ARANETA CENTER, ALI MALL TO PAY TRIBUTE TO MUHAMMAD ALI (PHOTOS)
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 07 Jun 2016
The Araneta Center within which the famed Araneta Coliseum where the historic ?Thrilla in Manila? took place on October 1, 1975 stand and the adjoining Mall which was named after the greatest heavyweight champion of all-time Muhammad Ali, will join the rest of the world in commemorating the life and times of the legend Muhammad Ali, who has passed last Saturday.
The plans include a photo and art exhibit as a tribute to the champ to be held in the afternoon of Friday, February 10.
Since the Ali Mall bears the name of the boxing icon, it is only proper that Ali Mall would exert all this effort to pay homage to Muhammad Ali.
We have been invited to grace the ribbon cutting and to say a few words and share with those who attend the event some of our fondest memories of the icon to celebrate his life and laud his being a great fighter and inspiration to many since we were appointed as Ali?s Liaison Officer for the ?Thrilla in Manila?.
We had met Ali in Kuala Lumpur when we covered his heavyweight title defense against British champion Joe Bugner for the government radio network in the Philippines.
Muhammad Ali has been a such a huge part of our nation?s history as well as the story of the Araneta Center.
We will provide some of our photo memorabilia with Ali as well as our scrapbook of the fight for viewing at the exhibit.
The author (L) interviews Muhammad Ali in Manila in 1975.
The author (L) with Muhammad Ali in Manila in 1975.
Muhammad Ali speaks on the microphone upon his arrival in Manila ahead of his fight with Joe Frazier on Oct. 1, 1975.
Meantime, former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be a pallbearer at Muhammad Ali's funeral, along with Hollywood star Will Smith who played the role of Ali in the movie on his life.
The funeral is to be held in his hometown of Louisville at 2:00 p.m. local time on Friday.
Lewis, who reigned as undisputed world heavyweight champion after beating Evander Holyfield in 1999, was on Monday night named as a pallbearer - as was Smith, who was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Ali in the 2001 film of the same name.
The other pallbearers will be Jerry Ellis - the brother of Jimmy Ellis, Ali's former sparring partner and fellow world heavyweight champion - and Ali's cousins John Grady and Jan Wadell, nephew Ibn Ali, former brother-in-law Komawi Ali and family friend John Ramsey.
Ali died in Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of 74 on Friday evening local time. He had been admitted to hospital earlier in the week with a respiratory condition having suffered with Parkinson's disease for 32 years. His family said in a statement that he died from complications related to his condition.
The memorial service, at the KFC YUM! Centre in the Kentucky city, will be open to the public and streamed live on the internet for those unable to attend.
It will be preceded by a Jenazah - an Islamic funeral prayer programme - also for the public at midday on Thursday at the Freedom Hall, where Ali made his professional debut with victory over Tunney Hunsaker in 1960 and fought for the last time in Louisville against Willi Besmanoff a year later.
Among the speakers at "The Greatest's" funeral will be Malcolm X's daughter Attalah Shabazz, wife Lonnie Ali, eldest daughter Maryum, American actor Billy Crystal, former US president Bill Clinton and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey.
"Everything that we're doing here was blessed by Muhammad Ali, and was requested," said family spokesman Bob Gunnell, who broke the news of the former world heavyweight champion's death.
"He wanted the memorial service to reflect his life, and how he lived. He wanted everyone to be able to attend. He was the people's champ, and he wanted the memorial service to reflect that.
"We want this to be inclusive of everyone. That's why we set Freedom Hall - not just with its historical significance but with the size of Freedom Hall, so that everyone fits in.
"That Muslims and people of all faiths could attend, and perhaps learn more and be like Muhammad Ali, and open their hearts to everybody.
"This is not a political statement, this is not about politics, this is about how Muhammad Ali lived his life."
Since Ali's death, tributes have been as widespread as they have been heartfelt, with one-time rival George Foreman and long-term friend and business manager Gene Kilroy among those to tell Press Association Sport of their sense of loss.
"Each time one of us leaves, I tell everybody: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, we were really just one guy," Foreman said. "And every time one slips away, you feel like you've lost a piece, and Muhammad Ali was the greatest piece of all."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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