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Boxing promoter Don King remembers Ali : His spirit lives on
Religious and political leaders joined celebrities, sports stars and tens of thousands of ordinary people on Friday (Saturday in the Philippines) in bidding farewell to Muhammad Ali, a man boxing promoter Don King called "the people's champion."
Ali, a once-controversial convert to Islam who lost three prime years of his boxing career for refusing US military service during the Vietnam War, died a week ago at age 74 as one of the most respected men in the United States.
Wife Lonnie Ali, former US President Bill Clinton and leaders from an array of religions eulogized a man who went from Olympic gold medal winner in 1960 to three-time heavyweight champion to an elder statesman suffering from Parkinson's disease.
The ceremony proved to be a rare combination of politics, sports, entertainment and religion, a testimony of Ali's impact on so many aspects of life, attracting former champion boxers Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, as well as former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who, like Ali, converted to Islam and changed his name.
Boxing promoter Don King was involved in the iconic Rumble in the Jungle boxing match in between Ali and heavyweight champion George Foreman. King said Ali fought not just for himself, but for everyone.
"He's a fighter by the people and he became the people's champion," he told a Reuters reporter.
"The defining role was the Rumble in the Jungle you know what I mean, but his spirit will never die. You know what I mean, his body is gone, but his spirit lives on. And I'm just so happy that God blessed me with an opportunity to share life with him. And him and I together was a combination that was undeniable, unbeatable."
Earlier in the day, an estimated 100,000 people came out to honor Ali on a hot and sunny day, chanting his name and throwing flowers along the route of a 37-km funeral procession unlike any other in recent US history. — Reuters
