04/06/2016 BBC Weekend News

Tributes are paid around the world to Muhammad Ali,

I'll whip any man in the world and I want everybody out

The way he moved - the speed, the grace, the power -

The Kentucky boy rose from humble beginnings to become three-time

Politically, he was controversial because of his conversion to Islam,

his stand on civil rights and his refusal to fight

Later, he won global respect for his humanitarian work,

but was increasingly frail after a long battle

Tributes have been paid around the world to Muhammad Ali,

Outspoken, but rarely outfought, Ali transcended the sport of boxing,

of which he was three times World Champion.

He was politically controversial, dividing opinion after converting

to Islam and refusing to fight in Vietnam.

Today, his sporting and humanitarian legacies were acknowledged.

President Obama paid tribute saying - "he shook up the world,

Our North America editor, Jon Sopel, is live from his

Thank you very much. Yes, here in Louisville thereby has been a steady

procession of people coming to pay their respects. Coming to lay

flowers spanning all the generations. On Wednesday the city

will play host to a funeral in which people are expected to fly in from

across the country and around the world. In the last couple of hours,

Barack Obama has spoken to Muhammad Ali's widow to express his and the

nations donds. Condolences. If you could bring ballet

to boxing, beauty to brawn, But amidst all the fooling around,

there was a hugely articulate, deeply political individual

with an acute sense of injustice. The global superstar wading into two

of America's most divisive issues of the 1960s -

the civil rights struggle Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali, refused

to take the American Army oath. I will say directly,

no, I will not go 10,000 miles The hero boxer became reviled

by the establishment and revered by black America

fighting for a better life. Those who were part of that civil

rights struggle paid Ali lived long enough to see those

that condemn him praise him. Those that repudiate him

lift him up. Ali didn't change,

he changed the world Sacrificed his career for principles

and anti-war profit. Those of you of a certain age may

remember watching Muhammad Ali dealing with his

Parkinson's disease. Once the most graceful,

powerful athlete in the world with his hands shaking,

holding on and he did his job. Who he was as a person was greater

than his legend, which should be From President Obama, a tweet

of this old photo with the caption - "He shook up the world,

and the world's better for it. But it's not just the good

and the great remembering him. In the street where he grew up,

I spoke to some of the neighbours My family lived in the house next

door and he babysat me He stung like a bee

and he was a good fighter and he fought all the way to the end,

even through his illness. The reach of Muhammad Ali went way

beyond sport and reaches beyond Jon Sopel, BBC News,

Louisville, Kentucky. Among the many tributes was one

from Muhammad Ali's great boxing rival, George Foreman,

who told the BBC he felt he's Our sports editor, Dan Roan,

looks back at the extraordinary I'll whip any man in the world

and I want everybody out Muhammad Ali simply

voiced his own punchlines. He could tell you he'd float

like a butterfly and sting like a bee,

and then he'd do it. COMMENTATOR: He's got him.

