Muhammad Ali NFT could go for six figures
CHICAGO - Muhammad Ali is about to meet the modern world, when a portrait of the boxing great will be sold as an NFT.
Jamillah Ali-Joyce remembers her dad as more than a champion in the ring. She says he was also a humanitarian, ambassador for peace, and a fighter against any obstacle. She sees all that in a painting by the artist Richard Sloane.
"He doesn't have to say it. I mean, just look at the photo and it's like it captures his beliefs," Ali-Joyce said.
Attorney John Chwarzynski says Sloane, "created three of them and they were the only portraits that were ever actually handed to Muhammad Ali himself."
Now, Chwarzynski is helping to offer the painting as a Non-Fungible Token – or NFT – which is basically a digital copy for just one buyer.
Some of the proceeds would go to the Parkinson’s Foundation, as well as the youth boxing program at the Celtic Boxing Club in Beverly. The South Side gym is known for keeping kids away from the city's violence.
Ali-Joyce says her dad would be proud they were spreading his message.
"The proceeds of this particular piece will go to an amazing cause, not just to help with Parkinson's, but to help people in the inner city get off the streets and in the boxing gym, like Celtic boxing," she said.
The bidding for the NFT starts on the Open Sea platform June 3rd. That's the 5 year anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s death.
Ali-Joyce says the anniversary is hard, adding that "it's a reminder that he's not physically here with us anymore. But I'm telling you he's always here. He's always in my heart."
How much will someone pay for a portrait of the greatest? Chwarzynski predicts high six figures, if not greater.