‘Only way I’ll ever get licked’: boxing’s Muhammad Ali honoured with US stamp

Muhammad Ali once joked that he should be a postage stamp because “that’s the only way I’ll ever get licked”.

Now, the three-time heavyweight champion’s quip is becoming a reality.

Widely regarded as the most famous and influential boxer of all time, and a cultural force who fused athletic brilliance with political conviction and showmanship, Ali is being honoured for the first time with a commemorative US postage stamp.

“As sort of the guardian of his legacy, I’m thrilled. I’m excited. I’m ecstatic,” Lonnie Ali, the champ’s wife of nearly 30 years, said. “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.”

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.