"""Rest In Peace Muhammad Ali"""

[1stRambo]

Yo, he was a Great Fighter, one of the Best of All Times!!!



"GTP"

 

[indago]

We already have one of these...

POSTED

 

[1stRambo]

We already have one of these...

POSTED

Yo, now there are two!!!

"GTP"

 

[Harry Dresden]

actually now there are 4 maybe even 5.....yo!.....

 

[waltky]

Septic shock caused Muhammad Ali death, tributes pour in...

Muhammad Ali: Septic shock caused boxing legend's death
Sat, 04 Jun 2016 - Muhammad Ali died of 'septic shock due to unspecified natural causes', his family says, announcing a public funeral for the boxing legend on Friday.

The three-time world heavyweight champion - one of the world's greatest sporting figures - died on Friday night at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. The 74-year-old had been suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson's disease. A public funeral will be held for the boxer on Friday in his hometown of Louisville in Kentucky. "He was a citizen of the world and would want people from all walks of life to be able to attend his funeral," said the family spokesman, Bob Gunnell.

Former US President Bill Clinton is among those who will give a eulogy at the service, and was one of many prominent global figures who paid tribute to Ali on Saturday, saying he lived a life "full of religious and political convictions that led him to make tough choices and live with the consequences". The legendary Brazilian footballer, Pele, said the sporting universe had suffered a huge loss. "Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it," said US President Barack Obama.

A memorial for boxing legend Muhammad Ali is seen outside the Overthrow Boxing Club in New York​

Ali was as much a campaigner for black equality as he was a champion in the ring, where he won 56 of his 61 fights. Asked how he would like to be remembered, he once said: "As a man who never sold out his people. But if that's too much, then just a good boxer. "I won't even mind if you don't mention how pretty I was." But he was once a polarising figure in the US. At a time of racial segregation in the 1960s he joined the separatist black sect, the Nation of Islam, which rejected the inclusive approach of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King.

George Foreman, who lost his world title to Ali in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in Kinshasa in 1974, called him one of the greatest human beings he had ever met. "To put him as a boxer is an injustice," said Foreman. American civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson said Ali had been willing to sacrifice the crown and money for his principles when in 1967 he refused to serve in the Vietnam war. That decision was widely criticised by the boxer's fellow Americans. He was stripped of his title and had to put his fighting career on hold for three years.

MORE

See also:

Ali plea to free journalist was 'turning point'
Jun. 4, 2016 - The Latest on the death of Muhammad Ali (all times EDT):

7 p.m.

Journalist Jason Rezaian says that when he heard Muhammad Ali called for his release from an Iranian prison, it was a "turning point" for him. Rezaian wrote in a Washington Post column that knowing Ali publicly acknowledged him was "everything to me." Rezaian was arrested in July 2014. He was behind bars until January when he was released as part of a prisoner exchange between the United States and Iran. Officials never specified why Rezaian was arrested. He learned of Ali's comments while imprisoned. Rezaian wrote Saturday that since Ali is revered in Iran, several prison guards started to treat him with more respect. "That Muhammad Ali, a black Muslim, is one of our great national icons speaks to what is right about this country," he wrote.

6:25 p.m.

If there's one thing the candidates vying for the presidency agree on, it's that Muhammed Ali was The Greatest. Campaigning in California ahead of the state's critical primary, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton remembered Ali with a subtle jab against the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump. Clinton said the U.S. is a country "where people can break down barriers, where they can worship their own God, where they can choose their own name." Trump took to Twitter to remember the boxing great, saying Ali is "a truly great champion and a wonderful guy. He will be missed by all!" Democrat Bernie Sanders also commemorated Ali with a jab at Trump: "He is, you know, what a hero, what a great man, and I say to all the people who are intimidated, and I've been all over the country and talk to Muslim people who say, 'You know, Bernie, our kids are now afraid.' I say to those people, one of the great American heroes in modern history was the great Muhammad Ali, a very proud Muslim. And don't tell us how much you love Muhammad Ali, and yet you're going to be prejudiced against Muslims in the country."

5:35 p.m.

NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West got to know Muhammad Ali long before he was a heavyweight champion. West played for USA Basketball in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, when Ali was a young, up-and-coming boxer named Cassius Clay. "I had heard of him a little bit, this kind of teenage sensation," West said. "Once you got there, my goodness, you could hear him coming from a mile away. A big smile, big personality, even then before he became a world champion. He was a magnificent person." West saw Ali fight professionally several times and said: "I loved that guy. I really did. "Being around him, you almost felt like a God-like presence," West said. "You really did. He had it. He had it."

5:25 p.m.

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James says he watched a replay of the "Thrilla in Manila" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier after learning of Ali's death. James lauded Ali for taking a stand on social issues and said he tries to follow in those footsteps by using his platform to speak for what he believes in. "When an icon like Muhammad Ali passes away, it's very emotional," James said a day before the Cavs play Game 2 of the NBA Finals against Golden State. "It's also gratifying to know that a guy, one man, would sacrifice so much in his individual life knowing that it would better the next generation of men and women after him. "Today I can go to China and all over the world and people know my name and know my face. I give all credit to Muhammad Ali because he was the first icon. He is the GOAT. He's the greatest of all time and it has zero to do with his accomplishments inside the ring."

4:15 p.m.

 

[waltky]

Ali's funeral to be open to the public...

Muhammad Ali's funeral 'open to everybody'
Monday 6th June, 2016 | The dazzling fighter - whose words, often delivered in catchy rhymes, were as devastating as his punches - died on Friday aged 74.

LOUISVILLE: The world is invited to the funeral of Muhammad Ali in his hometown on Friday where the boxing legend's life will be celebrated with a public funeral procession and memorial service, a family spokesman said. Ali, a three-time world heavyweight champion and civil rights activist who was an iconic figure of the 20th century, died Friday aged 74 after health problems complicated by a long battle with Parkinson's disease. The official cause of death was septic shock due to unspecified natural causes. The dazzling fighter - whose words, often delivered in catchy rhymes, were as devastating as his punches - had been admitted to an Arizona hospital earlier in the week. Political leaders, sports figures, celebrities and fans around the world paused to remember "The Greatest," whose career spanned three decades.

Muhammad Ali trains at his Pennsylvanian mountain retreat in Owigsburg, Pennsylvania, on August 27, 1974 for his fight against George Foreman in Zaire.​

On Sunday, Ali's relatives will accompany his body from Scottsdale, Arizona to Louisville, his hometown in the southern state of Kentucky. After a private family funeral on Thursday, Ali's coffin will be transported through the streets of Louisville on Friday, before a public memorial service at an arena, with former president Bill Clinton among celebrities expected to offer eulogies. The procession has been organized to "allow anyone that is there from the world to say goodbye," family spokesman Bob Gunnell told reporters. Louisville lowered flags to half-staff in his honor, as fans flocked to the boxer's modest childhood home, now a museum, to pay their respects. "Our hearts are literally hurting. But we are happy daddy is free now," Ali's daughter Hana Ali wrote on Twitter.

'HE DID NOT SUFFER'

President Barack Obama led tributes for Ali, issuing an unusually personal statement in which he said he keeps a pair of Ali's boxing gloves and a photo in his private study. "Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period," Obama said. "His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground," Obama said. Obama later called Ali's widow Lonnie to offer condolences, the White House said. In a possible preview of Bill Clinton's eulogy, he and his wife Hillary, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said Ali was "a blend of beauty and grace, speed and strength that may never be matched again." Ali was hospitalized in the Phoenix area early this week, but his condition quickly deteriorated. "His final hours were spent with just immediate family," Gunnell said. "He did not suffer."

Fans of the late Muhammad Ali come to pay their respects at the Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky​

Ali had been living in the Phoenix area with Lonnie, his fourth wife whom he married in 1986. He was survived by nine children - seven daughters and two sons. The fighter himself planned much of the memorial events, Gunnell said. The interfaith service is to be conducted at Louisville's KFC Yum! Center in accordance with "Muslim tradition" and in the presence of an imam. Ali will be buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, where he was born in 1942. Outside the family home in Louisville and the hospital in Scottsdale, fans left flowers, letters and mementos. "He just represents everything that was good about mankind and it's sad to see him go," said James Brice. Fans also gathered in Los Angeles to snap photos and leave flowers at Ali's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ali had been hospitalized multiple times in recent years. His Parkinson's had limited his public speaking, but Ali continued to make appearances and statements via his entourage.

