Ali to be proclaimed king of boxing

Mexico City, Dec 3 (IANS/EFE) Muhammad Ali, former world heavyweight boxing champion and widely considered to be the greatest pugilist of all time, will be named “King of Boxing” at the 50th convention of the World Boxing Council, or WBC.

The convention begins Monday in Mexico’s Caribbean coastal resort of Cancun.

The “crowning” of Ali will be one of the main events at the convention celebrating the 50th year of the WBC, which is headed by Mexican Jose Sulaiman.

The WBC, which will meet from Dec 3-8, said that Ali will be present in Cancun and that his proclamation as “King of Boxing” will take place at a ceremony that will be attended by about 100 world champs and ex-champs.

“It will be a recognition for an entire life of greatness. There’s nobody in the world who has done what Ali has done,” Sulaiman said before the Cancun convention.

Sulaiman, who has been WBC president since 1975, said that Ali deserves the honour “which he needs more” at this point in his life. The former world champion has suffered from Parkinson’s for years.

In addition to recognizing Ali, at the convention the WBC will review matters designed to strengthen boxing.

The WBC was founded in 1963 by then-Mexican president Adolfo Lopez Mateos.

—IANS/EFE

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IANS 2012-12-03 11:28:20