Uganda mourns Muhammad Ali

PIC: October 27, 1974: Muhammad Ali pictured here during a training session in Kinshasa, Zaire, before his world heavyweight championship fight against titleholder US George Foreman three days later. (AFP)

KAMPALA - The Ugandan boxing fraternity has paid tribute to former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali who died late Friday in hospital.

Ali, 74, one of the world's best-known and most gifted sportsmen, died at a hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona, after being admitted the day before.

Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) secretary Simon Barigo described Ali's demise as a regrettable loss to the sport.

"It is a regrettable loss to boxing. He has died at a time when boxing still needed his mentorship," he said.

September 30, 2015: Sports Illustrated Group Editor Paul Fichtenbaum and Muhammad Ali at the Sports Illustrated Tribute to Muhammad Ali at The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. (AFP) 

Barigo credited Ali for promoting boxing in Uganda and Africa at large during the famous 1970 ‘Rumble of the Jungle' when Ali stopped George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo).

"Ali had a big bearing in the development of boxing in Uganda. He inspired some of Uganda's great boxers like John ‘The Beast' Mugabi, Bbosa Edwards and John Mundugwa."

Former US-based professional Godfrey Nyakana who interacted with Ali at Mouthpiece Promotions in America was equally touched by the news of the death of man who earned the nickname ‘The Greatest'.

"By all standards he is the greatest sportsman. He was a man who could walk the talk. When he says I will take you out in two rounds, he would do that," said Nyakana.

October 30, 1974: American Muhammad Ali (R) and his compatriot and titleholder George Foreman (L) in Kinshasa.  Ali won and got back his title. (AFP) 

Former Uganda Boxing Federation president David Agong, who interacted with Ali during his high-profile visit in Kampala in 1994, fondly remembers Ali as a great person who could mix easily with people.

"He was a great man. His style in the ring attracted more people to boxing. This brought big money to boxing," he said of a man known for his popular poetic phrases, one of them being "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee".

Agong was also touched by Ali as a champion of equal civil rights.

"He was a good civil rights advocate. His refusal to be conscripted for the Vietnam War contributed greatly to the civil rights movement and the empowerment of black people," he said.

Ali, who was widely regarded as the greatest boxer of all time, suffered from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by the Parkinson's disease he battled for three decades.

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