Ali was my childhood hero: Cruise

Actor Tom Cruise fulfilled a lifetime ambition when he met boxing legend Muhammad Ali at a gala event.

Actor Tom Cruise fulfilled a lifetime ambition when he met boxing legend Muhammad Ali at a gala event.

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Cruise admits the three-time World Heavyweight Champion was his hero as a kid, and he was an emotional wreck when he finally had the chance to meet him at Time Magazine 75th Anniversary Gala in 1998, reports contactmusic.com.

The star says: "I got to meet my hero. And I got to toast him at an event.

"Ali was the guy when I was growing up."

Cruise's best pal Will Smith played Ali in a 2001 biopic.