The world begins two final days of mourning for Muhammad Ali on Thursday when the boxing great will be honoured with a Muslim funeral a day before receiving a final goodbye with an interfaith service.
Actor Will Smith and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers for Muhammad Ali's funeral on Friday, joining a list of notable athletes, entertainers and politicians to mourn the boxing legend. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and comedian Billy Crystal were among those previously announced as participating in public events as the world grieves the loss of the boxer, showman and antiwar activist who captivated global attention in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the transcendent figures of the 20th century, Ali died on Friday at age 74. Family spokesman Bob Gunnell announced the details of the memorial services on Monday. Smith played Ali in the 2001 movie of the same name, earning an Oscar nomination and becoming a family friend. London-born Lewis, who went on to represent Canada in the Olympics, is one of three boxers along with Ali and Evander Holyfield to have held the heavyweight title three times.
Muhammad Ali and his family never seriously considered donating the boxing great's brain for research, according to the doctor who treated him. "Not really," was Dr. Abe Lieberman's answer when he was asked Monday if submitting the brain for research was discussed. Lieberman said he didn't think boxing contributed to Ali's contraction of Parkinson's disease but he couldn't be "a hundred percent" certain. The doctor spoke at a news conference at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Lieberman was among those who diagnosed Ali in 1984. The doctor said he believes Ali had the disease earlier, when he fought Larry Holmes in 1980. Ali thought the Holmes fight did serious damage.
A Muslim funeral for Muhammad Ali on Thursday drew thousands of admirers to the boxer's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where mourners prayed over the body of a man who battled in the ring and sought peace outside it. An estimated 14,000 people, representing many races and creeds, attended the jenazah, or "funeral" in Arabic, where he was repeatedly feted as "the people's champion." Ali, a three-time heavyweight champion known for his showmanship, political activism and devotion to humanitarian causes, died on Friday of septic shock in an Arizona hospital. He was 74.
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