In not even a full year as host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert has had to deliver quite a few tribute segments. He's spoken solemnly about the late David Bowie, about the late Prince, and on Monday, he took a different approach to his remembrance of Muhammad Ali.

Rather than make a heartfelt speech about Ali—as he had done in the case of Bowie and Prince—Colbert turned the segment into more of a news analysis. Running through Ali's contributions to sports, to shit-talking, to civil rights, Colbert peppered in jokes among the facts about the boxer's legacy.

"He helped create the America we live in today, and I mean the good thing in America, not that Whopperito thing," Colbert said.

Then, as he's never done before, Colbert invited legendary sports figure, friend to Ali and fellow convert to Islam, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to discuss the late hero.

"His understanding of what integrity was all about was remarkable and it was an example to repeat to our kids and grandkids, because it was the real deal," Abdul-Jabbar told Colbert.

Under a new showrunner, Chris Licht (formerly of CBS This Morning), Colbert has been leaning his show even more toward news satire/analysis in the last few months. And here he strikes a fine balance of comedy and sincerity. More important, he looks ahead, discussing what we can take away from Ali's legacy, while providing new information thanks to Abdul-Jabbar's insight.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Matt Miller Culture Editor Matt is the Culture Editor at Esquire where he covers music, movies, books, and TV—with an emphasis on all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io