The US city of Louisville is set to rename its airport after hometown hero Muhammad Ali.
Airport officials overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to rename Louisville International Airport after boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
The new name will be “Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.”
The IATA code “SDF” will not change.
Ali, who was was born in the city, once said his “greatness came and started in Louisville.”
The three-time heavyweight boxing champion would have turned 77 on Thursday. He died in 2016.
“Muhammad Ali belonged to the world, but he only had one hometown, and fortunately, that is our great city of Louisville,” Mayor Greg Fischer said.
“Muhammad became one of the most well-known people to ever walk the Earth and has left a legacy of humanitarianism and athleticism that has inspired billions of people.”
Ali declared that he would refuse to serve in the army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector at a time when the US was involved in the Vietnam War.
He famously stated: “Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.”
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”
Ali’s example inspired countless black Americans and others.
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