Rest In Peace Muhammad Ali

[Lurker]

a little bit late but here the news about a week ago :

 

Muhammad Ali, the former world heavyweight boxing champion and one of sport's most influential individuals, has died aged 74.

Ali, who earnt the nickname 'The Greatest', had suffered from Parkinson's Disease since 1984.

Follow live as the world reacts to the death of the celebrated boxer and public figure.

 

5:55AM - Tributes pour in for The Greatest

 

Muhammad Ali was loved and respected all around the world, and tributes to the champion have poured in from sports stars and world leaders.

George Foreman, who lost to Ali in the 1974 world championship fight, The Rumble in the Jungle, said that there was no question that Ali was the greatest.

 

"He is one of those special people," Foreman told The Daily Telegraph. "He was one of those things you see maybe only once in a lifetime. Like a total eclipse. 

"You are not going to see anything like that again. Boxing doesn’t do enough to define what he was.

 

"He was the greatest personality that sports has ever seen, or ever will see. He was the greatest personality ever." Foreman recalled that along with great admiration, he was also fiercely jealous of his old adversary.

 

"He had everything – charisma, charm, looks and great athletic ability – and you hated him because the guy was handsome. You thought 'If I could just mess his face up a little', but you couldn’t get near him in that ring," he said.

 

It was not just Ali's prowess in the ring that inspired a generation. Barack Obama explained that the fighter's determination to come back to the top of the sport after four years of self-imposed exile for his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War was the quality he admired the most.

 

"I was still in grade school when Ali made his extraordinary comeback after nearly four years of exile and later shocked the world by winning his title back," the US president said.

"It was this quality of Ali’s that I have always admired the most: his unique ability to summon extraordinary strength and courage in the face of adversity, to navigate the storm and never lose his way.

 

"This is the quality I’m reminded of when I look at the iconic photo I’ve had hanging on my wall of the young fighter standing over Sonny Liston.

"And in the end, it was this quality that would come to define not just Ali the boxer but Ali the man — the Ali I know who made his most lasting contribution as his physical powers ebbed, becoming a force for reconciliation and peace around the world."

 

Former British world heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, meanwhile, said that Ali had inspired him when he was a young child to go on and become a champion himself.

"Muhammad Ali inspired me to chase my dreams in and out of the ring. He meant a great deal to me. I kind of fashioned my whole career after him. Watching him on television as a youngster really did something to me," Lewis told The Daily Telegraph.

 

"I loved his flashiness, I loved what he stood for, like going against America in the Vietnam War. I loved the fact that he always had helpful advice, was a nice man that he was very religious, that he wanted to help people."

 

5:51AM - Funeral set for Louisville

 

The boxer passed away after being admitted to hospital for a respiratory issue on Thursday. His family had been at his bedside on Friday as his condition worsened. 

A statement from the spokesman said the Ali family "would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and support" and asked for privacy.

The funeral will take place in Ali's home town of Louisville, Kentucky.

 

5:36AM - Ali's death confirmed

 

Family's spokesman Bob Gunnell has confirmed that Muhammad Ali has died in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday evening local time.

 

source news :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/04/boxing-legend-muhammad-ali-dies-aged-74-latest/

[3dbu]

Ali was a hero and a great man , is great how he united all person, regards.