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Muhammad Ali Training Center in Schuylkill County Reopens

WEST BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, Pa. —  There’s a reason why Muhammad Ali’s famous saying ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,’ will...

WEST BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, Pa. --  There's a reason why Muhammad Ali's famous saying 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,' will resonate forever.

The champ fought with a blend of power and grace that many say will never be duplicated.

And believe it or not, Ali, one of the most celebrated athletes in history did much of his training at Fighter's Heaven just outside of Pottsville.

"Don't forget, this is his own creation. Like Picasso did a painting; he loved that painting. Michaelangelo did his sculpture; he loved that. Ali built this camp; he loved it. This is what it's about," said Gene Kilroy.

That's Ali's longtime friend, business partner and Mahanoy City native, Gene Kilroy. Kilroy introduced Ali to this six-acre property in the early 1970s. The champ transformed it into his own training epicenter

"He trained here for his most important fights. The Frazier fights, the Foreman fight, so many of the fights here," said Kilroy.

In 2016, Mike Madden, son of legendary NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden purchased Fighter's Heaven for about $500,000.

After more than two years of refurbishing and renovations, the compound also known as Deer Lake opened back up to the public for tours.

"It dawned on me that there's not a lot of places like this in sports history, American history. He was a special man and he deserves to be remembered for generations and hopefully what we're doing here will play a role in that," said Mike Madden.

And when Muhammad Ali trained here, his sessions were free and open to the public so hundreds of people would gather inside this small gym to watch the world's greatest fighter fine-tune his skills.

"At the time, he was the most famous man on the planet. I gained so much respect for him as a person because he treated everyone the same," said Jeff Julian.

"Because of who he was as an athlete and human being, it's very important to keep this as a museum," said Thomas O'Neill.

The camp will be open to the public on weekends for tours.

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