Muhammad Ali the Greatest RIP Legend

[ykdadamaja]

The end is nearing. The end is nearing!!

[p4pking]

Being the man that he was, I have a hard time imagining he wouldn't have rather died a long time ago than go out this way. Don't think that's harsh to say or anything either, most people shudder at the thought of losing their faculties completely and going on for so long regardless, let alone a person of his character and charisma.

[J_Undisputed]

I think its hard to say. When I was younger I thought if I ever found I was terminal, i'd probably hop on my scoot look for a cliff gun it up to 140, try to touch the sun before the descent and go out my way. Now maybe i'm finally maturing a little or senility is setting in and i think maybe its more important to feel the sun on me even its just for a few seconds every day i have left. I'm no devout catholic nor am i trying to turn this into a debate on faith or religion. I was raised as christian but I kind of have my own ideas about faith (not sure what the Muslim religion says about death). I do believe there is a god and he put me here to serve a purpose and when I have served it, it will be my time to move on and ascend to a greater purpose.

I think it must be maddening to deal with the physical deterioration, especially when your mind is still sharp. I get cranky now when I feel one of my old injuries flare up in the middle of lifting something. What was once one of the more able bodies in terms of speed, reflexes, etc. has now become a prison for him. But I think he's grateful to be able to watch his kids and grandkids grow up, for all the fights he was able to see after being diagnose, the times he's able to express his love for those he cared for and the fighters he inspires, even if the smiles or joy can only be felt internally. There maybe a few people who those extra years meant something to and they may be greater than they would have been if not for his inspiration. His body is breaking down, but his spirit is just as strong as ever. I believe in some sense that the spirit can exist without the body, but the other way around..not so much.

He's a true fighter at heart... he couldn't have lasted this long if he didn't go to sleep at night thinking/ feeling... "...one more round..."

[Andre]

God bless the Champ.

[johnsebastianmiran]

CNN reported his passing a little after midnight US. Eastern time.

[ykdadamaja]

He is gone. RIP Ali

[ykdadamaja]

If you never believed in the Devil before in your life, but watched as Muhammad Ali, who boasted himself as too fast, too pretty, who others labelled him as "The Mouth of the South" and "The Louisville Lip", at the end of it all become reduced to a shell of a man who couldn't speak, couldn't move and body started to crumple over right before our very eyes, then you would not only believe in the Devil now but you would also know that the Devil's tool was cruel irony.

God bless Ali. What he did for Black people and people of colour of our generation could only be matched by the likes of MLK, Pele, Malcolm and Mandela.

He not only helped us to have dignity. He gave us a right to express our beliefs no matter the persecution and no matter the penalties, because that right of expression and idea is what truly makes us valuable assets to this human race.

He had his faults, like all people do. But his faults were as a result of the time he was born into, and not because the material of his humanhood was any less faulty. If born in 1980, Ali would have the same principles for different causes and then some, because now in this era we know better and know more!

I look around today, and there ain't many like him left. PERIOD. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic. He is truly the last of a good crop.
‪#‎RIPAli‬ ‪#‎Ali‬ ‪#‎Boomaye‬

[brocktonblockbust]

Muhammad Ali has been sent to Arizona and a close family source says it is "a matter of hours" and his respiratory condition is very grave.

[powerpuncher]

He is a huge reason I got into boxing. He was way before my time but my dad got me some VHS's years ago of his fights and I was hooked on boxing ever since. I will be forever grateful for him getting me into the sport I love. Even though I mean nothing to him personally, he has affected my life.

He will always be the greatest to me.

[johnsebastianmiran]

He brought freshness to an old sport and made it new again changing the face of boxing and leading others to stardom. Where it was gloomy he made it fun and just when everything seemed normal again there is a vacancy in the world where he used to live. One of the hardest things for any man to do is hold his dignity enduring dark times but he made it to the light. All the years that have past since he accomplished what he dreamed of they still call out his name and that was a dream come true. Blessings to you. There was always more than what met the eye.

[Batman]

Talking about him just yesterday at work, we were saying how he's done well to live with the parkinsons for as long as he did, I said then that he didn't have long left.

I also watched my old Ali boxset just last night in preparation.

It's a shame and a big loss but it wasn't unexpected

[Gandalf]

Ali was an amazing fighter and had an ability to think outside the box that I respect. He was one of those few fighters that could really make you think and even if you disagreed with him, you at least had to respect him for what he achieved in the ring.

[THE THIRD MAN]

The man who created the "superfight". . It's tough to argue that anyone could have embodied the 60s and 70s better than Ali, he was as famous as the Beatles, James Bond etc I don't really know what to say....IMO he was a great man.

[Mark TKO]

Nothing much I can add or say that hasnt been already.

Loved Ali a long time before I loved boxing

Was very upset when I saw the news this morning

The Greatest

[Master]

Poet Benjamin Zephaniah reads his 'Ode to Muhammad Ali', a tribute to 'The Greatest' as the former three-time world heavyweight champion is buried on Friday.

Tens of thousands of people are set to say a final farewell to Ali in his home city of Louisville in Kentucky.

The heavyweight champion and rights activist died last Friday aged 74.

A procession will take Ali's body past key sites in his life, ahead of an interfaith memorial service.

Actor Will Smith and ex-boxer Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers, while former President Bill Clinton will deliver one of the eulogies.

Muhammad Ali: Benjamin Zephaniah's 'ode' to legendary boxer - BBC Sport