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The Greatest: Remembering Muhammad Ali; Clinton Vs. Sanders: Too Close to Call in California. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 4, 2016 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BOB GUNNELL, ALI FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: -- their final good-byes. And it was a very solemn moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN's Jason Carroll is in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Muhammad Ali passed away. The official time of death was 9:10 p.m. Mountain Time.

Jason, we learned a lot about the final week and learned a lot about the coming week. The extensive, very public for the most part plans here in Louisville. Tell us about it.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. In fact, they're calling it a celebration. A lot of details have been released just a few moments ago. The official cause of death, we're now hearing, septic shock. The official time of death, 9:10 Mountain Standard Time. This all started Monday when they checked in, Muhammad Ali's family checked him into the hospital here. He was in fair condition. They thought - he would pull through like he's pulled through so many times in the past.

That was not the case. The spokesman saying that within the past 24 hours, it became very clear that he was not going to pull through this time. So they gathered all of the family together so they could be there by his side. He also laid out details of exactly what's going to happen next week when Muhammad Ali is finally laid to rest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUNNELL: A celebration of Muhammad's life will begin on Thursday with a private family ceremony for just the immediate family, children, grandchildren, cousins, brother. Then the next morning the family will gather at the funeral home location where they will be joined by the imam's aide who is presiding over the funeral arrangements for prayers.

And at that point, a funeral - a rather large funeral procession will take Muhammad through the streets of Louisville to allow anyone that's there from the world to say good-bye, to celebrate the life with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: And again, that procession will go right by where you are, John. It will go back by the Muhammad Ali Center through his old neighborhood. We're told he will finally be laid to rest at Kayhill Cemetery there in Louisville.

The public eulogy will be given by former President Bill Clinton. He will be there on hand, as well as sportscaster Bryant Gumbel, Billy Crystal there, as well. Again, the sposkesman saying that in the final moments the family had a full day to say their final good-byes.

Hannah Ali, one of Muhammad Ali's daughters, talked about that very private, very emotional moment. She said all of his organs failed but his heart wouldn't stop beating. For 30 minutes, his heart just kept beating. No one had ever seen anything like it. A true testament to the strength of his spirit and his will.

Also, Miriam Ali weighing in on this as well. As you know, she's been a friend of mine for many, many years. She e-mailed me this morning. She said, "Jason, I am happy my father no longer struggles. He is in a better place. God is the greatest." John?

BERMAN: For the Family, that they got some private time with Muhammad Ali. We'll get more time this Thursday. A private service here in Louisville before the public service where they really share Muhammad Ali with the world, the world that came to love him.

Jason Carroll in Scottsdale. Thanks so much.

Let's go back to Jim Sciutto now live in Washington. Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, there. Thank you, John Berman, from Louisville.

Muhammad Ali, certainly known as a champion boxer. He was known for his mouth. He was also a man of faith. Muslim Americans across the nation reacting to his death, in very personal ways today.

Back in the 1960s, Ali converted to the nation of Islam. His born name was Cassius Clay. In 1967 he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army, this of course during the Vietnam War. He was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title. Ali cited religious reasons for his decision to forego military service.

Later in life, Ali switched from the nation of Islam to a more mystical Muslim sect. Here's what Ali said about his Muslim faith back in 1974.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUHAMMAD ALI: After hearing this, I cried. I felt proud. I am the greatest. And this is how I came to the faith, and ever since I've been following Muhammad. Throughout the world. I'm respected in every nation. I could talk for hours on this show (inaudible) and I have so wisdom now that I'm a Muslim and not in Christianity. There is a god. Don't get me wrong. There is a god. I'm not defending Christians. But what I've been told that the proper name of god is Allah.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCIUTTO: I want to bring in "The Daily Beast" contributor Dean Obeidallah. He hosts "The Dean Obeidallah Show" on Sirius XM radio. He also co-founded the Arab American Comedy Festival.

Dean, thanks for coming on today. I know you had the privilege of meeting Muhammad Ali in 2004 when you performed at the Arab American Institute's annual gala. Describe the man you met then.

16:05:13

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, "THE DAILY BEAST" CONTRIBUTOR: Well he was still - well, he had his Parkinson's obviously. He was speaking a little slower than we would have seen in TV shows from years before, but he was still riveting. He was funny. He talked about his faith. He talked about when he converted to Islam, he felt like Muslims around the world had become his brothers. That is so accurate.

