i first met muhammad ali over 45 years ago, through his friendship with my uncle, gene dibble. and he, my uncle, would be so touched that his son gene is a pallbearer here today. thank you, lonnie. because of my family connection, the president and first lady asked me if i would read this tribute to you, penned by president obama. it was 1980, an epic career was in its twilight. everybody knew it. probably including the champ himself. ali went into one of his final fights an underdog. all of the smart money was on the new champ, larry holmes. and in the end, the odds-makers were right. a few hours later, at 4:00 a.m. after the loss, after the fans had gone home and the sports writers were writing their final take, a sports writer asked a rest room attendant if he had bet on the fight. the man, black, and getting on in years, said he'd put his money on ali. the writer asked why. why, the man said. why? because he's muhammad ali. that's why. [ applause ] he said, mister, i'm 72 years old and i owe the man for giving me my dignity. [ applause ] to lonnie and the ali family, preside