Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has seemingly left a lasting impact on everybody he has met. From his charismatic personality and attention-drawing nature, Ali was able to captivate people into feeling emotions they never experienced in their lives.

This was exactly the case with former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman, who recently detailed the first time he met ‘The People’s Champ’. In a video with Sebastian Joseph-Day  he was asked about who is idol was in the world of sports. Moreover, Merriman then revealed that it was Ali who was his idol and detailed the time he and his family met the former champ at a Parkinson’s charity event.

“My sports Idol was Muhammad Ali. Yeah I got a chance to and I’ve never been Starstruck for anybody. I met everybody on the Suns by like my rookie the second year and Muhammad Ali had a big charity event in Arizona he would always put on for Parkinson’s and he called me and his family brought me up on stage with him,” he said.

Moreover, he added that he had never been more nervous about meeting anybody before. He also stated that Ali hugged him after the two met, which almost made Merriman faint on the spot. “I’d never been more nervous and shaken before my life meeting somebody. I didn’t know that was even a real thing because I’ve never been Starstruck. I’m walking over to him and I’m about to shake his hand he leaned over to hug me and I thought I was gonna faint. So that Muhammad Ali man that’s my idol.” He added. Merriman was no exception to Ali’s charm, as he too was mesmerized after meeting the former heavyweight champion in person.

Brock Lesnar details the first time he met Muhammad Ali

Former UFC and WWE champion Brock Lesnar also once detailed the time he met Ali. This was after Ali had passed away in 2016. In an interview with ESPN leading up to Lesnar’s UFC 200 bout, he revealed that he felt a power coming from Ali although he couldn’t talk.

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” I felt something powerful from the man. I watched pretty much all of his fights, I met him one time and he never spoke a word to me. But I felt the presence and power from him.” Said Lesnar.

Despite being one of the most fearsome people on the planet, Lesnar still was a little nervous in the presence of Ali.

What did you think about Merriman’s experience meeting Ali for the first time? Let us know in the comments.

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