Dundee and Lewis at Ali's party
Angelo Dundee and Lennox Lewis will be among the guests at Muhammad Ali's birthday party on Saturday.
Dundee was Ali's trainer when "The Greatest" ruled the heavyweight division. Lewis, from England, is regarded as one of the best champions in recent years.
The three-time champion will celebrate a milestone birthday on Tuesday when he turns 70. He will be surrounded by friends who are gathering on Saturday for a private birthday party at the Muhammad Ali Centre in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
His wife said on Friday he was still a big kid who enjoyed his birthday parties.
"Muhammad likes celebrations that involve him and are centred around him," Lonnie Ali said on Friday. "He's still a big kid in that area. He loves birthdays."
Lonnie said the Louisville party would be the first of five for Ali over the next couple of months. Other parties will be held in Las Vegas, California and Arizona. "That's the way to celebrate your 70th," she said.
Attending the celebrations will be people who have been fixtures in his life, including Dundee. The party is doubling as a $1 000 per person fundraiser for the centre, which is seen as a legacy to Ali's humanitarian causes.
"The lessons this man knows innately ... are the things we're trying to pass on to future generations, to encourage them to be great and find greatness within like Muhammad as a young man here in Louisville," Lonnie Ali said.
The party will include performances by Grammy Award winners David Foster and John Mellencamp.
The guest list includes Academy Award-winning director Leon Gast and three-time heavyweight champion Lewis.
Also invited to the celebration were Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, three American hikers who were imprisoned in Iran. Ali sent a letter to the Iran government asking for the trio's release.
Lonnie Ali said her husband had mixed feelings about the landmark birthday. "He's glad he's here to turn 70, but he wants to be reassured he doesn't look 70," she said.
The couple chose Louisville and the Ali Centre for the first party because "this is his home. This is where he started. These are the people who supported him," Lonnie said.
Even with all the planning for the celebrations, she is still unsure what to get her husband. "It's hard to get something for someone who has everything."