How Muhammad Ali Wanted to Be Remembered

2 minute read
By Katie Reilly

Muhammad Ali once said he wanted to be remembered “as a black man who won the heavyweight title and who was humorous and who treated everyone right.”

The boxing great died Friday at the age of 74. In a 1975 interview with Playboy, Ali was asked how he thought he would be remembered. His multidimensional answer is a telling portrait of an icon known as a boxing champion and powerful social justice advocate.

The interview was conducted before Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manila” Heavyweight World Championship.

Here’s Ali’s full answer, as reported by Playboy:

I don’t know, but I’ll tell you how I’d like to be remembered: as a black man who won the heavyweight title and who was humorous and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him and who helped as many of his people as he could– financially and also in their fight for freedom, justice and equality. As a man who wouldn’t hurt his people’s dignity by doing anything that would embarrass them. As a man who tried to unite his people through the faith of Islam that he found when he listened to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. And if all that’s asking too much, then I guess I’d settle for being remembered only as a great boxing champion who became a preacher and a champion of his people. And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.

For much more on Muhammad Ali, see TIME’s ALI: The Greatest, a 112-page, fully illustrated commemorative edition. Available at retailers and at AMAZON.COM

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Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com