Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom Live 20160604 : vimarsana.

This is such a huge loss not only to the world of sport but also on so many different lefbltlefblt levels. Don radel joins us now. He had the style, he had the skill. But his passion, his mission transcended the art. Absolutely. I think many people would agree hes the greatest boxer of all time. Many people would see him as the biggest and most spectacular and recognized athlete of the 20th century. He was the man who transcended the sport. Arguably the most popular. For example, adam silver whos the commissioner of the nba has just released his tribute to muhammad ali saying alis legacy lives on in anything they take a stand for what he or she believes. That says it all. Its not just the fact that hes a threetime champion. Its not just the way he conducted himself outside the ring as a bombastic performer. You can get a lot of joy out of the way he reacted in hiss press conferences and the way he trash talked in a poetic fashion. He was such a principled man. This is why we are quite moved that we lost this legendary boxer, the stand he took for the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, refusing to go to vietnam, a move that cost him three or four years of his career, arguably the best years of his career. That is what really mark him out as such a special man, such an amazing human being, and why he inspired so many people all over the world. Why even today . What is that commonality that people find in him . A kid in africa, even an old man sitting in the philippines still finds that thread that they feel they can identify with him . What is that . Well, he faced so many chamgs, didnt he. And it was the manner in which he dealt with them. The seemingly impossible challenges, the things he had to your come. Life wasnt easy for him in the early days. Boxing was this outlet. He described this is how he could channel his rage and he was able to put it to good use. He wasnt particularly educated. Although you would never guess it after he became this figure. I think it was the style and the way he refused to take no for an answer. He was prepared to pay for his consequenc consequences. He was quite prepared to go to jail. He could have left the country or go to canada. He never did that. He took punches in more ways than one. Absolutely, yeah. But took punches for so many people for so many didnt reasons. Im struck by the context of the time when you think about the fact that the United States was just leaving a time of segregation and here is an africanamerican man who said, i am pretty, i am the greatest. And for people to hear that at that time and see this person stand up, really, against the establishment, stand strong in his convictions and at great consequence to some degree, yet still he won. Yeah, absolutely. And some of the things he said are so inspirational. They are. So many quotes have lived on and oned a on. Of course, we all know the float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. But the fights he named. Thrilla in manila. I bet you youve heard of those fights even if you dont know what those fights were or represented or why they were so important and special. Youve probably heard of those fights. He just did it with such style, and as you say, with such conviction. And it is a tragedy, really, that we havent seen the best of him for the last 32 years. I think he had the potential to be so much more. The people who went to cover the fight in zaire, the rumble in the jungle, the they they revered him and fed off him. They said this guy is a political figure. This could be his second career. I think he had so many of his own challenges once he was diagnosed with parkinsons that was never going to be a factor, but he was really a rebel with a cause. He did so much good. Don riddell, stay with us. Weve got so much more. I want to talk about whats happening outside the hop where members of alis family is. Dan simon is there outside the hospital and he joins us now. Hi, there, dan. Hi, robyn and george. We know that he died here at the hospital in scottsdale, arizona. He was brought here with a respiratory illness. I think the speed at how this all occurred may have caught some off guard. Originally we were told he was in fair condition, that this was going be a brief hospital stay. Before we knew it we were told the situation was quite grave and then we got word this evening in arizona he, in fact, died. Of course, he had been in Failing Health ore the past several years. He had been in and out of the hospital. He was last seen a few months ago at a charity event. He really did look frail. Again, the fact that this happened so quickly given the fact that the publicist for the family said, you know, he was in fair condition, that he was going to be going home and suddenly we were told that he died was really quite a shock. Are we hearing any details about his last moments from his family . Reporter at this point, robin, the family has requested priebscy. We have not heard those details yet. What we do know is theres going to be a press briefing tomorrow where some of the details surrounding the funeral are going to be released. And we know its going to take place in louisville, his hometown. Its just after 2 00 a. M. Where you are. Has anyone started gathering by the hospital . What do we know about larger memorials, about people coming together to remember him . Reporter we know that well, i can tell you that a few people have come by the hospital. Some people have lit candles, things of that nature. Thats really what you would expect. Theres been a little bit of a Police Presence outside the hospital as well. I would imagine that tomorrow in daylight hours, well start seeing more people come to the hospital. And i would expect to see something of a makeshift memorial, if you will, of cards and flowers and things of that nature. But, you know, this was hue hand alis home in phoenix, rk, ari. He loved the community and folks loved him back. Folks are grieving tonight as well as everyone around the world. Thanks for joining us, dan simon. We appreciate it. Were talking a man who was larger than life. Wolf blitzer gives us a look. This is the legend of muhammad ali, the greatest fighter who ever will be. He proclaimed himself the greatest and millions around the world agreed. