Muhammad Ali funeral service will be open to the public

Muhammad Ali’s funeral is to be held in his hometown of Louisville at 2pm local time (7pm Irish) on Friday.

The service, at the KFC YUM! Centre in the Kentucky city, will be open to the public and streamed live on the internet for those unable to attend.

It will be preceded by a Jenazah - an Islamic funeral prayer programme - also for the public at midday on Thursday at the Freedom Hall, where Ali made his professional debut with victory over Tunney Hunsaker in 1960 and fought for the last time in Louisville against Willi Besmanoff a year later.