Holmes
knew then that Ali was in bad shape. Foreman tried to speak with Ali,
but Ali didn’t respond.
Holmes, too, tried to communicate with Ali, but
efforts were futile.
“I knew it was a matter of time, but I didn’t
want to believe it,” he said. “My wife woke up to tell me the news, but
I said, ‘It can’t be.’ But I had to face reality. And then the
newspapers started calling me. They hadn’t given me time to think about
everything.”
Public tickets for Friday’s proceedings in the
22,000-seat arena went quickly, with people even scalping the free
tickets on the secondary market.
Bob Arum, who promoted Ali, quickly left Thursday’s news conference ahead of a Saturday HBO fight Top Rank is holding at Madison Square Garden to catch a flight to Kentucky.
Don King, who promoted the legendary fights dubbed “The Rumble in the Jungle,” in which Ali knocked out Foreman in Africa, and “The Thrilla in Manila,” in which Ali beat Joe Frazier by technical knockout, arrived in Louisville on Wednesday but was in good spirits.
“It’s
a celebration, man,” King told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday after the
program he attended. “I was blessed to be a part of his life and a guy
who was a fighter for the people and who became the people’s champion.
He will never die. His spirit will live forever.”
ESPN will begin coverage of the proceedings at 9 a.m. ET, and Jeremy Schaap will serve as co-host with Hannah Storm.
Schaap’s father, Dick, the late sportswriter and broadcaster, had a
good relationship with Ali, and the champ was often at their home.
Ali was at Dick Schaap’s 70th birthday party and was seen at events such as the golf tournament Schaap hosted.
“You
get the sense the city is preparing for this big sendoff,” Jeremy
Schaap told USA TODAY Sports between production meetings. “I think it’s
going to be very moving. I think there’s a lot of real emotion there.
For me, he’s somebody that was always a presence in some way in my life.
“He
was silenced too young, and he died too young. Seventy-four is young
these days. You think about what he did, he affected so many people from
1964 to 1980, and the symbol that he became later on in life. A symbol
of man’s capacity for understanding, for brotherhood — it’s very
powerful. I think in that respect Ali is easily the most significant
figure in the landscape of sports globally over the 20th century and you
can probably make the case forever.”
Click to view Director's Profile
To meet your needs with Ykamazingworld click on: http://metyourneeds.blogspot.com/
To meet your needs with Ykamazingworld click on: http://metyourneeds.blogspot.com/
[Home Page] [Met your needs] [About Ykamazingworld] [Computer & Businesses] [Films and Theatre Production Studios] [Company Overview] [Our Objectives] [Our Vision] [Our Goals] [Our Products] [Our Services] [Networking & Communications] [Consultancy] [Sales of Footwear Suppliers] [Footwear Industrial Training (F.I.T)] [Sponsors or Fund Raising] [Ykamazingworld Proposals(for Partneships)] [Ykamazingworld Accounts] [Social Media] [Our Address] [Our Contacts] [Carrier and Opportunities] [GOto Blog] [GOto WebChatrooms] [Goto Books & Publishing] [GOto Answers.com] [Notice for all our Clients]
Together, we rise to the future. . .
No comments:
Post a Comment