Float Like A Butterfly...

Probably the most famous person to come out of Louisville is "The Greatest" Muhammad Ali.  He was born and raised in Louisville, and started boxing after someone stole his bike at age 12.  At that time, he was known as Cassius Clay.....and he would go on to become one of the greatest Heavyweight Boxing Champions in history.

Welcome to the Muhammad Ali Center!

I am a huge fan of Muhammad Ali.  I spent my first teaching paycheck on an autographed 16x20inch Ali vs. Liston framed photograph.  It is prominently displayed in my home office to this day.....and worth 10X's what I paid for it!  (Looking back......I wish I would have also bought the other one that was hanging beside mine in the showroom!)

The museum had some really cool things to see and do.  One of my favorite museum displays was a full-size boxing ring that projected Ali fights on video.  The floor of the boxing ring was the screen and you could watch the video while standing on the second floor balcony of the museum! 

Another neat area of the museum encouraged you to stand in front of a screen and "shadow box" against Muhammad Ali.  Here you can see me try to land a roundhouse punch.....but I'm certainly a lightweight in the ring!

There were other areas of the tour that allowed you to dance around inside a boxing ring, try your luck at the speed bag, train for a fight in a make-shift area that looked identical to Muhammad's Deer Lake Training Camp, and see the rhinestone robe Elvis Presley gave to Muhammad Ali in the 1970's.  It was a great place to visit.....even if you aren't a boxing fan.