World pays tribute to boxing legend: Muhammad Ali

Tributes have poured in from across the world for boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who has died at the age of 74.

“Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it,” said US President Barack Obama.

The three-time world heavyweight champion – one of the world’s greatest sporting figures – died on Friday night at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.

He died from “septic shock due to unspecified natural causes”, said a spokesman for the Ali family.

The boxer had been suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson’s disease.

“I am happy my father no longer struggles. He is in a better place. God is the greatest,” his daughter Maryum said on Saturday.

Ali’s body is being returned in the next two days to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where his funeral is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.

The celebration of his life will feature a funeral procession through the town and public celebration. The boxer will be buried in a private service at the city’s Cave Hill Cemetery.

The service will be presided over by an imam and feature eulogies by former President Bill Clinton, sports journalist Bryant Gumber and actor Billy Crystal.

source: BBC