The WBC Silver welterweight title holder, now in Pakistan to open a boxing academy and carry out charity work, said Ali’s larger-than-life personality had earned him millions of fans around the globe.
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Boxing legend Muhammad Ali sits with his wife, Yolanda, as they await the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, in Washington on January 20, 2009. They came despite the pouring rain to pay tribute to his brother, The Greatest, Muhammad Ali.
The sports hero, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease for decades, passed away in a Phoenix-area hospital here where he had been admitted earlier in the week after suffering from respiratory problems.
President Barack Obama offered his condolences Saturday on the death of Muhammad Ali, joining millions of Americans in recalling how the fighter inspired him. Muhammad Ali was a pop culture phenomenon who brought a form of poetry to the boxing ring: his interviews were as lyrical as some of the best popular music.
Boxer Roy Jones Jr. also said in a Tweet: “My heart is deeply saddened yet both appreciative and relieved that the greatest is now resting in the greatest place”.
Foreman also tweeted a photo of himself with Ali and another rival, Joe Frazier, writing in another tweet that they “were 1 guy”.
“His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing”, he continues.
Muhammad Ali will grace the cover of Sports Illustrated for the 40th time when new editions hit the stands June 8.
NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote in a Facebook post late Friday night, “Today we bow our heads at the loss of a man who did so much for America”.
“Muhammad Ali is dead at 74!” President Obama made a touching speech in his honor.
“He was a really sweet, kind, loving, giving, affectionate, wonderful person”, Rahaman said, wearing a cap that read “Ali”, the last letter formed by the silhouette of a boxer ready to pounce. “Ali will never die”.
“There is no limit to what our kids can do if we help them realize their full human potential and there is no excuse to do anything less the our best to help them find that greatness in themselves”.
House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted, “Rest in peace, Champ”.
Daniel Wilson was one year behind Ali at Central High School and remembered he was so committed to his conditioning that he didn’t get on the school bus like everybody else.
Reflecting Ali’s reach far beyond boxing, numerous biggest names in world politics also remembered a man who stuck up for his beliefs – and for those less influential than himself. “We rode on Muhammad Ali’s shoulders”.
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“Through triumph and trials”, Clinton said, Ali “became even greater than his legend”.
