Muhammad Ali’s death triggers outpouring of emotion in Louisville, hometown of ‘the people’s champion’
The 74-year-old boxing great died of “septic shock due to unspecified natural causes” after three decades of Parkinson’s disease.
In a funeral he planned years ago, Muhammad Ali will be coming home as a “citizen of the world” when he is buried Friday in Louisville.
A procession will carry his body down an avenue that bears his name, through his boyhood neighbourhood and down Broadway, the scene of the parade that honoured the brash young man – then known as Cassius Clay – for his gold medal at the 1960 Olympics.
Muhammad Ali was clearly the people’s champion. And the celebration will reflect his devotion to people of all races, religions and backgrounds
Funeral details were outlined by family spokesman Bob Gunnell at a news conference on Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona, not far from Ali’s home in his final years.
“[The family] certainly believes that Muhammad was a citizen of the world ... and they know that the world grieves with him,” Gunnell said.
Family members will accompany Ali’s remains to Louisville within the next two days. A private funeral ceremony will be held on Thursday.
After the Friday procession, a memorial service open to everyone will be held at Louisville’s KFC YUM! Centre. The list of eulogists was not complete, but will include former President Bill Clinton, comedian Billy Crystal – who famously has done a masterful impression of Ali – and sports television host Bryant Gumbel.
