Muhammad Ali – the ultimate fighter<\/strong>
\nTens of thousands are expected to line the streets for the procession, while free tickets for the 18,000-strong memorial service, taking place at a major sports centre, were snapped up within half an hour.<\/p>\nThe motorcade procession will begin at about 09:30 local time (13:30 GMT) and take the coffin past his childhood home, the Ali Center, the Center for African American Heritage and then down Muhammad Ali Boulevard.<\/p>\n
The procession, expected to take about 90 minutes, will end at the Cave Hill Cemetery where Ali will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.<\/p>\n
![\"mohammed](\"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/mohammed-ali-record.png\")
<\/p>\n
The funeral service at the KFC Yum! Centre will begin at 14:00 local time.<\/p>\n
Comedian Billy Crystal will also deliver a eulogy, while sports journalist Bryant Gumbel, the daughter of civil rights activist Malcolm X, Attallah Shabazz, and Ali’s wife, Lonnie, and daughters, Maryum and Rasheda, are also expected to speak.<\/p>\n
Among those expected to attend the service is King Abdullah of Jordan.<\/p>\n
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended Thursday’s prayer ceremony and had been due at the service, but reports say he has cut short his visit to the US.<\/p>\n
The reasons for his departure are not clear, though there are reports of differences with the funeral’s organisers.<\/p>\n
President Barack Obama will not be there, as he is to attend his eldest daughter Malia’s graduation.<\/p>\n
But in a video message, he said: “This week we lost an icon. A person who for African Americans, I think, liberated their minds in recognising that they could be proud of who they were.”<\/p>\n
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett – who knew Ali – will represent the president.<\/p>\n
Lennox Lewis, a former world heavyweight boxing champion himself, said it was an honour to be a pallbearer and that Ali’s memory would never fade.<\/p>\n
“The term ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’ will always be remembered. He is an icon and a legend of boxing,” he said.<\/p>\n
The other pallbearers are family and friends, along with Will Smith, who portrayed Ali in the 2001 film about the boxer’s life.<\/p>\n
Abi Ajram, 48, who has made a 4,000-mile trip from London to pay his respects, told PA: “I feel Muhammad Ali deserved the world turning up for him. He was the number one.”<\/p>\n
The funeral service will be streamed live online.
\nOne sour note was the report that some people were trying to sell the free tickets to the service on the internet.<\/p>\n
Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell said he was “personally disgusted” at attempts to profit from the event.<\/p>\n
‘Teaching moment’<\/strong>
\nThe funeral events began on Thursday with a Muslim prayer service attended by 14,000 people.<\/p>\nAli wanted the service, known as a Jenazah, to be “a teaching moment”, according to Imam Zaid Shakir, who led it.<\/p>\n
Muslim scholar Sherman Jackson said: “The passing of Muhammad Ali has made us all feel a little more alone in the world. Something solid, something big, beautiful and life-affirming has left.”<\/p>\n
Boxing promoter Don King, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, were among those at the event.<\/p>\n
American Muslims attending the service and watching on TV said they hoped that the public prayers would help Americans to become more familiar with Islam and its practices.<\/p>\n
In 1964, Ali famously converted to Islam, changing his name from Cassius Clay, which he called his “slave name”.<\/p>\n
He first joined the Nation of Islam, a controversial black separatist movement, before later converting to mainstream Islam.<\/p>\n
In his boxing career, he fought a total of 61 times as a professional, losing five times and winning 37 bouts by knockout.<\/p>\n
Soon after retiring, rumours began to circulate about the state of his health.<\/p>\n
Parkinson’s Syndrome was eventually diagnosed but Ali continued to make public appearances, receiving warm welcomes wherever he travelled.<\/p>\n
He lit the Olympic cauldron at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and carried the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Games in London.<\/p>\n
He was crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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