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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 2 5 From the Editor L ewiston's Muhammad Ali statue, unveiled recently in front of Bates Mill No. 5, commemo- rates a famous rematch of two heavyweights, Ali and Sonny Liston, in May 1965. It also symbolizes the Lewiston-Auburn area's resilience in the past year and a half. e Ali-Liston rematch on May 25, 1965, is one of the iconic events in boxing history, a decade before the Rumble in the Jungle (Ali vs. George Foreman) or the rilla in Manila (Ali and Joe Frazier). e original bout was slated for Boston but was cancelled because of security threats. A boxing manager in Lewiston, Sam Michael, reached out to the promoters and offered to host the boxing match in Lewiston, at the Central Maine Youth Center (now the Colisée). Creating an Ali statue for Lewiston was a team effort. Tom Platz, an Auburn developer, and artist Charlie Hewitt (known for the "Hopeful" neon artwork at the mill) worked for 10 years to bring the Muhammad Ali statue to Lewiston. Platz worked with the city, helped with the site plan and, after setting up a nonprofit, spearheaded the fundraising efforts through private donations. e sculptor, Philadelphia-based Zenos Frudakis, has done sculptures of Ben Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein, as well as sports figures including Arnold Palmer, Payne Stewart, Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and boxer James J. "Cinderella Man" Braddock. e statue is on permanent loan to the city. e installation of the statue comes a year and a half after the Lewiston mass shooting that killed 18 people. "When Ali stood over Sonny Liston yelling 'Get up and fight,' he wasn't just talking to his opponent," Gov. Janet Mills said at the unveiling. "He was speaking to all of us. And that's what Maine and Lewiston have done — we get up and fight. We'll never get knocked out. We'll never get knocked down. We're still getting up and fighting every day. is is a city that is strong, loud and proud in a state that is strong, loud and proud." Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Mainebiz offers the latest business news in the Daily Report and the Real Estate Insider newsletters. Here is the top content from May 13 to June 9: 1. Portland IT firm Tilson files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 2. Biergarten restaurant and brew pub to open in Skowhegan's Spinning Mill 3. Bangor-based law firm Eaton Peabody to close offices by June 30 4. The Downs gets green light for $70M Town Center development 5. Taste of Maine potato chip plant under construction in Aroostook County 6. Eaton Peabody exit casts light on legal market in flux 7. Scarborough relocation gives family owned furniture store more visibility 8. Recent restaurant transitions are a 'bright spot' for Portland 9. $5.5M commercial real estate deal is one of Kennebunk's largest 10. Portland sees record sale price for two-family home on Munjoy Hill P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N 1 The installation of the Muhammad Ali statue comes a year and a half after the Lewiston mass shooting that killed 18 people. We're attorneys. But we're people first. Meet Josh. Josh negotiates some of the most sophisticated and complex technology and outsourcing transactions for clients of all sizes, including financial institutions, universities, software companies and cloud services providers. bernsteinshur.com Joshua T. Silver Shareholder Ali statue is a symbol of Lewiston's resilience, toughness

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