Muhammad Ali stamps come out this week. How to get them.

Boxer Muhammad Ali once joked that becoming a postage stamp would be "the only way I'll ever get licked.” Now, his very own stamp is days away from release.

A commemorative U.S. Postal Service stamp for the boxer and heavyweight champion will be issued for the first time on Jan. 15, the postal service said, adding that there will be a ceremony at the University of Louisville L & N Federal Credit Union Stadium to honor the stamp.

The stamp will go on sale beginning Jan. 15, sold on a sheet of 20 for $15.60, per the postal service’s website.

Antonio Alcalá, an art director for the postal service's stamp development program, designed the stamp, which features a 1974, black-and-white Associated Press image of the boxer focusing with his gloves upright, peering into the lens.

Here’s a bit more on the champ’s stamp and other postages going on sale this week.

Stamp features 1970s image of boxing champion

Alcalá said on the postal service’s website that the seal features an image where the boxer is making eye contact in a “compelling” way.

“The stance and boxing gloves clearly communicate how he became an American sports icon,” Alcalá said.

His name is also printed on the stamps, sometimes on the top or bottom, printed in all capital letters, much like the posters used to promote the athlete’s fights as he made history.

Ali learned to box after bike was stolen

Ali’s career as a boxer stemmed in part from an incident that happened during his childhood, according to the Muhammad Ali Center, a museum in the athlete's hometown, Louisville, Kentucky.

Twelve-year-old Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., had his red Schwinn bicycle stolen in 1954. Crying, he told a nearby policeman he wanted to “whup” the person who took his bike. The policeman, Sgt. Joe Martin, trained boxers and encouraged the boy to learn how to fight. Ali began training the next day and worked with Martin for the next six years, per the museum.

The boxer won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome for light-heavyweight boxing, the museum shared on its website. He won his first world heavyweight championship title on Feb. 25, 1964, beating Sonny Liston.

The following month, he announced he was a member of the Nation of Islam, and on March 6, 1964, the Nation of Islam leader gave him a holy name, Muhammad Ali, per the museum.

On April 28, 1967, Ali refused to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War due to religious reasons. He was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to up to five years in prison, fined $10,000 and banned from boxing for three years, per the museum. His heavyweight title was also taken away.

Honoring Ali's humanitarian work

The sheet, which comes with 20 stamps, also features a 1976 image of Muhammad Ali smiling in a suit.

Ali’s humanitarian work included donations to support families impacted by the Dec. 6, 1962, Robena Coal Mine explosion.

He also donated $10,000 to the United Negro College Fund in 1967. The fund’s president said at the time that Ali’s donation came in a plain envelope, with no requests for publicity, per the University of Louisville.

“There are many facets to Ali,” Alcalá said about the boxer. “I felt it was important to represent him on the stamp as a boxer, but also to include a photo showing his non-boxing side.” 

How to get the Muhammad Ali stamps

Those who want to get their hands on the stamps can pre-order them at www.store.usps.com or buy them at post offices nationwide, postal service officials said on Jan. 12.

Twenty-two million Muhammad Ali stamps will be printed, the agency told USA TODAY.

Other Ali-inspired postal products include a set of two pocket-sized field notes notebooks featuring the boxer, collectible envelopes, and a stamp portfolio with details on the stamp design process.

For more information on the postal service's Ali collection, customers can visit www.store.usps.com.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at [email protected].