Inside a big sports arena, the likes of former United States president Bill Clinton, actor and comedian Billy Crystal, television personality Bryant Gumbel, religious leaders and family members spoke weighty and witty words about Muhammad Ali not long after the boxing legend was laid to rest. Children ran alongside the long, black cars as they passed one by one, making no distinction between the one that carried Ali’s cherry-red casket, draped in an Islamic shroud, and the ones that carried his friends and family. Thousands of mourners attended, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will not be present at the interfaith service Friday. “God bless you my friend, go in peace”, said Clinton.
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“Before James Brown said, ‘I’m black and I’m proud, ‘ Muhammad Ali said, ‘I’m black and I’m pretty, ‘” Cosby told a crowd in the arena, referring to the 1960s R&B singer.
Louisville residents line the street in Ali’s hometown. His religion, his beliefs, his name were his fashion, no matter what the cost.
“He wanted us to use his life and his death as a teaching moment for young people, for his country, and for the world. It can not rob you of the power to dream, and to reach your dreams”. Among the scheduled speakers: Bill Clinton, comedian Billy Crystal and TV journalist Bryant Gumbel.
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. “Not his race, not his place, not the expectations of others whether positive or negative would strip from him the power to write his own story”.
“He was amusing, he was attractive, he was the most flawless athlete that you ever saw and those were his own words”, said Crystal, a longtime pal who Ali called “my little brother”.
Others brought their mothers and their daughters because Muhammad Ali promoted a message that crosses all generations.
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 from high school.
Muhammad Ali’s coffin was loaded into a hearse before the start of Friday’s procession through Louisville, Ky. Some 14,000 free tickets were issued to attend the funeral.
The procession is to take the body of Ali, who died June 3 at age 74, past landmarks such as his boyhood home on the West End, traditionally an African-American section of town, and the Muhammad Ali Center, a museum in the centre of Louisville.
The procession took the same route the legendary boxer’s victory parade did in 1960, when he celebrated winning a gold medal at the Rome Olympics.
Clinton then thanked Ali’s wife of nearly 30 years, Lonnie, for “making the second half of his life greater than the first”.
He is also the only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion, having won the titles in 1964, 1974 and 1978.
He was crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC.
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Tyson caught a late flight to be part of the ceremonies and was added to the group of pallbearers that also includes actor Will Smith – who played Ali in the movies – and former champ Lennox Lewis.
