Will Smith, Lennox Lewis to serve as Muhammad Ali pallbearers

ESPN logo
Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Actor Will Smith and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be among eight pallbearers in services held Friday for Muhammad Ali.

The services for Ali in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, will includea procession and private burial and, later in the day, a public memorial at the KFC Yum! Center. It will be held at 2 p.m. ET, with 15,000 tickets available.

Ali died Friday night at the age of 74.

Smith was nominated for Best Actor by the Academy Awards for his portrayal of Ali in Michael Mann's 2001 biopic "Ali."

Lewis, like Ali, was both a former heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist.

Smith and Lewis will be joined as pallbearers by John Grady, Ali's cousin; Ibn Ali, Ali's nephew; Komawi Ali, Ali's former brother-in-law; Jerry Ellis, brother of Jimmy Ellis, who was Ali's former sparring partner and also a former heavyweight champion; Jan Wadell, Ali's first cousin; and John Ramsey, Ali's family friend.

Friday's memorial service will be open to the general public with tickets available at the arena's box office starting Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Friday's services will follow a Thursday prayer service at Louisville's Freedom Hall arena, which starts at noon ET. The Freedom Hall box office will open Tuesday at 10 a.m., with a maximum of four tickets per request.

Ali died June 3 from septic shock due to unspecified natural causes.

Ali spent the final hour of his life surrounded by his family after initially being hospitalized in the Phoenix area on May 30.

Related Video