I wrote and article for "the Daily Beast" this morning that came out. I reached out to numerous Muslims around the country from Congressman Andre Carson to comedians, to grassroots activists. I'll tell you this, to the world he may have been the greatest, Muhammad Ali. But to Muslims, he was our brother. That was so felt by everyone I spoke to.

SCIUTTO: I had the privilege of meeting him once, as well. I remember, this was about five years ago, and much more physically frail. But certainly sharp of mind. I just want to quote if I can from your "Daily Beast" article, you said - and I think this is powerful phrase - that he was in effect America's first Muslim hero. You say "no community will miss Muhammad Ali more than Muslim Americans. He was a source of pride to so many Muslim Americans for so many different reasons."

Dean, explain those reasons and perhaps I wonder if you could put it into context now. The Muslim American community could be described as under assault in some ways.

OBEIDALLAH: Sure.

SCIUTTO: Certainly public criticism. We've heard the comments from Donald Trump and others. What did he mean to American Muslims specifically?

OBEIDALLAH: Well, overall as Maya Angelou famously said years ago about Muhammad Ali, "he belonged to everyone." That's true. But in a special place in the heart of Muslim Americans. And you know what, I was astounded frankly by the reactions I received from people. And it was before he passed. Only when he was sick the last few days. From Congressman Andre Carson, one of the two Muslims in Congress saying "he was a role model for Muslim Americans for generations."

To Imam Ali, South Asian, in New York, saying he's a source of pride. To others who pointed out in 1967 his courageous stand against the Vietnam War where he was suspended for 3 1/2 years from boxing. He was stripped of his championship belt. He was prosecuted. But in his view, his view of religion was you don't kill other people. So for many of us, he's more than just a boxing figure. He's more than a brother. He's a role model that inspires you to stand up for what you believe in even at the peril of suffering personally and financially. And of course, on one thing I might have to say. So many times I've wished in the post 9/11 world that Muhammad Ali was strong as he was years ago and spoken out against anti-Muslim bigotry, he could have been a great bridge builder between the Muslim community and our fellow Americans. Even in the 2005 book where he talked about that, he wanted to be the Muslim Billy Graham. He wanted to do that but he physically was not strong enough. That's the heartbreaking part here.

SCIUTTO: I hear you. It is a voice that I think that our discourse would have benefited from. I have to ask you because it's been part of the conversation, it's been part of the political debate, did he express any opinions or reactions, for instance, to Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban?

OBEIDALLAH: He did. He actually put out a statement in December, shortly after the San Bernardino shootings and short days after Donald Trump. He first condemned the shooting, said that's not part of Islam, -- people doing that are not following our faith which is important. And secondly, he made it clear that politicians shouldn't be demonizing our faith. It should be bringing Americans together. That's what Muhammad Ali would have been doing. He would have been out there, speaking in his charismatic way, bringing Americans together, showing people what Islam is really about. About justice, about standing up for your principles, about peace. And sadly, we never got to see that Muhammad Ali in the post-9/11 world.

I think he would have been a great counterbalance to Donald Trump right now. Because his flair and his charisma would have overshadowed Donald Trump's.

SCIUTTO: I should say that Donald Trump did tweet a tribute to him today, as well. I wonder, before you go, Dean, if you can just describe how Ali's Muslim faith evolved a lot over the years. A lot of our listeners might not know, he was born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky. He converted first in the '60s. How did his faith change through the decades?

OBEIDALLAH: Well, in 1964, that's when he revealed he had converted to the nation of Islam. Which is theologically not exactly Sunis - a little different more of a black nationalist movement and his good friend, Malcolm X. Then in 1975, he converted to Sunni Islam which is the Islam most people know. He went on Haj, the pilgrimage in Mecca in the 1980s and then later in life, in 2005, his daughter revealed he moved to the Sufi Islam which is a more spiritual sect of Islam, less religious, more spiritual.

Obviously he was a Muslim through and through. In the statement about Donald Trump in December put very clearly, he was a Muslim. He was proud of being a Muslim. I talked to people on my radio show today named Muhammad who said the fact that Muhammad Ali was known made this young guy's life easier because people knew what Muhammad Ali was about when he was a young man. He touched people's lives, was inspirational. Even made the lives of American Muslims that much easier at different times. It's not easy but a little bit easier.

