PHILADELPHIA — Retired boxing great Muhammad Ali(pictured) will visit Philadelphia to receive the Liberty Medal, an award recognizing his longtime role as a fighter outside the ring for humanitarian causes, civil rights, and religious freedom.
The honor will be presented on Thursday during a ceremony at the National Constitution Center by the champ’s daughter, who is also a boxer, and two U.S. Olympic athletes. It comes with a $100,000 cash prize.
“Ali embodies the spirit of the Liberty Medal by embracing the ideals of the Constitution – freedom, self-governance, equality and empowerment – and helping to spread them across the globe,” former President Bill Clinton, the center’s chairman, said in a statement.
Since hanging up his gloves in 1981, Ali has traveled extensively on international charitable missions and devoted his time to philanthropy and social causes.
His wife, Lonnie, is slated to speak on his behalf at the ceremony. A 30-year battle with Parkinson’s disease has devastated the once-chiseled physique that made Ali an Olympic champion and three-time heavyweight title holder.
1 2 Next page »