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Those phrases became his motto. His ka riis maam outside the ring made him one of the best known personalities. You look at me. I have 22 professional fights. Ing. But his persona began to emerge long before he captured his first heavyweight championship. He was born casseus Marcellus Clay jr. At 12 years old, his world would challenge forever when a local Police Officer introduced him to boxing. It would be an outlet for his rage. It also offered ali an opportunity to develop his remarkable talent. Six years later he would bring home a gold medal from the 1966 olympic summer games in rome. He turned pro at 18 and at 22 he stunned the boxing world beating a boxer everyone thought was invincib invincible. Sonny liston. To prove a point he put sonny away a second time in a rematch the following year. The 60s were a glory day for muhammad but it would be polarizing period in his life. He renounced his given name and joined the black separatists. As quicklied a he had arrived his heavyweight title was gone. He refused to serve in the vietnam war. At the peak boxing age of 25 ali gave up millions of dollars in endorsements and spent five years in prison over a war he found despicable and unjust. In war, the intention is to kill, kill, kill, kill, and continue killing innocent people. Ali began a 3 1 2year exile from champion fights until the u. S. Supreme court overturn ed t on a technicality. But the world would soon learn even superman had his off days. He was back in the ring when husband inprofessional record came to an end. He lost a match to joe frazier dubbed the fight of the century. It was the first of three fights. Joe may be smokin but he eenlt going. The night mate amaze ya but this time ill retire him. And he did. Fraziers trainer stopped the fight following the 14th round giving ali a technical knockout. He was on a role again. But his a greatest win was in zaire. I hospitalized a brick. Im so mean i make med i sin sick. He knocked out the heavy favorite George Foreman. It was called the rumble in the jungle. It marked the beginning of another battle that he would describe as his toughest, the diagnosis that he was afflicted with parkinsons disease. After two decades, ali was forced to retire. His lifetime record, 56 victories, just five defeats. But he never retreated from living a very public life nchl 1996 ali provided one f the most poignant moments in sports history. With 3 billion people watching he lit the olympic summer games in atlanta. His hands tremoring but never wavering. Ali remained the consummate showman. As his condition grew heavily worse e he struggled to whisper every day. His hands and legs shook and his voice quivered. I am the greatest. Yet his spirit was never shaken and he never slowed down as serving as an ambassador for piece and a mediator in world conflicts. In 205 ali was presented with the president ial freedom award, the nations highest offer. When you say the greatest of all time is in the room, everyone knows who you mean. And tributes for the champ continued. How do you feel about getting honored tonight . Ali was one of the most gifted in sports history. The World May Never see the likes of him again. Some would argue he needed the crowds as much as they needed him, not for mere validation but because each found in the other the best in themselves. Alis got a left, alis gotta a right, if he hits you once you sleep for the night. Hope and pray that you never meet me again. What a man, what a fighter, what a legend. We are here at cnn center remembering the life of muhammad ali. Well, with us is don riddell. This is a man who in the ring was nimble, was fast, and he was he was the greatest, wasnt he . Yeah. And, you know, you talk about his agility and his speed, these are not qualities you would necessarily associate typically with a heavyweight boxer, but he was that, and he was quite unusual when he came onto the scene, but he really used those attributes absolutely to his advantage. Just his hand speed, his reflexes. His opponents really struggled to get a handle on that. One of the things he used to great effects as he was able to get his way out of the punches and he could move his head backward and that forced his moments to lose their balance and once they did that, he could hit them on the counter attack when they were least ready. He was so bold about his style. He knew his style. Its like he would get into his opponents head. Here comes a left, a right, hes branding it. Before the fights he would call the rounds in which he was going to end the fight. Literally with a loudspeaker. He would write it on the board. He was brilliant of getting into the heads and the minds and really unsettling mind games before the fighting even started. He was brilliant at it. But he was strategically very astute too. He knew what his strengths were. He knew how to outsmart his opponents. He could do it by goading them and really tempting them into making mistakes. One of his most famous fights, the rumble in the jungle. Foreman was a massive guy, a really, really heavy puncher and a lot of people didnt give ali a prayer but his fight was get in there and stay on the ropes. Ropeadope. Soak up the pressure, let foreman hit him as hard as he could. The punches that he took. He took some real punches. First of all, he won the fight. Foreman wore himself out and was so frustrated. Ali was able toll pick him off. A strategic triumph for muhammad ali. The consequences of that fight where he and joe frazier just thrashed each other for 14 rounds, taking so much punishment and all those other fights, theres not much doubt that that had something to do with him and the parkinsons. It really is a tragedy. Stay with us. Thank you. He was tweeted as a giant among men. Ali displayed a greatness in talent, courage, and conviction, that most of us will ever be able to truly comprehend. Here are some of his best moments. I dont like fighters who talk too mump. I must be the greatest. I told this world. