Bay Area boxing community remembers Muhammad 'The Greatest' Ali

TAMPA (FOX 13) - The death of Muhammad Ali had people around the world reflecting on his life this weekend, including the Bay Area boxing community.

Ali, who suffered for years from Parkinson's disease, died after being hospitalized earlier in the week. He was a legendary figure who transcended sports.

"He's an icon," said Christian Camacho, who was training Saturday at Legend's Boxing Club in Tampa.  "It's really a sad day for boxing. Really the greatest boxer just passed away and we never know if  we're ever going to see somebody like that again."

Camacho is the son of Hector "Macho" Camacho, a champion himself,  who was killed in 2012 - the same  year his son met Ali.

"To see a man walk into a room and just light up a room and all of a sudden he's the center of attraction, like the President of the United States, it's really touching and breathtaking," Camacho said.

Ali fought seven heavyweight fights in Florida, including one in 1964 in which he beat Sonny Liston  for his first heavyweight title.

In the years that followed, Ali became legendary.

"Muhammad Ali is the icon. Muhammad Ali is the face of boxing, boxing history," said Jeff "Lefthook" Lacy, a former Super Middleweight champion boxer who grew up in St. Petersburg and was an amateur fighter in 1997 when he met Ali. "I've been a lot of celebrities in the world, I've never, never felt  the aura of any other person, the way I felt about him. He was a great man, great man."

"Even to this day you have kids talking about him, so that tells you how much influence that he has on  this world. To me, he's not just a hero in America, he's a hero to the world," added Wilky Campfort,  another boxer from Tampa Bay.