Muhammad Ali was laid to rest in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky on Friday.
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The pallbearers included former boxers Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis and actor Will Smith, who played Ali in the movies.
Following the procession, thousands gathered for a public memorial, where eulogies were given by former US President, Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal. Orrin Hatch, who remembered the three-time heavyweight champion at his funeral on Friday.
Louisville is accustomed to being in the limelight each May when the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs captures the world’s attention.
The 17-car motorcade set out for a Louisville cemetery on a 19-mile route that was expected to take Ali’s body past his boyhood home, the gym where he first learned to box and the museum that bears his name, via Muhammad Ali Boulevard.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Former President Bill Clinton presented Ali with a Citizens Medal in 2001, and spoke at the dedication of the Ali Center four years later. Ali! when a Muslim religious leader welcomed the audience to the home of the peoples champ..
“He was a tremendous bolt of lightning, created by Mother Nature out of thin air, a fantastic combination of power and beauty”, comedian Billy Crystal said in an address that had the crowd of about 15,000 laughing at almost every turn. He was lovely. He was the most ideal athlete you ever saw, and those were his own words.
After recounting the ways that Ali dazzled the world with his strength and wit, Clinton went on to recall how the man showed even greater strength in the way he confronted his Parkinson’s disease.
For me, it feels in a way that in death, Ali has emerged to bring a better understanding to exactly just what his impact has been here in Louisville.
The more than three-hour memorial capped almost a full day of mourning in Louisville for Ali, the three-time heavyweight champion of the world who died last week at 74 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. You know, for me, it’s just humbling to be able to be here with the family in this time of need.
Ali’s widow Lonnie told mourners that her husband wanted his death to be a moment of teaching to the world, about never giving up and about peace. Lonnie Ali also spoke of how Muhammad Ali got into boxing.
BRYANT GUMBEL, Host, HBO’s “Real Sports”: Some of us like him took pride in being black, bold and brash.
The ex-heavyweight champion and rights activist died last Friday aged 74.
“I think he decided something that I hope every young person here will decide, I think he decided very young to write his own life story”, he said. “He dared to love black people at a time when black people had a problem loving themselves”. I like to think that his words made them doubt the forces who signed their paychecks.
People of all walks of life and of many faiths will be speaking about what Muhammad Ali meant to them, and what Atlanta meant to Ali.
“America must never forget that when a cop and an inner-city kid talk to each other, then miracles can happen”, she said to massive applause. Jeez, if a hurler turned around said, ‘we’ll win tomorrow’.
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From the deep heart-warming eulogies delivered from President Barack Obama (Duly represented by Valerie Jarret) and co to the strong political statements embellished in them, the occasion was everything worthy for a man who has offered the world a great service.
