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The Greatest cufflinks of all time

As Barack Obama stepped out in Manhattan yesterday, he was greeted by hundreds of well wishers with applause.

Putting your hands together is one way of showing your appreciation for the statesman, though the family of Muhammed Ali also found another way.

After the death of the boxing champion, members of his family gifted the fighter’s cufflinks to the former President at the first ever Eid celebration at the White House.

With both men taking leading roles in black (not to mention global) history, the cufflinks represented a bond between the two figures.

Ali’s wife, Lonnie, and six of their children proudly looked on as the exchange took place and Obama made the statement:

“Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing.

“But we’re also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.

“As proud of his blackness as he was of his faith, the Champ taught us that the most important thing in life is to be ourselves.”

The President, who kept a pair of Ali’s gloves on display in his White House study, also paid homage to the boxer and outspoken civil rights advocate immediately after his death in June 2016.