LISTEN: Boxing’s Tommy Gilmour recalls day he met Muhammad Ali in Glasgow
Tommy was just 12 when he was pictured with the self-proclaimed greatest boxer of all time during a trip to Glasgow in August 1965 for a bout against fellow American Jimmy Ellis.
A boxing promoter who met Muhammad Ali on a rare visit to Scotland has paid tribute to the late fighter as "a champion in and out of the ring''.
Tommy Gilmour was just 12 when he was pictured with the self-proclaimed greatest boxer of all time during a trip to Glasgow in August 1965 for a bout against fellow American Jimmy Ellis.
The promoter said he spent only around 15 minutes with Ali, then aged 22, but knew he was in the company of someone special.
The pair met thanks to Mr Gilmour's father, who was the boxer's agent in Scotland, and the treasured image graces the back cover of his book: Boxing Dynasty: The Tommy Gilmour story.
The former owner of St Andrew's Sporting Club in Glasgow said: "I was one of the lucky ones to have met such a legend.
"It was more than 50 years ago but I can still remember it clearly. He had a presence. He was still a young man then but you did know that he was someone special.
"I have been fortunate enough to have met many great fighters during my career but he was a very special man, and someone who stood up for his beliefs.
"If there was something he didn't believe in, he would fight it. He was a true champion both in and out of the ring.''
Mr Gilmour, 64, said it was "probably a blessing'' that the three-time world heavyweight champion had passed away after years of battling Parkinson's disease.
He said: "It's wonderful that he will be remembered with such reverence."