16:10:15

SCIUTTO: A bridge among faiths. Always valuable. Dean Obeidallah, thanks very much for joining us.

OBEIDALLAH: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, we look back on the time when Ali's heavyweight title was revoked and he was banned from boxing during his protest against the Vietnam war.

Plus, we'll talk to HBO's legendary and outspoken boxing commentator about his memories of Ali and why he says Ali changed the very sport.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Charismatic, controversial at times, Muhammad Ali, the silver tongued three-time world heavyweight boxing champion helped not just to shape the world inside the ring but certainly outside of it, too.

Wolf Blitzer has a look back at Muhammad Ali's life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI: I shook up the world! I shook up the world! I shook up the world! I shook up the world!

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shook it up like no athlete before or since. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in 1942, Muhammad ali first put on a pair of boxing gloves at age 12. And six years later bursts on to the scene as a brash but incredibly talented champion at the 1960 Olympics.

16:15:00

His star and voice rising as he turned pro, Ali stepped up against Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title four years later.

ALI: You look at me, I'm confident. I'm ready to go.

BLITZER: When Liston could not answer the bell for round seven, Cassius Clay had arrived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come here, come here!

ALI: I'm the greatest fighter that ever lived.

BLITZER: But almost as quickly as he arrived, Cassius Clay was gone. After joining the nation of Islam in 1964, Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He criticized U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war and refused induction in the army as a Muslim and as a conscientious objector. The year was 1967. Ali was sentenced to five years in prison which he never served and was stripped of his heavyweight championship and suspended from boxing for three years. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed its conviction in 1971. Ali's undefeated record as a professional came to an end in '71 when he lost to Joe Frazer in 15 rounds. It was the first of three fights with Smoking Joe, culminating in the famous "Thrilla in Manila" which Ali won by a technical knockout after the 14th round.

After two decades of redefining the heavyweight division, Ali retired with a ring record of 56 victories and just five defeats. In 1984, he was diagnosed as suffering from Parkinson's syndrome. While over time Ali's voice was quieted, his spirit was not. He provided one of the emotional high points at the 1996 Summer Olympic games in Atlanta when, with trembling hands he lit the Olympic cauldron.

In 2005, Ali joined the distinguished company of people like former President Jimmy Carter and Pope John Paul II as winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedome, the country's highest civilian award. Muhammad Ali, one of the most charismatic figures in sports history. And he knew it.

ALI: I am the greatest!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: The greatest. Tributes are pouring in from all over the world. Next, we're talking live to the mayor of Ali's hometown. That, of course, in Louisville, Kentucky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

16:21:10

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI: I'm going to be so supreme. I'm going to beat him so easy, his will. I'm going to punch this man and jab him, and dance and tie him up, and move him and stick him and bop him. He's going to be bruised. If I don't knock it out, the referee is just going to come and say, stop it, stop it, terrible beating, no contest. He knows I'm going to tear him up. He knows I'm going to eat his nose up. I'm just going to - feed him like he's hungry and missed his lunch. I'll put my foot down on the floor and say, knockout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Welcome back. John Berman here in Louisville, Kentucky, outside the Muhammad Ali Center. A great tribute to the boxing great who passed away overnight at the age of 74.

I'm joined now by Louisville's mayor, Greg Fischer. Mr. Mayor, thanks so much for being with us. It feels like the city has come out today to remember Muhammad Ali, to mourn his loss but really to celebrate his life.

MAYOR GREG FISCHER, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Yes. He was our brother. Everybody's got a memory of Muhammad. We've been dreading this day, but we knew it was going to be coming. We've seen him in so much pain these last couple of years. He's free now. There's just a lot of love here. You've been feeling it all day, since 10:00 this morning. Everybody's got a story of the champ and how he touched us.

Most people they think of him as a global icon. We think of him as the guy from Grand Avenue, Central High School graduate, and who just happens to be the world's greatest. We're appreciative of it.

BERMAN: Our guy. We keep on hearing that from people who came out here. I remember when he came to my junior high after he won or when he won the gold medal, we poured out in the streets. This week is going to be a big week here. There will be a private ceremony for the family here in Louisville on Thursday.

