Published June 3, 2026
Muhammad Ali’s legacy extends far beyond world titles and Olympic gold medals, his widow has said, as his hometown prepares for a global “Day of Mercy” to mark 10 years since the boxing icon’s death.
A memorial service for Ali, who passed away on June 3, 2016, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, was held at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, encouraging people around the world to mark Wednesday’s anniversary with acts of service and care.
“He transcended boxing and went into every space imaginable,” Ronnie Ali said in an interview at the Center. “Muhammad lived by this creed: Service to others is the rent we pay for our rooms on earth.
“He showed up every day with kindness and empathy in his heart for those in need.”
Known in his hometown as “Rip of Louisville,” Ali rose from a humble background to become a three-time heavyweight champion and 1960 Olympic gold medalist.
As he rose to fame in the 1960s, he became outspoken about the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, cementing his status as one of the most influential athletes of all time.
The Ali Center, whose life director is Lonnie Ali, hopes that Day of Mercy will grow into an annual event focused on volunteerism and service.
“This day will focus on one of the core values that formed Muhammad Ali,” she said, warning that the United States is “losing our humanity and our connection to each other.”
“We’re becoming more and more polarized and separated, and we’re kind of falling back on people who think like us, look like us, and don’t really reach out,” she added.
Ronnie Ali also called on political leaders to “lead with compassion” and criticized efforts to weaken the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. “We should always be thinking about how we can uplift our communities, not how we can make them difficult.
“You can’t have equal representation if you’re denying people the right to vote,” she says.
She said she still has hope from the way Louisville came together during a week-long celebration of Ali’s life in 2016. At the time, thousands lined the streets as his funeral procession passed his childhood home, and millions watched the service online.
Ten years later, Ali’s face now appears on U.S. stamps, another sign that his message of courage, faith and service still resonates “from kings and princes to ordinary fans who never met him but felt they knew his heart,” she said.
