PHOTOS: Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday at MGM Grand

It sure did ...

"Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s widow, Terry, flew in from Australia to help sell a Down Under auction travel item that raised $150,000. Fighter Chuck Wepner said he would have flown anywhere in the world to be with Ali on this night.

President Obama “flew in” via satellite with a special video message for Ali, heralding him as “a true champion.” Said Obama: “Happy Birthday, champ. I wished I could be there with you. You shocked the world, and you inspired it, too. Even after all the titles and legendary bouts, you’re still doing it.” Ali had a record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts.

Closest to home were Agassi and Stefanie Graff, who twice sold private tennis lessons at $100,000 each, one to Kentucky Derby winner Bruce Zoldan, the owner of Animal Kingdom. He donated two finish line Turf Club seats for this year’s Derby, and that was snapped up for $170,000. Copperfield sold a four-day trip to his islands Musha Cay in the Bahamas for $300,000, and hotel tycoon Steve Wynn paid $80,000 for a dinner party with music stars at Jones’ California home.

A 2013 limited-edition Mercedes went for $525,000, hair king John Paul DeJoria’s private train trip to his Patron headquarters drew $220,000, and, [url]as we reported today, Cee Lo Green raised $250,000[/url] for tickets to meet him backstage at “The Voice” with his fellow NBC TV judges. A lunch with Sir Michael Caine in London tied to the opening party of Britain’s Top Shops here at Fashion Show next month raised $70,000. Chef Emeril Lagasse, who flew in from New Orleans, sold a weekend in Lake Tahoe with his cooking to three rival bidders at $50,000 each.

But it was the emotional moments at the end of the auction that proved staggering. Fight promoter Bob Arum promised four ringside tickets to the June 9 Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley welterweight title fight and Manny’s autographed boxing gloves afterward, and for the winning bidder to go into the ring to announce one of the undercard fights. That raised $200,000. “Ali is the greatest fighter ever,” said Pacquiao, who is rumored to be retiring after the bout.

Then Jimmy Dundee, the son of Ali’s longtime trainer Angelo Dundee, presented Ali’s autographed gloves from his November 1965 Las Vegas win over two-time world champion Floyd Patterson. Angelo had wanted to attend the Ali gala, but he died Feb. 1 at 90, so Jimmy fulfilled the wish. In frenzied bidding against Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who increased it to a cool $1 million, the gloves were won by UFC and Station Casinos chieftain Lorenzo Fertitta for $1.1 million, but not until he got fight rival Arum to do a UFC shout-out.

“Anything for charity,” Arum smiled. ”I love the UFC!”

 

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Evander sings "Sometimes When We Touch"

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Stevie Wonder dedicated a song to boxing judges ... (joke joke )

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