'THE GREATEST OF ALL TIMES'

See also:

Muhammad Ali: Hometown mourns the 'Louisville Lip'
Sun, 05 Jun 2016 - Tributes to a local hero who became an international star

As day broke on a hazy Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky, many residents woke up to the news: hometown hero and world famous boxer Muhammad Ali is dead. Although the 74-year-old heavyweight champion had struggled publicly with Parkinson's disease for decades, his death still came to many locals as a shock. "I wouldn't have thought he'd go that quick," said Kevin Ishmael, a saw operator who was one of the first to lay a bouquet at the Muhammad Ali Center, an expansive museum on the waterfront in downtown Louisville.

According to a spokesman for the family, Ali died of septic shock late Friday evening after being admitted to a hospital near his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Although he had lived in Arizona with his wife Lonnie for many years, his funeral will take place in Louisville on Friday. "I cried. I cried like a baby when I found out the news," said 39-year-old Arnold Mathis, who was on his way to lay a wreath and light a candle at the museum. "It's so surreal. I know he's dead, but it hasn't really set in yet." The news of his death was on every local television and radio station, and the front page of the daily newspaper read simply "THE GREATEST", with the iconic 1965 image of Ali standing victorious over Sonny Liston.

Visitors line up to visit and pay respects the Muhammad Ali Childhood Home Museum on June 4, 2016 in Louisville, KY.​

At mid-morning, flags at Louisville's city hall were lowered to half-mast. "Muhammad Ali belongs to the world, but he only has one hometown," Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer told a crowd of mourners. "The Louisville Lip spoke to everyone, but we heard him in a way no one else could - as our brother, our uncle, and our inspiration." Almost everyone in Louisville has a personal story about Ali - whether it's a favourite fight, a glance through a car window, or a trip to his boyhood home at 3302 Grand Avenue, which just opened as a museum last week, the interior recreated as if Ali were still living there as a precocious boy in the 1950s. By early afternoon, the front stoop of the freshly painted pink bungalow was filled with balloons, flowers and notes. A group of Louisville firefighters clambered down from their truck to leave a bouquet.

Violet and Lawrence Montgomery watched from their stoop directly across the street. They first met Ali when he was a five-year-old boy named Cassius Clay. Ali and his brother Rahman babysat the Montgomery's three young children and they paid the boys in bologna sandwiches. Lawrence keeps a faded plaque that Ali made out to "my first boss". "I'm sort of saddened because I lost a very good friend," said Lawrence. "But on the other hand, he's been diagnosed 30 years with that disease and he fought it for years and years." Ali came back to visit them often, as evidenced by Violet's scrapbook of photos of the champ in their living room, doing magic tricks. In a note addressed to Violet, Ali wrote: "Enjoy life, it's later than we think."

Rahman Ali also arrived with his wife to sign autographs and memorialize his beloved older brother. "I gotta hold back tears," he said. "It's one of the saddest days of my life - my brother has passed … I wish I went first." But he also expressed gratitude to the fans gathered on what was once his front lawn, and across the globe. "I feel honoured that my brother got this much respect and love," he said. "There'll never be another Muhammad Ali - he was born for greatness."

Muhammad Ali: Hometown mourns the 'Louisville Lip' - BBC News

 

[Mac1958]

Wow, AMAZING final portraits, taken a couple of months ago. He looked great.

 

[waltky]

Ex-champion Lewis to be Ali pallbearer...

Louisville plans Ali's funeral, his 'last statement' to world
7 Jun 2016 - The family of late boxing legend Muhammad Ali and the city of Louisville on Monday prepared for his public funeral later this week, which organizers said "The Greatest" helped plan himself as a "last statement" to the world.

LOUISVILLE: The family of late boxing legend Muhammad Ali and the city of Louisville on Monday (Jun 6) prepared for his public funeral later this week, which organizers said "The Greatest" helped plan himself as a "last statement" to the world. Former president Bill Clinton, comedian Billy Crystal and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among those due to speak Friday at the public memorial in a sports arena in the Kentucky hometown of the three-time world heavyweight champion.

