Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dispelled fears of ill health here Wednesday in his first public appearance since June, joking with US President George W. Bush as he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ali, 63, appeared weak at times from his long battle with Parkinson's Disease but was attentive throughout the ceremony in the East Room of the White House, applauding each recipient of the highest US civilian honour.
"As Muhammad Ali once said, 'It's not bragging if you can back it up.' And this man backed it up," Bush said. "Across the world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a brave, compassionate and charming man."
Ali was seated alongside 13 fellow honourees, including 18-time major golf champion Jack Nicklaus, "Hotel Rwanda" hero Paul Rusesabagina, singer Aretha Franklin and US Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan.
Ali dominated boxing in the 1960s and 1970s but was stripped of his crown in 1967 for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War. He was sentenced to prison but freed on appeal, yet was barred for 3 1/2 years in the prime of his career.
Bush, whose US popularity ranks at an all-time low in part because of the war in Iraq, made no mention of Ali's courageous stance against war.
Ali became a global culture icon and a champion for peace in a 21-year pro career that began after he won a light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. Ali finished 56-5 with 37 knockouts.
"Far into the future, fans and students of boxing will study the films and some will even try to copy his style," Bush said. "But certain things defy imitation: the Ali shuffle, the lightning jabs, the total command of the ring and, above all, the sheer guts and determination he brought to every fight."
Bush honoured the former world heavyweight boxing champion as "a fierce fighter and a man of peace".
"The real mystery, I guess, is how he stayed so pretty," Bush said. "It probably had to do with his beautiful soul."
Ali, like the others honoured, made no public comment. But he was helped to his feet and stood unaided for his presentation beside Bush. Bush then tied the medal around Ali's neck and playfully made a fist as if ready to trade punches with the ring legend.
Ali responded by pointing a finger to his head and twirling it, a gesture indicating Bush would be crazy to throw a punch. That drew the loudest laughter of the ceremony and Ali repeated it after shaking hands with Bush and returning to his seat.
Parkinson's Disease has severely reduced Ali's speech and movement, but his family has strongly denied recent reports that the boxing legend may be close to death.
Laila Ali, Ali's boxing champion daughter, said last month that her father's Parkinson's had progressed since his prior public appearance here five months ago for her title defence and the final fight of ex-champ Mike Tyson's career.
Parkinson's, a degenerative disease of the nervous system, affects more than one percent of people over the age of 65. Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, stopped Sonny Liston in the seventh round in 1964 to capture the world heavyweight throne and the next day announced he was a Muslim and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
After being stripped of his title, Ali was unable to fight for 3 1/2 years before making a 1970 comeback. The following year he won a Supreme Court appeal of his draft evasion conviction.
Ali reclaimed the crown in 1974 by knocking out George Foreman in 1974 at Zaire in the epic "Rumble in the Jungle".
Despite the onset of Parkinson's, Ali became a global legend. He made an emotional appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, igniting the torch during the opening ceremonies of the Centennial Games. The Muhammad Ali Center, a 75 million-dollar tribute to Ali's life and ideals of peace and personal enrichment, will be dedicated November 20 with "The Greatest" attending in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
Others honoured were Frank Robinson, baseball's first black major league manager; former joint chiefs of staff chairman General Richard Myers; comic actress Carol Burnett; television star Andy Griffith; historian Robert Conquest; radio personality Paul Harvey; GI Bill author Sonny Montgomery and Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn, designers of the software code used to transmit data over the Internet.
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