LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Muhammad Ali’s legacy extends beyond his stinging right jab, world titles and Olympic gold medal, to the heart and compassion he showed long after he left the ring, his wife Lonnie Ali said.“He transcended boxing into every space you can imagine,” she told The Associated Press this week ahead of the 10-year anniversary of Ali’s death on June 3, 2016, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.“Muhammad lived by this mantra: service to others is the rent we pay for our room here on earth,” Lonnie Ali said during an interview at The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. “He showed up every day with kindness and empathy in his heart for people who are in need.”Ali, known as the “Louisville Lip” in his hometown, rose to prominence as a trash-talking world champion boxer in the 1960s and began speaking about civil rights issues as his star was rising. He is widely regarded as the most famous and influential boxer of all time, winning the heavyweight title three times.The Ali Center is sponsoring a “Day of Compassion” on Wednesday, the 10th anniversary of his death, to promote acts of service and caring. Lonnie Ali, who serves as the center’s lifetime director, said the hope is an expanding annual event to highlight works of service and volunteering.The day will focus on one of “the core …
