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June 6, 2016updated 07 Jun 2016 12:39pm

Muhammad Ali: How Fleet Street paid tribute to the champ

By Freddy Mayhew

Muhammad Ali’s death at 74 has dominated news around the world and took the front page on every major national Sunday newspaper.

Voted BBC Sports Personality of the Century at the turn of the millennium, the man who many people say was the greatest champion in sporting history died on Friday after suffering from a respiratory illness that was complicated by his Parkinson’s disease.

He passed away at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, the family’s spokesperson Bob Gunnell said. His funeral will take place in his home town of Louisville, Kentucky.

While coverage of Ali’s life was overwhelming positive, The Sun on Sunday came under fire on social media for what one Twitter user described as a “distasteful headline” when it attempted a riff off Ali’s famous “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” quote, turning it into: “Float like a butterfly, sting like R.I.P.”

A number of publications carried special pull-out souvenir editions about Ali’s life. Further tributes were also paid in today’s newspapers.

Below is a round-up of the coverage.

Sunday papers:

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Ali - The Sun on Sunday

Ali - Sunday Times front

Ali - Sunday Telegraph

Ali - Sunday Express front Ali - The Sunday Observer   Ali - Daily Star on SundayAli - The Independent (Sunday) digital front  Ali - The Mail on Sunday Sport Ali - Sunday Mirror front Ali - Sunday People front

Today’s papers:

Ali - The Independent digital front Ali - The i Ali - Daily Star Ali - The Guardian Ali - The Sun Ali - Daily Mirror

 

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