Obama leads tributes to Muhammad Ali
“He shook up the world, and the world's better for it. Rest in peace, Champ.”
– US President Barack Obama
“God came for his champion. So long great one.”
– Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson
“Muhammad Ali represents and symbolises greatness for all the world over. His name and story will live on forever. RIP!”
– Cathy Freeman
“He was the greatest humanitarian that ever lived, who was the rare person who actually practised what he preached. He was one in a billion, a humanitarian who also stood up for what he believed in. It’s a pity there aren’t more Muhammad Alis out there, because the world would be a much better place.”
– Australia’s former world champion boxer Jeff Fenech
“Muhammad Ali really was The Greatest – unmatched not just in power and skill, but also in courage and conscience.”
– US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
“Ali, Frazier & Foreman we were 1 guy. A part of me slipped away, The greatest piece. Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest human beings I have ever met. No doubt he was one of the best people to have lived in this day and age. To put him as a boxer is an injustice.”
– George Foreman
“The black community all around the world, black people all around the world, needed him. He was the voice for us.”
– Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr
“A true great has left us. Muhammed Ali transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit.”
– Bob Arum, who promoted many of Ali’s fights
“Boxing benefited from Muhammad Ali’s talents but not nearly as much as mankind benefited from his humanity.”
– Boxing champion and Philippines politician Manny Pacquiao
“Today we bow our heads at the loss of a man who did so much for America. Tomorrow we will raise our heads again remembering that his bravery, his outspokenness, and his sacrifice for the sake of his community and country lives on in the best part of each of us.”
– Basketball great Kareem Abdul Jabaar
“I gave Ali the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 and wondered aloud how he stayed so pretty throughout so many fights. It probably had to do with his beautiful soul.”
– Former US president George W Bush
