Upton Remembers Muhammad Ali

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The final goodbye to Muhammad Ali will be Friday with an interfaith service in Louisville, and on hand for the gathering will be dignitaries including former President Bill Clinton. Another political leader who remembers Ali well is Congressman Fred Upton. For decades, Ali lived in Berrien Springs, and he worked with Upton on various pieces of health legislation. Upton says the boxing great was an ally.

“A few months ago, he and [wife] Lonnie helped write an editorial in support of our bill, 21st Century Cures, to expedite the approval of drugs and devices, and approve more money for health research, which he was a supporter from day one,” Upton told WSJM.

Upton says Ali also worked with him to get increased funding for the National Institutes of Health in the 1990s. He has fond memories of seeing Ali at his estate and speaking with him on the phone. Upton calls Ali “a supporter, a friend, and truly, the most recognized individual in the world during his career.”