Muhammad Ali (b. 1942) "The Greatest" gained fame for his boxing skills, charisma and the controversy he generated outside the ring. In 1976 the Smithsonian acquired Ali's boxing gloves and robe for an exhibition on the American Bicentennial, A Nation of Nations. At the donation ceremony, before a crowd of reporters and cheering spectators, Ali predicted that his Everlast gloves would become "the most famous thing in this building."
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