But Friday, very public. A procession passed this center here, through the streets. A very public service with President Clinton, Billy Crystal, Bryant Gumbel, as well. What do you think that's going to be like here?

FISCHER: The whole world will see what we've seen all along, that the greatest brings everybody together and brings out best in them. The big question I think is what's the call to action that comes from this, right? That's what Muhammad would want.

Sure, celebrate - he always wanted to be the prettiest. He knew he was the prettiest. But his challenge was what are you going to do? What are you going to do to make the world a better place? So my hope is throughout this week people are asking themselves that question and really respecting those values that he stood for, compassion and kindness and spirituality and urging us to do more for each other.

BERMAN: What's your first memory of Muhammad Ali?

FISCHER: Well, first of all, I was six years old when he beat Sonny Liston. So I remember my dad and all his friends were just like this buzz, he did it. He said he was going to shake up the world, and he did it. This brash, young black dude, you know, telling it like it - telling it like it was. But then backing it up. And the champ always said, it ain't bragging if it's true.

So the world had to adjust to this new guy. So followed him growing up. Grew up during the Vietnam war. Of course, the stance he took during that was super polarizing. It was really, in retrospect, you could see the nation maturing as they watched this guy step out and respect him ultimately for stepping out of the ring during the prime of his life for 3 1/2 years. Most people don't do that. It's pay me enough and I'll keep going. Not the champ. He always stood for his convictions.

BERMAN: President Obama said he shook up the world and the world is better for it. That was a letter you could tell the president penned himself today. Muhammad Ali, different points of his life, moved away from Louisville physically. But in some ways you could always tell his heart was here. And very important through the years to the city.

FISCHER: Absolutely. He's always had a home here, he comes back here from time to time or he came back from time to time. Obviously the Muhammad Ali Center is the epicenter of his life, what he stood for, it's here in his hometown of Louisville.

16:25:00

This was another thing to respect. Some people get all lost in the ether of celebrity. Not the champ. He floated with the kings and he was up with the greatest. His feet were always firmly planted here in his hometown of Louisville.

BERMAN: What are you going to do on Friday?

FISCHER: I'm going to breathe deep all day long and enjoy the man that he was and the legacy he was and commit myself to continue to do the work of our city. Our main city value is compassion, kindness, and hopefully spread that with other people.

We're living in a time right now, obviously where divisiveness and anger, we're seeing that on the political scene, polarization. That's the opposite of Muhammad Ali, it's the opposite of our city, as well. So I think this a call for the country to come together and for the world to realize, look, we're in this together. Let's make it happen together.

BERMAN: Bob Gundell, the family spokesman said today they want this to be a celebration really, of his life.

FISCHER: No question about that. The champ, he saw the big picture. He lived like no other man. How could you put everything that he did into one life? Now he was thinking what's the legacy, what's the next step. Celebrate who he was. Cry, laugh, hug people. But then do something good. That's what he'd want us to do.

BERMAN: Come to Louisville. Come to this Muhamamd Ali Center. I tell you, you walk in this buidling, you could spend a week in here. Not just looking at videos of Muhammad Ali boxing but learning about his life and learning what he did with his life. What he wanted life to be for others.

FISCHER: The champ wanted this museum to be about his boxing career. That's a small part of this and it's the world's best at that. It's also about the civil rights movement at the time and the central role that he played. He walked in the same time as Dr. King and the Kennedy brothers and Malcolm X. Obviously he lived much longer than any of them. And the final message he's leaving here are the values that guided his life from spirituality and conviction and compassion, kindness. That's really the last message that he wanted to leave. Be true to these human values. Make the world a better place.

BERMAN: As we speak, Muhammad Ali coming home to Louisville. Will arrive in the next 24 to 48 hours. Part of this week-long memory celebration of his life, of his greatness.

Mayor Fischer, thanks so much for being with us. Thanks for letting us share in all these memories. Thanks, mayor. Appreciate it.

All right. He did proclaim himself the greatest and you know what, he proved it. Pretty soon, the rest of the world agreed. We're going to speak with a former boxing analyst about Muhammad Ali's unparalleled charisma, his unparalleled skills, and the legacy he left behind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:53] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Muhammad Ali said he wanted to be remembered as, quote, "a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous and who treated everyone right." He is being remembered as that, and a whole lot more. His impact undeniable, around the world tributes pouring in from athletes, world leaders and those who felt a connection to the boxing legend, really world icon.

