Muhammad Ali’s family are coping
Muhammad Ali’s family are "coping" following his death.
The legendary boxer tragically passed away on Friday (03.06.16) from complications following his long battle with Parkinson’s disease and though his loved ones are devastated, they are "moving forward" and pressing on with their plans for his funeral.
Family friend and actress Holly Robinson Peete said Ali’s widow, Lonnie, "seems to be doing fine", while she has also been in contact with her friend, the boxer’s daughter Laila.
Holly told People magazine: "Everybody is just in power mode.
"They’re just moving forward and they want to send him off in the best way possible.
"You have so much to do, and he’s a superstar. He’s a global icon, so it’s a big deal."
The ’21 Jump Street’ actress spoke of how Ali’s battle with Parkinson’s disease gave her own father, late actor Matt Robinson, "hope" when he was also diagnosed with the condition.
She said: "When my dad got Parkinson’s disease around the same time as the Champ did, he was dark and destitute and sad and depressed. And when Muhammad Ali lit that torch in Atlanta for the [1996] Olympics, it gave him new life and it gave him so much hope."
And Holly will always be grateful to the sportsman for attending one of her HollyRod Foundation’s events as he "put [us] on the map".
She added: "We started a charity to help families impacted by Parkinson’s and we called him thinking he’ll never come. And he came."
Ali’s public funeral will be live streamed from the KFC Yum! Centre in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday (10.06.16) and Holly and her husband Rodney will be in attendance to mourn his "huge loss".
She added: "This man has just left such an indelible imprint on every level of life. As a young man. As a boxer. As a humanitarian."
