Ali Center Part of Legacy to His Social Activism Muhammad Ali's fists made him famous, but his plight as a social activist was perhaps his biggest fight. At the Muhammad Ali Center, visitors see the three-time world heavyweight champion railing against war, segregation and poverty. They also see the softer side of a man embracing spiritual growth. On Saturday, the center will be in the limelight when Ali is surrounded by friends for a private party celebrating his 70th birthday. Having spent more than a decade raising money to create and operate the six-story center in downtown Louisville, Ali and his wife, Lonnie, are using the champ's latest personal milestone to benefit the 6-year-old complex. The party, in a banquet room offering a sweeping view of the Ohio River, will double as a $1,000-per-person fundraiser for Ali's beloved center, where the boxer's words are inscribed throughout the exhibits. Australian Ben Physick, who toured the center with his wife recently, said he was especially moved by Ali's pronouncement that he was put on the planet not to be a great boxer but to fight injustice and racism. "It isn't just about boxing, it's about being a better person," Physick said. The center traces Ali's remarkable life and the turbulent times that helped shape one of the world's most recognizable figures. Ali, who is battling Parkinson's disease, turns 70 on Tuesday. The Olympic torch Ali carried during the 1996 Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Games in Atlanta, Ga., on display Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky. Visitors to the Muhammad Ali Center see the three-time world heavyweight champion in his prime, railing against war and racial inequity and delivering knockout punches in the ring. They also see the softer side of a man embracing ideals of respect and spiritual growth. "The Ali Center is a vessel for sharing Muhammad's legacy and championing his social significance," Lonnie Ali said Thursday in a statement to The Associated Press. The center empowers people - especially youth - to create transformational change in the world. Born as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on Jan. 17, 1942, he grew up in a predominantly black West End neighborhood of Louisville. He took up boxing at age 12, later becoming a top amateur boxer and Olympic gold medalist. Ali, raised in a Baptist family, announced his conversion to the Muslim faith soon after defeating Sonny Liston in 1964 to win the heavyweight crown for the first time. He moved to Miami in the early 1960s but kept his close ties to Louisville, where he has a home today. The Alis also have homes in Michigan and Arizona. The center showcases Ali's grace and power as a boxer with video replays of his most famous bouts and plenty of memorabilia, including a rhinestone-studded boxing robe, a gift from Elvis Presley. Visitors can also shadowbox, punch a speed bag and lean into a heavy bag that lets them feel the power of an Ali punch. The center focuses on Ali's causes outside boxing with a series of video, photograph and text displays. Ali envisions the center as a place to promote world understanding and peace. "His legacy reaches so far beyond the ring," said Jeanie Kahnke, a center spokeswoman. Though largely absent from the public eye now, Ali remains a powerful symbolic figure. Last year, Ali, along with other high-profile political dignitaries, backed efforts to free two American hikers held captive for more than two years in an Iranian prison. The hikers were eventually released. The center, built around the accomplishments of someone who called himself "The Greatest," encourages visitors to reach their own potential by promoting six core values: respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving and spirituality. That message still resonates today, Ali's wife said.