Admiration of Muhammad Ali is not uncommon. From every boxer who?s donned a pair of white Everlast trunks with black trim, to anyone who?s ever amped themselves up with Ali?s ?float like a butterfly, sting like a bee? speech, Ali stands as a hallmark in our sport, in our lexicon, in our history.
So when Muhammad Ali celebrates a hallmark birthday, how do you plan a party successfully? You make the party ?The Greatest,? of course.
That?s just what happened at The Power of Love Gala, where the greatest in sport, film, music, and philanthropy came out to support ?The Greatest,? Muhammad Ali, in honor of the former heavyweight champion of the world?s 70th birthday. Stars were in no shortage on Saturday night inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, including former foes Thomas ?The Hitman? Hearns, and ?Big? George Foreman, Academy Award winner Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Samuel L. Jackson, to name a few. Jackson also emceed the televised portion of the event.
The celebration, with an attendance of just under 2,000 guests, will be aired sometime next week on ESPN.
Seventy years of ?Great?-ness will build a large fan base for anyone, and among those wishing him a happy birthday were international soccer star David Beckham, former five-class world champion Sugar Ray Leonard, and rapper Common. Providing the party?s soundtracks were chart-busting musicians, kicking off with Lenny Kravitz, and featuring Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Slash, and LL Cool J dedicating a performance of ? what else? ? ?Mama Said Knock You Out? to the legend.
Topping off the pageantry was a living legend in his own right: Stevie Wonder, who earlier that day had been on the East Coast at the funeral of Whitney Houston, jumped on a plane that same day and flew to Las Vegas just to perform for Ali. He was joined on stage by former Destiny?s Child singer Kelly Rowland to perform Houston?s ?The Greatest Love of All,? apropos for an evening dedicated to the Power of Love.
Prior to taping, Ali was greeted by another man who wrote history of another sort ? a video birthday message was played for him from President Barack Obama.
And of course, with Stevie Wonder present to celebrate Ali?s 70th, a star-studded, crowd-engaging finale of Stevie?s ?Happy Birthday? finished off the night.
The night was not only a celebration of Ali?s in-ring prowess, but also of his outside-the-ring life. Interspersed through the musical acts were film reels of Ali?s bold confidence, his dedication to the sport, his courage during the Vietnam War to be a ?conscientious objector,? and his humanitarian efforts around the world post-boxing.
Ali?s 70th birthday was done in conjunction with the annual Power of Love Gala, a benefit for Keep Memory Alive, a charity which supports treatments for and research to find cures for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alhzeimer?s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson?s disease, from which Ali has fought against since 1984.
The gala event, which raised funds for Keep Memory Alive, the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, and the Muhammad Ali Center, brought out many of Las Vegas? socialite scene, raising exceptionally generous amounts of money to fight neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to the price of admission and general donations, silent and live auctions were held. Silent auction items up for bid included VIP experiences at Yankee Stadium, New York and Hawaii getaways, Tiffany jewelry, and an authentic 1997 Dodgers jersey autographed by Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda.
But the big bucks came in generous heaping waves during the live auction, which included such rare, luxurious items and experiences as an Australian yacht excursion to Sydney and Adelaide, an escape to the private islands of David Copperfield, a trip to Hollywood to be Cee-Lo Green?s personal guests on the set of ?The Voice,? and celebrity-chef-catered dinner parties for twenty. Fetching the highest bids of the night were the Mercedes 2013 SL65 AMG (which will not even debut until May at the Detroit Auto Show) for $525,000, and the actual authenticated fight gloves from Muhammad Ali?s first fight in Las Vegas against Floyd Patterson, along with an authentic fight poster listing Ali still as Cassius Clay, and a signed poster of the champ, selling for $1.1 million.
Guests enjoyed a four-course meal from a team of celebrity chefs, including cocktail appetizers from Wolfgang Puck, kampacha from Michael Mina (American Fish, Nobhill Tavern), ricotta cavatelli from Scott Conant (Scarpetta, D.O.C.G.), red wine braised short ribs from Tom Colicchio (Craftsteak), and dessert from Jean-Jacques Granet (executive pastry chef of MGM Grand).
As everyone sang, danced, and partied the night away, the man of honor, Muhammad Ali, stayed seated, motionless, expressionless. Not because he wanted to, but because his disease kept him so. However, Muhammad Ali, today as he was then, is a fighter, and when he was brought up stage toward the end of the night, the world-championship smile he charmed generations with fought its way back to his face, forcing his facial muscles to create an upward-turned lift, a half smile, beaming as much joy as it could to the thousands gathered to love the once-and-always champ.
Toward the end of the night, Sean Combs began to say a few words, telling a tale he had told Ali before, of how he inspired Combs so much that he had Ali?s likeness tattooed on his chest, and that he finds inspiration from it.
Ali stared at him, with the wide-eyed stare he had fixed on so many opponents in the ring and in the press pit before him, then turned away and twirled his finger around his temple, making the ?crazy? sign.
Nothing could have been more Ali than that.
From all of us at 3 More Rounds, happy 70th birthday, Champ. You truly are The Greatest.
