On Friday, as thousands of people gathered in Muhammad Ali’s hometown of Louisville to say goodbye to the boxing legend, some Central Floridians recalled meeting the icon face-to-face.
- Muhammad Ali's long-time trainer, Bundini Brown, was from Sanford
- Brown's cousin, Frederick Alexander, recalls Ali's visit to Central Florida
- Thousands attended Ali's funeral on Friday
Frederick Alexander can still clearly remember the day when Ali came to his family’s home in Sanford.
“People were all in the streets and in the yard, and my grandmother was arguing about what are all these people doing here,” said Alexander.
Ali’s longtime trainer, Drew Bundini Brown, was raised in Sanford. And Brown is credited with coining one of Ali’s most famous quotes.
“Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Rumble young man rumble,” said Alexander.
Alexander says when his cousin, Brown, and Ali would head down to Miami to train or fight, Brown would often stopover and visit his family in Sanford. Sometimes Brown would bring Ali with him.
“He never felt he was so big that he couldn’t come home to Sanford, he always came home to see his people,” said Alexander. “He loved his people.”
Alexander says Muhammad Ali would stop to talk to people all over Sanford.
“And people were all here, down the side and looking through the windows,” he said.
“All the cars – you couldn’t get down the street because there were so many people here.”
Alexander says Ali was someone people could admire for his courage.
“He was an icon to the people,” said Alexander. “He was the type of person that people looked up to, because whatever he said - he proved himself.”
And even though people are now paying their respects to Ali, Alexander says “The Greatest” will never be gone.
“He will live on, he will always live on,” he said. “The children that aren’t here today, when they come their mothers and fathers will tell them about Muhammad Ali.”
Brown died in 1987 and was laid to rest in Sanford.