Fourth time. With a speed time and agility never

before seen in a heavyweight boxer, Ali was a genius in the ring

and a cultural icon out of it. His charisma and his beliefs

establishing him as a true superstar Born Cassius Clay,

in Lousiville Kentucky in 1942, he first achieved fame when he won

Gold at the Rome Olympics in 1960. Three years later, he was famously

floored by a left hook Cooper stole the moment,

but he lost the fight. Clay was left with a shot

at the world title, held by the fiercesome Sonny Liston,

a fighter considered invincible. The rank outsider first

mocked his opponent An outspoken force of nature,

his brash, boastful antics could be divisive, but the so-called

'Louisville Lip' was a blisteringly He converted to Islam,

swearing allegiance REPORTER: Why do you insist

on being called Muhammad Ali now? That's the name given to me

by my leader and teacher, My original name, that's

a black man's name. His opposition to the Vietnam War

saw him vilified as much He was stripped of his title

and sentenced to five years in jail. This was quashed on appeal, but Ali

was refused a licence to box. In his prime, his beliefs had

cost him more than three In the 1970s, Ali made some

memorable appearances on Sir Michael He's without doubt the most

beautiful and complete To others he's a political leader,

a figurehead in the battle between black-and-white and yet

to more people, who care little about sport and even

less about politics, he's one of the world's

great entertainers. He revealed his showmanship

and taste for publicity were inspired by an American

wrestler, called Gorgeous George. When I saw all of those people

coming to see Gorgeous George to get That's the thing, they paid

to get in! If you talk jive,

you'll fall in fire. They said, "the not or

talks too much." I admired him and he had faults,

of His memory will live on for the rest

of time, I suppose. If one fight defined Ali,

it was in Zaire in 1974, his epic battle against

the mountainous George Foreman, I'm going to prove to

you I'm The Greatest. We're going to prove

to the world I'm The Greatest. I'm going to eat some raw meat

and I'm going to train. I'm going to get ready

and chop some more trees. Ali won after deliberately absorbing

punches and exhausting his opponent. COMMENTATOR: Oh, my God he's won

the title back at 32. He was so tired, he was praying

to just falling on the ropes. I said, "man, this is the wrong

place to get tired." Muhammad Ali was probably one

of the greatest human Ali predicted Zaire would be his

last fight, but carried His bitter feud with arch-rival,

Joe Frazier, culminating in their third and final bout,

the Thrilla in Manila. When it came to a vote

for Sports Personality of the Century,

there was no contest. Even while his body was failing him,

the famous wit still sparkled. I had a good time boxing,

I enjoyed it and I may come back! Go anywhere in the world and people

know about Muhammad Ali. His impact as much about race,

religion and society To use his words,

he was The Greatest. Though he was born and raised

in Louisville, Kentucky, New York was the place where Ali

trained and where he fought some Our correspondent, Nick Bryant,

has been talking to some of New York's most famous

boxing gym also doubled He trained at Gleeson's in the 1960s

where his supersize charisma made him an electrifying presence,

but it's not just as a megastar that they remember him here,

it's also as a friend. He'd give you the shirt

off his back. He would not only stop and talk

to the guy who is standing in the corner with the suit and tie

on, he'll talk to the bum that's lying on the ground,

half drunk or half dead. You know, you start talking

to him, he'll talk to you. One thing about Muhammad,

he loved to talk. There are two things that are hard

to hit and see, that's the spooky ghost

and Muhammad Ali. People would queue up even to watch

Ali train and at a time when boxing was in danger of being relegated

to a backs street sport, It wasn't about the money

or the fame... His star power could

fill arenas the size of Madison Square Garden 100 times

over, but it was the intimacy that photographer

Michael Gaffney recalls. He spent a year on the road with Ali

in the late 1970s and has special memories of a trip to South America

where Ali toured hospitals filled with polio victims and lent

a helping hand to the poor. Every day that we were there,

there were beggars lined up I said, "Champ...

why are you doing that?" He said, "because $100

here is worth $10,000 at home." Champion, superstar, icon,

the superlatives seem inadequate, but his own famous boast also

serves as an epitaph. He was, quite simply,

The Greatest. As we've been hearing,

Ali was a prominent figure both In the 1960's he became a leading

civil rights activist and his influence on racial equality

was felt far beyond the United States,

as Elaine Dunkley now reports. NEWS REEL: The colour bar,

officially unrecognised Britain in the 1960s

was deeply divided. A colour bar meant new arrivals

from the Commonwealth It was to America that black Britons

would look for cultural icons and they didn't come much

bigger than Muhammad Ali. The black man has been brainwashed

and it's time for him to learn Someone like Muhammad Ali came

on the scene, you know, he made us feel so good,

as young people. He was of great significance

for someone like myself, who was involved in radical

and revolutionary politics. In 1963, activist Paul Stephenson

successfully led a campaign to boycott a bus company in Bristol

which was refusing to employ black The fight for racial equality

was the making of a friendship He wanted to see England follow

America in civil rights. We spoke about how we can deal

with racism and how he could be used In 1974, Muhammad Ali's

visit to Brixton brought Photographer, Neil Kenlock,

caught on camera pivotal moments You know, it was just fantastic

that he decided to leave America to come to Brixton

to support our community, You know, he was an incredible

person. Muhammad Ali will be remembered

as one of the greatest boxers of all-time,

but to many his greatest legacy Now to some of the rest

of the day's news. Lord Kinnock said today

that the Leave campaign could win the European Union referendum

"by default" if turnout was low. Along with five other

former Labour leaders, he warned a Brexit will happen

if Labour voters stayed at home. Elsewhere, Leave campaigners

promised more money for public services and control over

immigration outside the EU. Here's our political

correspondent, Alex Forsyth. Well, last time I was campaigning

with you I was about that A better result would be a win

and that's what the Remain campaign wants, but to do that they must get

Labour voters on board, so they're rolling out the big

beasts to win them over. I hope people use their vote

to avoid the risk of losing Neil Kinnock may not

have won an election, but it's hoped he'll appeal

to Labour's core. He attacked Tories in the Leave

campaign, saying they'd made false And, on immigration, he had this

warning for the Brexit camp. Trying to persuade the British

people to sacrifice the great opportunity and the security,

economic and otherwise, of being in the European Union,

by trying to nourish prejudice, Remain campaigners know the Labour

vote is crucial to them because many Tories will back Brexit,

but Leave campaigners are targeting traditional Labour supporters

too by trying to tap into their concerns

over immigration. At a rally tonight, they challenged

their rivals on the issue. What is your vision for this country

if that rate of immigration continues because you have

absolutely no way of stopping it. The Leave campaign denied

they were making impossible promises They unveiled five pledges,

again saying EU money could be spent on the NHS and claiming leaving

could create 300,000 from new trade deals,

but the likelihood of negotiating Well, these are what we think

we could do if you are able, finally, to do the sorts of free

trade deals that are currently We haven't been able to do free

trade deals either with India, with China or even with America,

one of our biggest trading partners. The challenge for both sides

is convincing people their vision of life inside or outside

the EU is credible. In sport, Northern Ireland

had a goalless draw in their final warm-up match

for the European Championships Meanwhile, tournament hosts,

France, had a convincing Arsenal's Olivier Giroud

with the pick of the goals. Spain's Garbine Muguruza has

won the Ladies Singles She beat the Number One seed,

Serena Williams, in straight sets to pick up her first

Grand Slam title. Harzand held off the challenge

of favourite US Army Ranger It was a first win in the race

for trainer Dermot Weld and, for the first time, Her Majesty

the Queen presented the trophy. Before we go, we'll leave

you with the thoughts - Float like a butterfly,

sting like a bee. # Calling all the people

here to see the show #. And never talk about

who's going to stop me. REPORTER: Why do you insist

on being called Muhammad Ali now? Cassius Clay was my slave name,

I'm no longer a slave. Santa Claus was white

and everything bad was black. And, if I threaten you,

I'm going to blackmail you. I said, "Mama, why don't they call

it whitemail, they lie too?" COMMENTATOR: Oh, he's hit him

with the right hand. He's got him.

Oh, you can't believe it! Oh, my God he's won

the title back at 32! Hello, there the sunshine wasn't

spread far and wide today. It was hit-and-miss, really. No