Joining us on the phone from Santa Monica to talk about Muhammad Ali, Larry Merchant, former HBO boxing analyst.

Larry, an honor to speak to you.

We're talking about the impact Muhammad Ali had beyond the ring. If you want to humor us for a minute, let's geek out and talk about the world inside the ring that Muhammad Ali affected. He was the greatest. I've been watching videos of him all day at the Muhammad Ali center and what he did. How he moved, how he worked the ring is breathtaking.

LARRY MERCHANT, FORMER HBO BOXING ANALYST (via telephone): Well, early in his career, there were a lot of skeptics about him. They thought he was more showman than fighter. It was hard to comprehend that this big, graceful guy could be a heavyweight champion of the world which meant a lot to the world at that time. That was not how we thought of the heavyweight champion -- a guy who is 6'3" and 210, 212 pounds and could move like a little guy.

And as time went on, we found that he was one of those graceful athletes who concealed the spirit and the fierceness that he really had. You had to see him with a lot of different dimensions as an athlete and as a man and as a celebrity who had a bullhorn that could be heard around the world.

BERMAN: How much did that personality, how much did that ego, how much did the brashness for lack of a better word, how much did that affect his performance inside the ring?

MERCHANT: Well, I think he -- it inspired him. It sometimes entertained us, sometimes inspired us. Sometimes it just informed us. For a lot of people, you can't separate who he was as an athlete and as a social activist in a time when change was blowing in the wind.

And that our country was populated by activists and people who were anti-activist. And in that framework, he became a controversial figure where the boxing establishment didn't quite get him, appreciate him until later in his career, and where the general public saw him as a kind of unique American figure. An original American, but someone who was hard to take in -- I think of him as kind of a Mark Twain with boxing gloves, saying you're compared to no other in and out of the ring.

BERMAN: Was there one moment where you can pinpoint where he went from boxing great to just great? [16:35:03] Or is this something that happened over the 50-plus years

of his public career?

MERCHANT: I would say it happened during his career, during his exile from boxing because he was a conscientious objector to the war. I mean, how many people on principle give up the prime years of their lives as he did? Over time and as he proved to be correct about the war, he became appreciated.

BERMAN: Interesting. We're seeing right now Muhammad Ali being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush, a Republican president. Obviously the outpouring of respect and sympathy coming from Democrats, Republicans, whites, blacks, athletes, non-athletes, Americans, non-Americans, all over the world today.

Larry Merchant, boxing analyst, thank you so much for helping us understand the impact and legacy of Muhammad Ali.

To other boxers, Ali was a man who defied the odds, pushed the limits, and became more than just a fighter. He was a hero. This is what some of the champions from across the world have to say now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

EVANDER HOLYFIELD, FIVE-TIME WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: When you look at Ali, he stood up. It's easier to say something after somebody have done it, but to be the first person to stand up and face -- you know, face the world, he was all around the world about what he believed. And it's a lot different than you -- somebody already did it and you come behind them.

Ali was the first person to do that and being the skin color that he was, and to stand up is amazing to be the one that everybody looks at.

LARRY HOLMES, FORMER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: He always treated me good. I tell you, listen, when I first went to Ali, I went up with no equipment because I had no equipment.

He gave me my boxing shoes, he gave me boxing gloves, gave me boxing trunks and hand wraps. He said, now you've got the equipment. And that's how we became friends.

And then we went down to Reading, Pennsylvania, and we put on a boxing exhibition. He gave me a black eye, and everybody was try to get -- put ice on it, put ice it! I said, no, I'm not going tout ice on it. I'm going to show this one off believed that -- nobody believed that I was working with Muhammad Ali.

CHRIS EUBANK, FORMER BRITISH PROFESSIONAL BOXER: He used his platform which was boxing to be the humanitarian that he was. And still is because that spirit is still vibrant. Mandela in his inaugural speech, he said the world cannot be served by your playing small. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking, so others around won't feel insecure. We were born to make manifest the glory of God which is within us. And when we lit our own lights shine, we unconsciously allow others to do the same. In liberating ourselves from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

So here's a man embodying the spirit of a Mandela, the great man. And as was said before, in order to see further and to be better, we have to stand on the shoulders of giants which is what these men were.

