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Heartfelt tributes paid to boxer Muhammad Ali at emotional memorial service

Thousands of people have said a final farewell to Muhammad Ali at a emotional memorial service in his home town of Louisville.

The 74-year-old heavy weight champion was hailed as "the living, breathing embodiment of the greatest we can be" and remembered for being "bigger, brighter and more original and influential than just about anyone of his era" as a packed audience gathered to pay their respects to the sporting legend.

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Clinton: Ali was a 'universal soldier of our common humanity'

Bill Clinton paid tribute to Muhammad Ali at his funeral. Credit: RTV

Former US President Bill Clinton has paid a touching tribute to Muhammad Ali at a memorial service held in his honour in his home town of Louisville.

Describing Ali as a "universal soldier of our common humanity", Clinton remembered the boxer as a " truly free man of faith" who never let his fight with Parkinson's dictate his life.

He said: "I will always think of Muhammad as a truly free man of faith.

"He refused to be imprisoned by a disease that kept him hamstrung longer than Nelson Mandela was kept in prison in South Africa."

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