New York: New York City on Wednesday renamed a street outside Madison Square Garden “Muhammad Ali Way” after the late boxing legend who headlined a string of fights at the iconic sports arena.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the temporary renaming of West 33rd Street next to the MSG arena, where some of Ali’s greatest fights took place in America’s entertainment capital.
“Today we are paying tribute to the man in the heart of this city,” de Blasio said. “He deserves this naming honour and more.”
Ali, whose remarkable boxing career and civil rights activism made him one of the 20th century’s most indelible figures, died last week after a decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 74 years old.
Ali boxed at Madison Square Garden eight times, including in his epic 1971 “Fight of the Century” against Joe Frazier.