The charismatic Ali, a dazzling fighter and outspoken civil rights activist who became one of the 20th century's towering figures, died last Friday at age 74 after health problems complicated by a long battle with Parkinson's disease. The Louisville funeral will be preceded on Thursday by a family funeral and an Islamic prayer service, held in the 18,000-seat Freedom Hall that hosted Ali's last fight in Louisville, against Willi Besmanoff in 1961.

Profile of Muhammad Ali's boxing career.​

The following day, Ali's coffin - which arrived in the city on Sunday aboard a private plane, accompanied by his wife and other relatives - will be paraded through the streets for fans from around the world to say goodbye. "The message that we'll be sending out is not our message, this was really designed and intended by the Champ himself to be his last statement to the people of planet Earth," Islamic studies scholar Timothy Gianotti told reporters in Louisville. "The love and the reverence and inclusivity that we are going to experience over the coming days is really a reflection of his message." "He was the people's champ and so he wanted that memorial service to reflect that," family spokesman Bob Gunnell said.

'HE'S NOT SUFFERING ANYMORE'

The official cause of Ali's death was septic shock due to unspecified natural causes. He had sought medical attention for a cough, but his condition rapidly deteriorated, Gunnell said. He was admitted to a hospital in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, where he had lived for several years with his wife Lonnie. Ali's family removed him from life support on Friday, Gunnell said. "I'm obviously really sad," Ali's daughter Laila, who followed in his footsteps into the boxing ring, told ABC's "Good Morning America" in comments aired on Monday. However, "I have comfort in knowing that he's not suffering anymore." Ali was a "supernatural figure" who "belongs to the world," Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said. "There will be people coming from all over," he told AFP on Sunday, saying the city was prepared to welcome massive crowds.

'QUICK ONE-TWO'

See also:

Muhammad Ali: Lennox Lewis and Will Smith to carry coffin at funeral
Tue, 07 Jun 2016 - Britain's former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and actor Will Smith are to be pallbearers at Muhammad Ali's funeral.

London-born Lewis, 50, became undisputed world champion in 1999, while American Smith, 47, played Ali in the 2001 film of the same name. Three-time heavyweight world champion Ali died last Friday at the age of 74 in hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. His funeral will be held in his home town of Louisville, Kentucky.

Lennox Lewis was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1999 after beating Evander Holyfield to become undisputed heavyweight world champion, the same year Muhammad Ali was honoured as BBC Sports Personality of the Century.

The other pallbearers will be Jerry Ellis, the brother of Jimmy Ellis, Ali's former sparring partner and fellow world heavyweight champion, Ali's cousins John Grady and Jan Wadell, nephew Ibn Ali, former brother-in-law Komawi Ali and family friend John Ramsey.

Friday's service, which will be attended by a number of world leaders, heads of state and celebrities, will be open to the public and streamed live on the internet. It starts at 19:00 BST.

Muhammad Ali: Lennox Lewis and Will Smith to carry coffin at funeral

 

[waltky]

Thousands in Louisville to bid final farewell to Ali...

Emotional farewell to Muhammad Ali in Louisville
10 Jun 2016 - A poignant memorial service, which began with a Koranic chant, capped two days of tributes honouring the three-time heavyweight world champion known as "The Greatest," who died last week at 74 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

LOUISVILLE: Thousands of people from the worlds of sports, entertainment, politics and Muhammad Ali's native Louisville on Friday (Jun 10) said farewell to the boxing legend hailed by Bill Clinton as a "universal soldier for our common humanity." A poignant memorial service, which began with a Koranic chant, capped two days of tributes honouring the three-time heavyweight world champion known as "The Greatest," who died last week at 74 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Early Friday, thousands lined the streets of Louisville - the largest city in the southern state of Kentucky where Ali was born and launched his career - to catch a glimpse of the hearse carrying Ali's remains, before a private family burial.

