai Lama was invited, but sent regrets that he will be unable to attend. The interfaith service will also include eulogies delivered by Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal, Bryant Gumbel, and Ali’s widow, Lonnie.
“There was nobody on this Earth more famous than Muhammad Ali, he was known in every country”, he said.
The president of Turkey and king of Jordan joined the long line of world leaders, religious figures and superstars set to speak at Muhammad Ali’s funeral Friday.
In the statement, the president and his wife wrote about Ali’s skills as an athlete, a poet, and an advocate for black Americans before and during the Civil Rights era, in For the Win USA Today.
Ali’s family members knew the icon did not belong to them alone.
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Ali will be buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, with only a modest marker, in accordance with Muslim tradition, planned.
