Harrison Ford and Sharon Stone were among the stars who paid tribute to the late Muhammad Ali at Saturday’s (18Mar17) Celebrity Fight Night event.
A host of famous names, who also included Dennis Quaid, U.S. swimming champ Michael Phelps and broadcaster Larry King also joined the boxing legend’s widow Lonnie for the charity bash at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Arizona.
Ali hosted the Celebrity Fight Night for two decades until his death aged 74 in June last year (16) after a 32 year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Over 23 years guests at the event have raised $127 million for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute, a specialist medical hub in Phoenix treating those with the brain disease the boxer battled so bravely.
According to Variety magazine Lonnie thanked those present, saying she was sure her late husband appreciated their efforts.
“There’s such a love in this room,” she said. “Tonight especially, that love is very evident. I know Muhammad’s here.”
Harrison meanwhile explained how the sporting superstar’s incredible life and career had inspired him over the years.
“Seeing what he went through, the way he conducted himself, the hard choices that he made was inspiring to me, and I’m grateful for his wisdom,” Harrison said.
Among the lots in a star-studded auction were a dinner with Sharon Stone and her friends John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston, as well as a meal with the night’s host Reba McEntire.
Of her own relationship with the legendary boxer Sharon said, “He was a very dear friend to me and obviously he meant a lot to the world and he meant a lot to me personally.”
The evening’s entertainment was provided by 16-time Grammy winner David Foster, actor and musician Dennis Quaid and his band The Sharks, country duo Brooks & Dunn, Sam Moore, Brian McKnight and Beach Boy Mike Love.
