US president Barack Obama will miss Muhammad Ali's funeral on Friday due to a clash with his daughter's high school graduation.
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, who knew Ali, will deliver a letter from the Obamas to the late boxer’s family.
Family spokesman Bob Gunnell said Ali's widow Lonnie spoke to Obama over the phone and appreciated his "kind words and condolences."
After Ali's death, Obama said he kept a pair of his gloves in his private study underneath a picture of the legendary boxer beating Sonny Liston in 1964.
He said Ali would be remembered "not just as skilled a poet on the mic as he was a fighter in the ring, but as a man who fought for what was right. A man who fought for us."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Abdullah II of Jordan will be at the service, which will be open to the public and streamed live on the internet.
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