The Latest: King, president bumped from speaking at service

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Latest on the plans for Muhammad Ali's funeral in Louisville, Kentucky, this week (all times local):

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7:10 p.m.

It's not every day that a king and a president get bumped from giving speeches. But it's happened for Muhammad Ali's memorial service in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Abdullah II of Jordan had been scheduled to speak at the service at the KFC Yum! Center.

Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell said Monday that two other speakers are going to be added to the current program, meaning there won't be room for foreign dignitaries.

Gunnell says both their offices were "gracious and understood."

Ali died last Friday in Arizona following a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 74.

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6:25 p.m.

Actor Will Smith, who portrayed Muhammad Ali in the movie "Ali," and former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis are among eight pallbearers for Ali's memorial service this week in Louisville.

Also serving is Jerry Ellis, brother of Jimmy Ellis, who was Ali's former sparring partner and former world heavyweight champion.

The service is set for 2 p.m. Friday.

Ali died last Friday in Arizona following a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 74.

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6:15 p.m.

Muhammad Ali and his family never seriously considered donating the boxing great's brain for research, according to the doctor who treated him.

Lieberman said he didn't think boxing contributed to Ali's contraction of Parkinson's disease but he couldn't be "a hundred percent" certain.

The doctor spoke at a news conference at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

Lieberman was among those who diagnosed Ali in 1984. The doctor said he believes Ali had the disease earlier, when he fought Larry Holmes in 1980.

Ali thought the Holmes fight did serious damage.

In an interview, Ali said that if he had known "Holmes was going to whip me and damage my brain, I would not have fought him. But losing to Holmes and being sick are not important in God's world."

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9:55 a.m.

The day before his star-studded funeral, members of Muhammad Ali's Islamic faith will get their chance to say a traditional goodbye to the Champ.

Bob Gunnell, a spokesman for Ali's family, announced Monday that a Jenazah, a traditional Muslim funeral service, will be held at Freedom Hall at noon Thursday. It will be open to all.

They chose the venue both because it seats 18,000 and because it holds historical significance for the hometown hero. Ali fought, and won, his first professional fight there in 1960.

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8:45 a.m.

The president of Turkey and king of Jordan joined the long line of world leaders, religious figures and superstars set to speak at Muhammad Ali's funeral Friday.

Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell announced funeral details at a news conference Monday.

California imam and scholar Zaid Shakir will preside over the service at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

President Bill Clinton will deliver a eulogy.