Center to Celebrate "The Greatest"

Nearly 24 years after his last fight, Muhammad Ali still is the most famous boxer in the world. Fans recall his speed and agility inside the ring, and his boldness and brashness outside it.

"He proved that he was one of the best, he proved that he was the most durable, he proved he had the most heart," says Bud Shardein, a member of the Kentucky Boxing Commission, who grew up watching Ali. "In boxing, that’s what you’re looking for."

Now a new generation that never saw Ali in action soon will get a chance to learn about the man who called himself "The Greatest"—and went on to back up that claim in the boxing ring. A new $75 million center that bear Ali’s name is set to open Nov. 21 in his hometown of Louisville, Ky., bringing his personal and professional legacy full circle.

Nearly 10 years in the making, the Muhammad Ali Center is the brainchild of Ali and his wife, Lonnie, and is designed to be much more than a museum. The six-level structure will have 24,000 square feet of exhibit space, six theme-based pavilions, a theater, various multimedia displays, numerous hands-on experiences, interactive technologies, and an auditorium.

Boxing fans will be excited about an area that takes a close-up look at the three-time world heavyweight champ. Visitors will be able to watch videotapes of his famous fights, see a gallery of his 35 Sports Illustrated magazine covers (an impressive number of appearances second only to basketball superstar Michael Jordan) and even "spar" with the man who could "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee."

The interactive gallery called "Training with Ali" will allow visitors to "go in and feel as though, you are, in a sense, boxing in the ring with him," according to Michael Fox, the center’s executive director. "You will also learn the shuffle, learn how he did his little dance," and test your reflexes against simulations of Ali’s lightning-quick jabs, which often put his opponents on the mat before they knew what hit them.

But boxing is just one aspect of Ali’s story. The center also will detail how a fiercely determined young man worked hard, won an Olympic gold medal, went on to become a famous boxer, and then lost his heavyweight title when he refused induction into the U.S. Army for religious reasons during the Vietnam War. It will show how he later returned to boxing and won the heavyweight title two more times before retiring in 1981—and went on to even more greatness.

Soon after his retirement, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome, a neurological condition that progressively restricts speech and movement. But even during this phase of his life, he became internationally recognized as a peacemaker and humanitarian. During the 1990s, he lobbied on behalf of Rwandan refugees trying to return home, made dozens of trips to deliver food and medical supplies to Africa and Asia, and visited war-torn Afghanistan as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2002. Much of the center will focus on Ali’s work to reduce poverty, promote racial tolerance and generate global respect.

Ali, now 63, says he has relied on six themes—respect, conviction, confidence, dedication, spirituality and giving—to guide his life and career. "Those principles have served me well," the champ notes. "My hope is that the Ali Center will help others use those principles in their own lives."

Though the Alis live in Berrien Springs, Mich. (pop. 1,862), they wanted to build the center in Louisville because that’s where Ali’s story began. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson is pleased one of the city’s most famous native sons has returned home. "We’re proud of his many accomplishments in the ring, where he dominated the sport of boxing for nearly two decades," the mayor says.

"But we’ve even more proud of the work he’s done since taking off his boxing gloves. His humanitarian efforts, his work to build understanding, his efforts to bring peace to turbulent corners of the world—these are the legacies of the man known as ‘The Greatest.’"

To learn more, visit www.alicenter.org.

Pam Windsor is a freelance writer in Louisville, Ky.

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