MANNY PACQUIAO, FORMER WORLD CHAMPION BOXER: I always admired him. I always thought he was my inspiration, why I'm here in boxing. We know that -- all know that what he has done and accomplished in boxing history.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BERMAN: Tributes pouring in from all over the world. We're here at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. You see people coming out here to pay their respects they been here since the wee hours of the morning. I imagine they will be here late into the night.

We're going to have more tributes, more memories throughout the day. We're live in Louisville, Kentucky.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:43:00] LAILA ALI, FORMER WORLD CHAMPION BOXER: He's such a great man, and I know that -- you know, he's been through so much in his life. And people have gone through it about him. And I think that they just do have so much love and respect him because of who he is as a person, not just how he great he was inside the ring. There'll always be another great athlete. But there'll never be another Muhammad Ali, who he is as a man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: That was Muhammad Ali's daughter Laila from a CNN interview back in 2012. She also just posted on Facebook hours before her father's death, writing, quote, "I love this photo of my father and daughter Sydney when she was a baby. Thanks for all the love and well wishes. I feel your love, and I appreciate it."

Muhammad Ali was willing to give it all to be the greatest and willing to lose everything to stand for what he believed in. His confidence, his willpower and success transcended the boxing ring, inspiring athletes throughout the sports world.

CNN's Andy Scholes, he joins me.

So, Andy, how have fellow athletes been reacting to the death of really one of the greatest of not just our generation but several generations?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jim, Ali was a hero to so many athletes including LeBron James. And just moments ago, LeBron was speaking to the media at the NBA finals media day. He spoke about what Ali meant to him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, CAVALIERS FORWARD: As a kid, I gravitated toward him because he was a champion. But I only knew as a kid what he did inside the ring.

As I got older and I started to be more knowledgeable about the sport, about sport in general and about the guys who laid -- paved the way for guys like myself, I understood that he is the greatest of all time and he was the greatest of all time because of what he did outside of the ring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Michael Jordan also released a statement earlier saying, "This is a sad day for me and for the world. One was bigger than sports and larger than life. He said he was the greatest, and he was right."

And Serena Williams, fresh off losing the women's final at the French Open, she posted earlier in the day.

[16:45:02] "The true greatest of all time. What a sad day for everyone to lose someone so great and kind and someone who really stood up for what they believed in. He was my hero. He will always be."

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson also posting a nice message overnight saying, "God came for his champion. So long, great one. #thegreatest."

Jim, I only saw Ali once during my life. It was the 2004 Major League Baseball all-star game in Houston, Texas, it was such an awesome moment. I brought out the baseball to be used for the ceremonial first pitch. And the crowd went nuts, on their feet, taking pictures.

Look at Ali throwing punches, throwing an undercut. It was cool watching the players. All of the players just gravitated. You see Jeter there. They all wanted to be up close to him. All wanted to take a picture with him.

It was really a cool moment. And you know, this is just one of many examples of how even superstar athletes, superstar athletes, they were even in awe at the presence of Ali.

SCIUTTO: You know, Andy, I have to ask, it's really been decades since he was a sports star, right? You have to go back to the '60s, 50 years ago. It's amazing to see that that history transcends the time that young athletes today still feel that connection.

SCHOLES: Absolutely. You heard LeBron say he really only watched Ali fights as a kid on ESPN Classics when they would come on TV. And -- when he got older, he start to realize how much Ali meant to not only the sports world but the world in general, for everything he did in the civil rights movement, what he stood for. So, I think that's the sentiment that we're hearing a lot today. That

athletes, they necessarily didn't get to watch him fight during their time because they're so young, but they understand what Ali meant to the sports world and the whole civil rights movement.

SCIUTTO: Civil rights movement, the Vietnam War opposition. Andy, so much. Such a legacy. We appreciate.

We're going to have much more on the death of Muhammad Ali coming up.

But next, we're moving to the race for the White House. Right now, Bernie Sanders is trying to woo fresh support in California. The all- important California primary just three days away.

