THE Muhammad Ali centre that was opened by the legend himself now stands derelict and smashed up while covered in bird poo.
Nicknamed “The Greatest”, the former heavyweight world champion is one of the most significant sporting figures of all-time.
But despite his worldwide fame, the American was determined to keep his word and head to the Handsworth district of Birmingham back in August 1983.
According to the Daily Mail, Ali received no money for his trip to open the centre.
The man, who just a year later would be diagnosed with Parkinson’s, was “picked up from Heathrow in a Birmingham businessman’s Rolls Royce and serenaded by the TV-AM chef Rustie Lee, a television celebrity at that time, in her Handsworth restaurant.”
The Muhammad Ali Centre was built so that local youngsters would be able to use it for the likes of karate classes, music nights and its pool tables.
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As he officially unveiled it, Ali told the packed audience: “I’m not just boasting by saying I’m the greatest. We’re the greatest.”
Now, as these pictures show, the Muhammad Ali Centre is in a state of complete dereliction.
The stage upon which the boxing icon once stood is covered in bird poo with the bar area completely smashed up.
A number of pool tables have been turned upside down among the scorched remains of chairs with rubbish piling up outside.
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A fire forced the centre to close in 2002 and it has been owned by local organisation, Kajans Women’s Enterprise, for the past seven years.
Gary Newbon was a reporter for ATV at the time of Ali’s visit and covered the grand opening.
He told the Mail: “He was so keen on community and those he called his ‘brothers’ in Handsworth clearly meant so much.
“Opening that place was a big thing for him. It’s a scandal how it’s gone to rack and ruin.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
