A really nice sports story

Our correspondent visits Louisville to witness a grateful city and a host of dignitaries pay homage to the greatest boxer in history CUTTING a ribbon was never going to be enough for the opening of the Muhammad Ali Centre. Instead two Presidents, a host of Hollywood stars and an impressive list of musicians and performers lined up to pay tribute to the man generally regarded as the greatest boxer in history at a 3½-hour gala performance on Saturday night.

Bill Clinton sat next to Ali and his wife, Lonnie, and paid his tributes on stage. Jimmy Carter paid his respects in a video. Jim Carrey, Chris Tucker and Will Smith, who played the former heavyweight champion in the film Ali, were part of the show. Angelina Jolie, a benefactor of the centre, and Brad Pitt were in the audience.

Ali moved away from his home city when he was 18 and the city was segregated. This weekend he returned in triumph. As the home of the Kentucky Derby, Louisville knows how to throw a party, but among the black-tie audience, it is not difficult to imagine that some of the people there would have been happy to see him leave town 45 years ago.

Now there is unmatched warmth towards Ali. A man who was hated in the United States for his refusal to be drafted into the Army in the Sixties is now universally loved. And he still draws enough inspiration that, among the crowd of several hundred who gathered across the street to witness the stars’ red-carpet arrival, there were a few protesters against the War in Iraq — drawn there by his protest against the Vietnam War.

“People forget how reviled he was,” Bob Arum, who promoted some of Ali’s bouts in the Seventies, said. “The Vietnam War was not an unpopular war when he made his stand, it only became so later. But he was a martyr and he sacrificed his career for his beliefs. He gave up his best three years — there was no one who could touch him then.”

Performers young and old took part, from Ruben Studdard, a winner of American Idol, to James Taylor, the singer-songwriter who said that he had cancelled his concert to allow Ali’s first legendary bout against Joe Frazier to go ahead at Madison Square Garden. “Part of the deal we agreed was that we were given some tickets,” Taylor said.

“He was the bravest person I ever met,” Kris Kristofferson, the singer and actor, said. “His courage, his integrity and heart were an inspiration to everybody around the world.”

There was no shortage of guests keen to pay tribute to Ali. Carrey, a big boxing fan, introduced Ali to the audience at the end of the evening’s entertainment. “I always looked at him as somebody who was about affirmation, belief and faith, and he inspired me in that way,” Carrey said. “I’ve seen a ton of celebrities and nobody has made me feel the sense of awe that Ali does. He’s bigger than life.”

Sir David Frost, who had toured the new centre the day before and interviewed the legendary boxer many times, said that Ali had been the most famous man in the world and arguably still is. “His athletic skills were so extraordinary and he had this great charisma and sense of humour. As his views became more known, his warmth came out,” he said. “And he had three enormous battles — against Vietnam, against racism and against Parkinson’s.”

As well as the politicians, singers and actors, the show also featured children. The only thing noticeably lacking were any of Ali’s former opponents.

There were no words from Ali. Instead, as always, he let Lonnie do his talking. When he arrived on the red carpet, he prodded out some playful left jabs as he posed for photographs. When he was on stage at the end of the performance with Clinton, he stuck two fingers up behind the former President’s head while he was in mid-tribute.

“The world is a better place because of you,” Clinton said to the former champion. “You thrilled us as a fighter and you inspired us even more as a force for peace and reconciliation, understanding and respect.”

The six-storey Muhammad Ali Centre, on the banks of the Ohio River, will open its doors to the public today. Two floors of the centre are dedicated to Ali’s boxing memories and his work to promote peace and understanding since he hung up his gloves.

“When we were first approached about the centre, we wanted it to be more than just a museum,” Lonnie Ali said. “The opening of the centre is a realisation of one of Muhammad’s dreams.”

The exhibits are divided into sections representing what are described as Ali’s six key core values — respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving and spirituality. A film in the “Respect” section is critical of Ali’s womanising and his sexist and racist behaviour during the Sixties.

Memories of Ali have even inspired the architecture. The roof is in the shape of a butterfly, the entrance hall is built like a torch — he lit the flame at the 1996 Olympics — and the coloured tiles that surround the building turn into images of Ali if viewed from the correct angle.

“When we are all long dead and gone, generations to come can find out about Muhammad Ali and what he was about and inspire people to be better,” Laila, Ali’s boxer daughter, said. “He’s been a dad to everybody, he’s a very loving man.”

Eisboch