Birthday celebration cranking up for Ali


January 13, 2012 at 11:42a.m.

Birthday celebration cranking up for Ali

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Muhammad Ali’s wife says the boxing great is still a “big kid” who enjoys his birthday parties.

The three-time heavyweight boxing champion will celebrate a milestone birthday next Tuesday when he turns 70. Ali will be surrounded by friends who are gathering Saturday evening for a birthday party at the Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville.

Lonnie Ali, says it’s the first of five parties over the next couple of months. Lonnie Ali says the champ will be surrounded by friends and people who have been fixtures in his life, including his trainer Angelo Dundee. The affair is doubling as a $1,000 per person fundraiser for the center.

Lonnie says her husband is glad he’s still around, but wants to be reassured he doesn’t look his age.