The event was attended by the head of the World Boxing Council, Jose
Sulaiman, along with former boxing champions such as Mexican Julio Cesar
Chavez.
Ali, who was accompanied by his wife Lonnie and who wore dark glasses, was led to a red velvet throne.
A sign in Spanish on a large-screen television read, “Welcome to Cancun, King of Boxing.”
WBC president Jose Sulaiman told the audience he had known Ali for
about 50 years, while the Ukrainian boxing legend Vitali Klitschko said
as a young boy he had been inspired to hear tales of the great man’s
brilliance.
But, because he lived in the then Soviet Union, it was impossible to see Ali in action.
“Sport brings the world together and any dream is possible,” said Klitschko, who finished by gently shaking Ali’s hand.
Those present then watched a video of Ali’s life, including his
gold-medal-winning performance at the 1960 Olympics which shot him to
prominence.
Formerly known as Cassius Clay, Ali’s extravagant style inside and out of the boxing ring led to him acquiring iconic status.
The boxer, who was renowned for his ‘Ali shuffle’ and fleet of foot,
won his first heavyweight title from Sonny Liston at the age of 22 and
recorded 56 wins in his 21-year career.
He was strongly criticised at the time for skipping the draft for the
US Army during the Vietnam War, famously saying: “Man, I ain’t got no
quarrel with them Viet Cong.”
Eventually, he was arrested and found guilty of evasion and stripped of his world title and boxing licence.
Although he avoided prison, he was out of action for four years while
he fought a successful appeal all the way up to the US Supreme Court.
Ali retired in 1981 and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984.
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