Muhammad Ali's childhood home for sale as museum for £1.1m

The modest pink house in Louisville, Kentucky, has been transformed into a museum. Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, spent his early years at the property which has two bedrooms and one bathroom.

The house and two neighbouring homes, which have been converted into a souvenir shop and short-term rental, hit the real estate market this month.

The collection is priced at £1.1 million, and co-owner George Bochetto claims that the ideal buyer would preserve the property as a museum.

"This is part of our history, and it needs to be treated and respected as such," he explains. The museum was opened shortly after Ali's death in 2016.

Ali lived in this house before leaving for the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960, where he returned as a champion. The museum fell into financial trouble and was closed less than two years after opening. Proposals to move it to Las Vegas, Philadelphia, or Saudi Arabia emerged, but all were rejected.

Muhammad Ali was a significant figure in professional boxing and popular culture. Before turning professional, he won a gold medal at the Olympics. He won the world heavyweight title three times, fighting legendary battles permanently etched in boxing history.

He first claimed the title of champion in 1964, defeating Sonny Liston. From 1967 to 1970, he was banned from boxing for refusing military service, thus being away from the ring for over three years.

He reclaimed the world heavyweight title in 1974 and 1978. He ended his career in 1981 with a loss to Trevor Berbick. According to doctors, health complications that marked his entire post-boxing life had already appeared.

In 1990, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

He died at the age of 74. The health of "The Greatest" deteriorated a few days ago. The American had been battling Parkinson's disease for years. He will be buried in his hometown of Louisville.