Boxers who grew up idolizing and emulating Muhammad Ali watched part of the memorial at Gleason's Boxing Gym in Brooklyn, where the champ himself trained. Our Na'eem Douglas has that part of the story.
"He was the only person, that everybody would stop what they're doing and gawk at him," said Gleason's Gym owner Bruce Silverglade. "He had an aura about himself. He just attracted people."
Arguably, the most famous boxer in the world, Muhammad Ali is ever-present at his old stomping ground in Gleason's gym in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
From his signature on the wall, to the live viewing of his funeral services on all the gym's televisions.
"He transcended race, color, religion," said boxer Alicia Ashley. "You know Muhammad Ali where ever you are. It was so many things that he did to make you realize he was a cultural icon."
An icon that stood for what he believed in. He famously opposed the Vietnam War and was stripped of his heavyweight title and banned from boxing for three years. In the 1960s, he was a civil rights activist at a time when that title could be as dangerous as any championship bout.
He retired years ago, but each generation still grows up knowing Muhammad Ali, even if you never crossed paths.
"He attracts people," said Gleason's Gym owner Bruce Silverglade. "He communicates with people. He's not only a boxer and world champion but an American icon."
"We're young guys meeting somebody like Muhammad Ali was a big thing," said former boxer Juan Laporte. "As fighters we always look up to Muhammad Ali he was great not only in the ring."
"Even though in 2012, he tired really easily and we could not socialize with them at that point, there were things that you just could see the energy in his eyes," said Ashley.
Muhammad Ali was a man ahead of his time. He revolutionized the way boxers boxed and made you rethink what a star should do with their platform.