Current Owners Recall Fond Memories Of Buying Muhammad Ali's Miami Home
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Muhammad Ali had ties to South Florida.
He had a house in Miami's Allapattah neighborhood. The modest home is at the corner of NW 46 Street and 15 Court.
"It kind of hurt me when I heard about it," said current resident Kevin Ross about the champ's death. Ross has lived his entire life in Ali's home. Ross's parents bought the house from Ali in 1965. His father moved quickly to seal the deal.
"Growing up, it was a big experience for me because everyone knew he stayed here," Ross told CBS4 Reporter Donna Rapado. "I had a lot of neighbors around here who lived here when he actually lived here. My friends all knew. So it was like a celebrity-type feeling."
Even now, more than 50 years after Ross' parents bought the place, he said people still drive by regularly asking if it was, in fact, "the champ's home."
41-year-old Ross has met Ali several times over the years. The champ would often stop by while filming the movies "Ali" and "The Greatest."
"And while he was here he interacted with the whole neighborhood," Ross said with a smile. "We formed a circle around him and he did his boxing moves. He was a real genuine guy."
Ross described one of his favorite memories during those impressionable visits.
"He was standing right here and he picked up a little baby. And he was kinda shaky with it. But he held that baby and he was holding it like it was his own. And then he put the baby down and was boxing with the baby."
It's easy to imagine the champ doing that. His bigger than life personality is legendary.
"Muhammed Ali is a big figure who will always be loved. And, he was the greatest of all time, not only inside the ring, but outside the ring."