On Friday, three time world heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali died of sceptic shock due to ‘unspecified natural causes’. The 74 year old boxer had been suffering from a respiratory illness, further complicated by the fact that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 42.
Ali won 56 of his 61 fights, 31 of those wins being in a row. Other than his three world heavyweight championships, he also had one light heavyweight Olympic gold medal to his name.
Ali was famous for more than just his sporting achievements, as he was an established civil rights campaigner and poet. He famously put his career at risk when he refused to serve in the Vietnam War. When asked how he would like to be remember, he replied “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.”
Ali’s funeral is set to take place on the 10th June, in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Bryant Gumbel, Billy Crystal and Bill Clinton are set to eulogize the legend. A procession will take place after the ceremony, taking his body through his old neighbourhood before is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery.