The hearse carrying boxing legend Muhammad Ali drives past his childhood home where mourners throw flowers as they pay their respects.​

Then former president Clinton, comedian Billy Crystal, Ali's wife Lonnie and others addressed mourners gathered at a Louisville arena - remembrances that lauded his athletic gifts, his passionate civil rights activism and his quick wit. "We all have an Ali story. It's the gift we all have that should be most honoured today because he released them to the world," Clinton said. "Besides being a lot of fun to be around and basically a universal soldier for our common humanity, I will always think of Muhammad as a truly free man of faith." Crystal, who brought some levity to the proceedings with comic impressions and a few well-received jokes, called Ali "a tremendous bolt of lightning created by Mother Nature, the fantastic combination of power and beauty."

Mourners chanted Ali's name as his wife Lonnie took the stage, her face obscured by her wide-brimmed black hat. She reminded the crowd: "If Muhammad did not like the rules, he would rewrite them. His religion, his name, his beliefs, were his to fashion, no matter what the cost." Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali won Olympic gold and went on to a glorious professional career, with his epic fights - like the "Rumble in the Jungle" with George Foreman and the "Thrilla in Manila" with Joe Frazier - now the stuff of sports legend. He shocked America by refusing to serve in Vietnam, a decision that cost him his title and his career for years. He earned scorn for his incendiary comments about his opponents, once calling Frazier a "gorilla." But Ali later earned global respect as a civil rights activist who preached religious tolerance, and for his public battle with a disease that ravaged his once powerful body.

'LOST AN ICON'

See also:

Muhammad Ali funeral: Rousing farewell at Louisville memorial
Fri, 10 Jun 2016 - Speakers pay stirring tributes to Muhammad Ali at a memorial in his home city of Louisville, after thousands cheered his funeral cortege.

Rousing tributes have been paid to boxing legend Muhammad Ali at a memorial service in his home city of Louisville, Kentucky. Muslim, Christian, Jewish and other speakers spoke of his fight for civil rights, while a message from President Barack Obama praised his originality. The interfaith event took place hours after thousands said farewell as his coffin passed through city streets. Ali was buried in a private ceremony attended by friends and family. The ex-heavyweight champion and rights activist died last Friday aged 74. The service, attended by dignitaries and by several thousand people who acquired free tickets, was held at the KFC Yum! Centre.

* It started with a Koran reading in Arabic. Imam Hamzah Abdul Malik recited Sura Fosselat, Prostration chapter 41 verses 30-35, which includes the words: "Truly those who say our Lord is God and are righteous, the angels will descend upon them saying have neither fear nor sadness but rather rejoice in this paradise that you have been promised."

* Local Protestant minister Kevin Cosby said: "Before James Brown said 'I'm black and I'm proud', Muhammad Ali said 'I'm black and I'm pretty'."

* Rabbi Michael Lerner attacked injustice against black people and Muslims, saying "the way to honour Muhammad Ali is to be Muhammad Ali today - speak out and refuse to follow the path of conformity."

* Ali's wife Lonnie told the crowd: "If Muhammad didn't like the rules, he rewrote them. His religion, his beliefs, his name were his to fashion, no matter what the cost. Muhammad wants young people of every background to see his life as proof that adversity can make you stronger. It cannot rob you of the power to dream, and to reach your dreams."

* Former US President Bill Clinton described Ali as "a free man of faith". He said: "I think he decided very young to write his own life story. I think he decided that he would not be ever disempowered. Not his race, not his place, not the expectations of others whether positive or negative would strip from him the power to write his own story."

* Valerie Jarrett, an aide to President Obama who knew the boxer personally, read a letter from the president describing Ali as "bigger, brighter and more influential than just about anyone in his era... Muhammad Ali was America. Muhammad Ali will always be America. What a man." The president was not there, as he was attending his eldest daughter Malia's graduation.

* Comedian Billy Crystal said: "Thirty-five years after he stopped fighting, [Ali was] still the champion of the world. He was a tremendous bolt of lightning created by Mother Nature. Muhammad Ali struck us in the middle of America's darkest night and his intense light shone on America and we were able to see clearly."

Among those attending the service were King Abdullah of Jordan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended Thursday's prayer ceremony and had been due at the service, but cut short his visit to the US. The reasons for his departure are not clear, though there are reports of differences with the funeral's organisers.

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