Muhammad Ali funeral: Thousands gather to honor "The Greatest"
"The Greatest" has been laid to rest, says Entertainment Weekly.
An interfaith memorial service for three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali began in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday, as thousands gathered to say goodbye to the boxing legend and activist, who’d been buried earlier on Friday. Will Smith and Mike Tyson were among the pall bearers.
Former President Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal and Bryant Gumbel were scheduled to give eulogies for the boxing legend.
Ali died on June 3 at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, where he had spent the previous few days being treated for respiratory complications, a family spokesperson told PEOPLE. He was 74.
Lonnie Ali, the boxer’s fourth wife, gave a moving tribute on Friday saying that her husband “did not fear death.”
Early on in the ceremony, Ali’s family, former President Clinton, David Beckham and Arnold Schwarzenegger could all be seen gathering inside.
There were many speakers and eulogists at the memorial ceremony. Below, some of what they said about the late Ali.
Ali designed the two-day memorial in great detail years before his death, ESPN reports. And spokesman Bob Gunnell said ahead of the funeral that the service would be a reflection of Ali’s life.
The moving service followed a 19-mile processional around Louisville, marking the star’s final tour around his hometown.
The tour included Ali’s childhood neighborhood as well as the gym where he first began his boxing training. The route also passed Muhammad Ali Boulevard and the Muhammad Ali center.
One day earlier, thousands of mourners gathered for a traditional Muslim Jenazah ceremony for Ali at Freedom Hall in Louisville.