By SHELDON S. SHAFER
The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An exhibit spread out over two floors of the Muhammad Ali Center will tell the story of the boxer's life, from childhood to heavyweight champion to international peace activist and humanitarian.

Along the way, visitors can learn how to apply to themselves several traits that have guided Ali, a Louisville native, said Mike Fox, president of the long-awaited center, which is expected to open in late 2004.

"At each stop, you'll be able to learn something about Muhammad and also about yourself," Fox said.

The preliminary design will have six "portals," each spotlighting an Ali trait chosen by the team designing the exhibits: giving, confidence, dedication, spiritual centering, respect for others and conviction.

Design work on the exhibits is about 40 percent done, and "the meat will be put on the bones" over the next two or three months, Fox said.

But the basics are nearly set, officials said.

"The center is not about boxing," said Jeanie Kahnke, deputy director of public relations for the center. "Rather, we are trying to project to the public what this man has been about, and to do it in a meaningful way - so it has relevancy to others' lives."

Ali and his wife, Lonnie, have closely watched the exhibits' development. The preliminary design work "blew Muhammad's socks right off," capturing what he is all about, Lonnie Ali said in a recent statement.

The creative design provides "the educational and inspirational values our mission calls for," said Ina Brown Bond, chairwoman of the Ali Center's governing board.

The trait that is the theme of each portal will be introduced with signs and sound. Each will include a mix of exhibits, media presentations and interactive elements.

"We wanted a free-flowing design that doesn't pigeonhole people," said Barry Alberts, the center's project director. "Ali flowed freely and did what he wanted to do."

Not everyone watching Ali's rise to fame was an admirer, and the Ali Center wants to capture that, too.

"We want to show the dichotomy of Ali. We are not suggesting that he was a model and that everything he's done has been terrific," Alberts said. "We will bring out some of the things ... to show that he was once unpopular and controversial."

Ali could be abrasive and noisy - he would call himself "pretty" and "The Greatest." In some quarters, that earned him another nickname, "The Louisville Lip."

It was the 1960s, and the nation was divided over race, over the Vietnam War, over new social ideas.

Ali joined the Nation of Islam, also known as Black Muslims, and changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali.

He also refused induction into the Army on religious grounds, saying he had no quarrel with the Viet Cong. It cost him his first heavyweight title and he was convicted of evading the draft - a ruling ultimately overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The exhibit will show clips of some of his fights and recordings of his boasts, along with focusing on his peace endeavors and philanthropy.

Near the end of the journey, visitors will learn how Ali has dealt with Parkinson's disease, and see the torch he used to light the flame at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

The journey will end in a serene space, not yet designed, meant to encourage visitors to reflect on what they've seen.