Oct 06, 2015 Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was recently honored for his lifetime of achievement by Sports Illustrated magazine. The sports magazine featured the boxing great for the 39th time on the cover of its latest edition.
The cover page feature, which tagged the former boxing champion as “The Greatest”, was unveiled at an event in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. During the event, the magazine changed the name of the Sportsman Legacy Award to the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.
Speaking before the event, Ali’s friend and former boxing opponent George Foreman said:
“Well this is a great honor not only for Muhammad Ali but it’s a great honor for boxing, finally something good is done and said, Sports Illustrated is recognizing a guy who not only loved boxing but loved Sports Illustrated,”
Foreman was among several former boxers who attended the event. However, athletes from outside the boxing community such as Basketball great Shaquille O’neal were also in attendance.
While announcing the change of name, Paul Fichtenbaum, editor of Sports Illustrated magazine said:
“There is no better tradition of excellence and influence than Muhammad Ali. Over the course of his life, Ali has been a catalyst for social, political, humanitarian change that has shaped the global culture and influenced generations of people. His list of accomplishments is long, his impact on our lives deep, we could not be prouder than to be here tonight to rename the award for him,”