Muhammad Ali: Foreign leaders to attend funeral

Known for his voice and pride, grit and guile, Ali lived almost half of his life with the disease, which robbed him of his motor skills and speech – but throughout his physical decline, he remained an inspiration for his hundreds of millions of fans.

Actor Will Smith, who played the title role in the 2001 film “Ali”, and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be among eight pallbearers, according to organizers.

He was the heavy favourite and had been expected to retire his challenger there in Zaire, when Ali secured perhaps the finest victory of his decorated career by masterfully stopping him in eight rounds. However, unlike Liston, Ali managed to regain the crown a short time later and retired as the heavyweight champion in 1979.

“When we look at the history of the African-American community, one important factor in popularizing Islam in America is Muhammad Ali”, Warith Deen Mohammed II, son of the former Nation of Islam leader, said in a statement.

“I’m happy for that even though I will miss him deeply”. He is remembered for his epic showdowns with Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Joe Frazier.

“There can only be one Muhammad Ali, but his journey from Grand Avenue to global icon serves as a reminder that there are young people with the potential for greatness in the houses and neighborhoods all over our city, our nation, our world”, he said. “I’ll give you a check'”.

Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Laila Ali, says she doesn’t “feel alone” following the death of her father on June 3.

“He was a lovely friend”. It got to the point when the children would put me on FaceTime with him.

Muhammad Ali’s younger brother wept, swayed to hymns and hugged anyone he could reach. And from that point on I stayed close to him.

It will take place at the Freedom Hall, in downtown Louisville, where “The Greatest” made his professional debut, out-pointing Tunney Hunsaker on October 29, 1960.

“He said to me, shaking, ‘Rahaman, how do I look?'” Rahaman said. He’s an old man and he hasn’t spoken to anybody in years and I wouldn’t go in there.’ And Muhammad said, ‘No, I want to go in there’. And you know what? “Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing”. Just like that girl said, he was attractive. “You saw him walking down the street, he was a lovely thing to see”.

“I thought he should have been better off given the nature of who he was and the people he was taking care of”, she said.

Among the most widely-recalled memories of his life surround the night when, struggling with Parkinson’s, he lit the torch at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Ali will be buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, where he was born in 1942.