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Im the quickest in the ring. This might shock and amaze ya but i will destroy joe frazer. Im so bad you know what i was doing . I went out to the jungle. Im bad, man. Can i dance . Is the pope a catholic . The man to beat me havent been born yet. Well, im the greatest. If you get too small, ill knock you out. Last week i murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. Im so mean i make medicine sick. Look at me now. Dont tell me that isnt the perfect specimen of man. Look at that body. Slim, trim, and on my toes. I dont get hit. Im the fastest thing on two feet, are you crazy . Im tired of talk smag im not only tired of fighting. Im a prophet, a resurrector, and the savior of the boxing world. If it wasnt for me, the game would be dead. Headache . Motrin helps you be an unstoppable lets rock this kind of mom. Back pain . Motrin helps you be a. Side planking, even though youll feel it later kind of woman. Body pain . Motrin helps you be an. I can totally do this in one trip kind of woman. When pain tries to stop you, motrin works fast to stop pain. Make it happen with motrin® liquid gels. Also try motrin pm to relieve pain and help you sleep. Thank you for joining us and welcome back to our breaking News Coverage of the death of muhammad ali. The boxing legend and champion died friday night at 74. He had suffered from parkinsons disease for more than 34 years. You will remember he charmed i am the greatest. Muhammad ali leaves his mark on the world as one of the best athletes of all time, and later an activist for a social change. Boxing promoter don king had a lock history with muhammad ali back in 1974. He promoted the championship heavyweight fight between he and george for maine that became known as the rumble in the jungle. Very well known. There was also a fight with joe frazer called thrilla in manila. Don kick spoke with our colleague earlier about what muhammad ali means to him. I loved muhammad ali. Hes a friend for life. He will never die. His spirit will go on together. He does what every sports person would like to do, going out there and getting it done without any equivocation. Success, the goal he was after, he was just fabulous. So he was just a great human being and a champion of the people, the greatest of all times. When you first met him, what was it that attracted you to him as an athlete and as a boxer . What was it that he had the other guys just didnt . He had an attitude that he cared for people and little kids and old people. He would go out and do things without any type of a trying to find any type of publicity or gran diezment. He would do it because it was in his heart. He was a very jovial person, a person that you could deal with. He was one of the masses, you know what i mean, and he would fight for the masses, if whats right and whats wrong and he would stand up for what his beliefs are. No one can really say how great muhammad ali really was because during the height of his career is when he run into the encounter of being charged with draft evasion and would gonlt to the war, but he was a Conscientious Objector and stood his ground. It took him through all kinds of trials and tribulations but he rose to the occasion that he preferred to go to jail than break what he believed in. Thats why his friends and family loved him. He stood up for what he believed in and stood for the people. That decision that came in his behalf it was like, wow, heaven on earth. Those four years he lost at the height of his career, they can never see how good he would have been because he did all this greatness after being held out from practicing his trade at the height of his career. He sacrificed they he had something to lose when you have something that they will be able to lose when you put him to the test and he stood the test of time. I loved the man and a he was incredible when he came back after losing three, four of the best year of his career. Early on, don, people didnt really know what to make of him. He was so brash, so bombastic. You look back at his press conferences now, and theyre absolutely amazing performances, and he was all off the cufful but in the early days he was quite polarizing and very controversial. What was it that you think turned the Public Opinion in his favor . Well, because he stood steadfast, tenacious in his belief and firm. He said what he mean and he mean what he said. This what you be winning the people with. Because when youve got everything to gain, and he had everything to gain by just going along with the system. But he fought the system for righteousness, and in so doing he gained a fame, affluence, but more importantly, the loyalty of the people. The people that didnt like him had to respect him, and thats really all you have to do is deal with r e s espec respect. He turned it around, he was a visionary, prognosticate what he would do, and go out and do it. He was the fighter for the people. He was the grittest of all times. Every head must bow, every knee must bend, every tongue must confess hes the greatest of all time, muhammad, muhammad ali. He demonstrated that. With the love of the people he was a tremendous, tremendous not only a boxer but a great human being. His spirit will never die. All of those who stood up and fought for it, the president that i love, john f. Kennedy, all of them had ways and means of saying things that would be able to insight and get people motivated and inspired to do what was right and stand their ground on what was right. And thats why muhammad ali will never die. Well, theres been a lot of reaction on twitter. Muhammad ali is taking up all the top trending spots. And british Prime Minister David Cameron tweeting, muhammad ali was not just a champion in the ring. He was a champion of civil rights and a role model for so many people. Ringo starr of the beatles, god bless muhammad ali. Peace and love to all his family. Twotime champion, r. I. P. , the greatest of all time. Also, a giant among men, ali displayed a gritness in talent. And john king, i mourn the passing of muhammad ali p he was indeed the greatest, an American Legend and a true champion. He took on mcaany activists throughout his light. He was a con schenn just object ter. Explained it best when he put it bluntly. I and it got no quarrel with viet cong. He was stripped of boxing in the prime time of his career. He even faced prison but the Supreme Court overturn thad conviction in 1971. His stand against the u. S. Government became a rallying cry against war everywhere. His words that day and throughout his life continue to inspire people all around the world. I want to read this quote also from muhammad ali. Live every day as if its your last