A tribute to fallen boxing legend, Muhammad Ali will be held tomorrow at the Impeccable Banquet Hall on Brickdam.
The event which is a collaborative effort of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) and Mc NEAL Enterprise, will pay homage to Ali who passed away on June 3 at the age of 74.
Said head of the Mc NEAL Enterprise, Odinga Lumumba on Thursday “We have invited several notable Guyanese, boxers, students and leaders to come and pay tribute to the late, great Muhammad Ali.”
Lumumba added that “It will be a simple ceremony, we will give thanks for his life and show parts of his greatest fights so those who knew him can remember and those who didn’t know him can have a sense of what a great and compassionate person he was.”
Ali was an American Olympic and professional boxer and activist, widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century.
He was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC. Nicknamed “The Greatest”, he was involved in several historic boxing matches. Notable among these were the “Fight of the Century”, “Super Fight II” and the “Thrilla in Manila” versus arch rival Joe Frazier, the first Liston fight, and “The Rumble in the Jungle” versus George Foreman.
Lumumba stated that he found it strange that no organization in Guyana had made tributes to Ali “especially since he came to Guyana and made an impression and motivated thousands of Guyanese.”
This was reiterated by president of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle who co-chaired the press briefing Thursday afternoon.
Ali who coined several catch phrases including the famous ‘Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee’ visited Guyana in April of 1979.
Said Lumumba “He made an impact on Guyanese boxers and he has inspired many young people. Mr. Ali created an atmosphere that Black America could have fought for more freedom in the turbulent days and made a lasting impact on the world.
Lumumba reminded that Ali “was not just a boxer, he was a teacher and a leader and I felt that we needed to honour the things he had done in particular for those who have been oppressed.”
Tributes starts at 17:00hrs.
Ali died of septic shock after several days in the hospital with a severe respiratory illness. His funeral which was held yesterday in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky was attended by thousands of mourners.
