Muhammad Ali’s face will be featured on a commemorative postage stamp.
Late heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali once bragged that he needed a postage stamped because “that’s the only way I’ll ever be licked.”
The legendary three-time heavyweight champion from Louisville, Ky., gave opponents nightmares because of his quick feet, especially early in his career.
Now, many Americans will get their licks in on Ali, but in a way that forever cements his greatness, as if he needed any more accolades.
His widow Lonnie Ali told the Associated Press, “As sort of the guardian of his legacy, I’m thrilled. I’m excited. I’m ecstatic. Because people, every time they look at that stamp, they will remember him. And he will be in the forefront of their consciousness. And for me, that’s a thrill.”
The Associated Press reported, “Muhammad Ali died in 2016 at the age of 74 after living with Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades. During his lifetime and posthumously, the man known as The Greatest has received numerous awards, including an Olympic gold medal in 1960, the United Nations Messenger of Peace award in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
“Having his face on a stamp, Lonnie Ali said, has a particular significance because it’s a chance to highlight his mission of spreading compassion and his ability to connect with people.”
His widow said, “He did it one person at a time. And that’s such a lovely way to connect with people, to send them a letter and to use this stamp to reinforce the messaging in that life of connection.”
Despite his compassion outside of the wrong, Ali was no joke in the ring, bringing a combination grace and personality to the ring that boxing had not seen.
Ali had a gregarious personality like legendary boxing champ boxing champ, Jack Johnson, with the smoothness of a ballerina.
His style and charisma made him perfect for the television era of the 1960s.
The man born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., stumbled upon boxing when he wanted to beat up the person who stole his bicycle.
A boxing instructor heard his rant about the stolen bicycle and began teaching him the skills that would make him one of the most well-known athletes of all time.
Ali quickly climbed up the amateur ranks and became a star when he won the gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
With the backing of the Louisville Group, he turned professional after returning to the United States, following his Olympic triumph.
Ali eventually earned a shot at the heavyweight title against the feared champion, Sonny Liston.
Very few, if any, sportswriters and fans gave the loudmouth Clay (at the time) a chance against the violent enforcer of a champ.
As Clay rose up the heavyweight ranks, he also beginning studying the teachings of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, under the guidance of Minister Malcolm X.
Before the championship fight in Miami in 1964, the press began to pick up on his relationship with Malcolm X.
The leader of the Nation of Islam even feared that Clay’s braggadocio would embarrass the organization if more people found out about his relationship with Nation’s top minister.
Nevertheless, Clay shocked many when he defeated Liston, becoming the heavyweight champion of the world.
At the time, the heavyweight champion of the world was arguably the most famous person in the world.
Therefore, the Nation of Islam seized on Clay’s victory, giving him the unique Muslim name, Muhammad Ali.
At the time, it took Nation of Islam members years to get a unique Muslim name.
However, Muhammad knew that Ali’s charisma and fame could benefit the Nation, especially since his relationship with Malcolm X was becoming volatile.
Expectedly, Ali’s reputation around the country became fractured because of his membership in the Nation of Islam.
Unlike the Civil Rights Movement, the Nation of Islam favored separation over integration.
Nevertheless, athletes and entertainers who became involved with the more inclusive Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., received hatred from many in White America too.
The hatred by some for Ali hit a fevered pitch when he refused induction into the military during the Vietnam War at a ceremony in Houston.
Ali lost his title and the ability to fight professionally for years.
However, he stuck to his principles.
And eventually the United States Supreme Court vindicated him, allowing him to return to the ring.
In 1974, Ali knockout another imposing and feared heavyweight champion in Houstonian, George Foreman.
Like in the first Liston fight, very few people gave Ali a chance against the hard-punching Foreman, especially since he had lost some speed and agility in the 10 years since he became heavyweight champion.
Ali later lost the heavyweight title to Leon Spinks, reclaiming the title in their 1978 rematch in New Orleans.
After he retired, Ali remained a star.
But Parkinson’s began to take a toll on him, taking away his motor skills and ability to speak.
But because of his condition and all that he had overcome in life, Ali had become a hero throughout the world, even amongst some of his former critics from the 1960s and the 1970s.
In 2001, actor Will Smith starred as the iconic boxer in the biopic “Ali,” receiving an Oscar nomination for his performance.
Ali joked that Smith was almost as pretty as him.
The champ would often brag about his good looks.
Now, that face will be commemorated on an official U.S. postage stamp.