Coming up, a new poll shows Sanders ahead of rival Hillary Clinton in the Golden State. Something we haven't seen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:02] SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

And we have this just in to CNN. We've just learned that President Obama called Muhammad Ali's widow to offer his family's deepest condolences for the passing of her husband, Muhammad Ali. According to his deputy press secretary, the president expressed how fortunate he and the first lady were to have met Muhammad Ali. And he recounted how special it was to have witnessed the champ change the arc of history.

I want to turn now to the race for the White House. It is just three days before California's all-important primary. Senator Bernie Sanders trying to woo fresh support today in Los Angeles as a new USC/"L.A. Times" poll finds, a virtual dead heat among all eligible voters in the California Democratic primary. You see there Sanders actually leading Clinton 44 percent-43 percent. That is well within the poll's margin of error.

I should note, look at this, among likely voters, this is key, Clinton leading Sanders by a whopping 10 percent.

Chris Frates joining me now.

So, Chris, what did Sanders have to say today, particularly as we see those new numbers come out?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I tell you, Jim, we heard from a defiant Bernie Sanders.

He held a press conference this afternoon in Los Angeles where he continued to lay the groundwork for what sounds like his rationale to continue his campaign past Tuesday, even if Hillary Clinton is able to clinch that nomination and if you -- he acknowledges that it's a tough uphill climb for him. And if you take a look at the math, you start to understand why.

So, let's break that down. Hillary Clinton needs just about 70 delegates to clinch that nomination. Bernie Sanders needs more than 800 delegates. But Hillary Clinton's support comes a huge chunk from the so-called superdelegates. She has about 500 superdelegates. These are big party -- big wigs, former elected officials, who get to choose the delegate at the convention.

And Bernie Sanders is saying because they don't choose that delegate until the convention, it's going to be a very, very something convention indeed. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the end of the nominating process, no candidate will have enough pledge delegates to call the campaign a victory. They will be dependent upon super delegates. In other words, the Democratic National Convention will be a contested convention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So, there you hear Bernie Sanders saying that he's going to take this race all the way to the convention, and he says that his rationale to the superdelegates who many of whom he says committed to Hillary Clinton before he even got to the race, is that he's a better choice than Hillary Clinton for beating Donald Trump. He points at many polls that show him beating Donald Trump by bigger numbers than Hillary Clinton does.

Although he did acknowledge that Hillary Clinton used that same rationale when she was running in 2008 against Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton argued she could beat John McCain more handily than Barack Obama. That didn't work. It remains to be seen if it will work for Bernie Sanders.

And I asked Sanders, I said, if Hillary Clinton comes out of Tuesday with more of the pledge delegates' support, doesn't that make your rationale to the superdelegates even tougher if she's won the support of the majority of pledge delegates? Why would superdelegates flip? He says that's unlikely and sounds like he's going to continue to take this to the convention. That could all change on Wednesday for sure.

SCIUTTO: Well, and he's pushing back against pressure you hear about from inside the party, for him to hang it up. What did Sanders say about the passing of the boxing legend, Muhammad Ali? I hear he had comments, as well.

FRATES: He did, Jim. I asked him about the passing of Muhammad Ali and what that means for the country. He really got a little choked up. He got a little emotional.

He called Muhammad Ali a hero of his.

[16:55:01] He talked about how much he liked boxing. How much of a boxing fan he was. And he talked about the significance not just of Muhammad Ali to the sport but to the country as a whole. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: A bit of a boxing fan. And clearly, Ali was one of the great heavyweight champs of all time, a beautiful boxer and a great athlete. But the reason that Ali struck a chord in the hearts of so many Americans was not just his great boxing skill. It was his incredible courage.

At a time when it was not popular to do so -- and I've been all over this country, and I'm talking to Muslim people who are saying, Bernie, our kids are now afraid. I say to those people one of the great American heroes in modern American history was Muhammad Ali, a very proud Muslim.

And don't tell us how much you love Muhammad Ali, and yet you're going to be prejudiced against Muslims in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So, a really touching moment on the campaign trail to listen to a political fighter remember a professional one, Jim.

SCIUTTO: No question. Both tough in the ring.

Chris Frates from Los Angeles -- thanks very much.

We'll be right back with much more on the death of Muhammad Ali.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Hello, everyone. I'm Jim Sciutto, in this week for Poppy Harlow.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman live outside the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the hometown of boxing great one, Muhammad Ali.