Boxing giant Muhammad Ali farewelled at memorial service

More than 15,000 people have attended the memorial service for prize fighter champion Muhammed Ali in Louisville, Kentucky following his death last week.

Three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer Ali, 72, died following a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, his health having deteriorated after he was first hospitalised Thursday prior with “respiratory issues”.

Among those attending the service were pallbearers boxers Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, George Foreman and actors Will Smith, a personal friend of Ali’s who also played Ali in a 2001 biopic.

The packed out, 20,000-seat sports stadium for Ali’s memorial also drew the likes of former President Bill Clinton, Sugar Ray Leonard and Don King.

READ MORE: Thousands line the streets in Louisville to farewell boxing legend Muhammad Ali

In a poignant eulogy at the memorial today (AEST), Billy Crystal performed the same Muhammad Ali impersonation that he pulled off during his first time on TV in the 1970s.

Crystal told mourners of a journey of his relationship with Ali – when he was made famous for his impersonation of the boxing great, and broadcaster Howard Cossell.

Crystal repeated the quick-talking, silver-tongued impersonation, recalling the moment he was invited by broadcaster Dick Schaap to perform the routine in front of Ali himself in 1974.

“Ali had just beaten Foreman, Sport magazine made him man of the year,” he explained.

“So I took the podium and went into the Ali…’everybody’s talking about George Foreman, talkin’ ‘bout George Foreman so slow, he so ugly and slow, George was slow… I rub-a-dub George, I’m still fast at 33 years of age, I’m so fast I can be in my bed before the room goes dark.”

The memorial crowd erupted with laughter and applause, before Crystal continued in Ali’s distinct voice.

“Howard, I’m announcing tonight that I got new religious beliefs, from now on I wanna be know Izzy Yiskowitz…I am the Greatest of All Time.”

Crystal said “no one had ever done him before, and here I was a white kid from Long Island impersonating the greatest of all time, and he loved it,” he remembered.

In a touching gesture, Crystal recounted how Ali had pulled him in and hugged him after the impersonation.

“He whispered, ‘You’re my little brother,’ which is what he always called me,’” he said.

After bringing light and humour into his eulogy, he finished on a serious note.

“Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves, he ultimately became a silent messenger of peace,” he said.

“He taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people and not walls.”

Crystal’s eulogy received a standing ovation.

The two shared a 42-year friendship which began from their poignant on-air encounter.

Among others delivering eulogies were wife Lonnie Ali and Bill Clinton, who recounted Ali lighting the Olympic Flame at Atlanta in 1996.