Muhammad Ali carefully planned own three-day funeral program

The Champ didn’t go into the ring without a strategy, and fans of the late boxing icon Muhammad Ali should expect no less at his funeral. “The plans are specified by Muhammad Ali, that’s the bottom line,” said Ali family spokesperson Bob Gunnell. “This is a 10-year plan that a small group of advisers had worked on. And these are Muhammad’s wishes. What you’re seeing are Muhammad’s wishes and he had a hand in all the planning.” The card for Ali’s three-day Louisville, Ky., sendoff includes a city-sponsored cultural festival Wednesday, an Islamic funeral prayer program Thursday and a star-studded public memorial service Friday featuring such dignitaries as former President Bill Clinton, former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis and actor Will Smith, who earned an Academy Award nomination for playing Ali on the big screen.

READ MORE:  NYDailyNews.com