'A beautiful boxer!' Bernie Sanders calls Muhammad Ali a 'hero' and jabs Donald Trump for praising the athlete while being 'prejudiced against Muslims'

Bernie Sanders took a break from campaign chatter for a minute Saturday to call the late Muhammad Ali, who passed away yesterday, a 'beautiful boxer' before taking a jab at Donald Trump.

'And don't tell us how much you love Muhammad Ali and you're going to be prejudiced against Muslims in this country,' the Vermont senator told reporters at a Los Angeles press conference.

Upon hearing the news last night that Ali had died, Trump tweeted that Ali was a  'truly great champion and a wonderful guy.' 

'He will be missed by all!' the presumptive Republican nominee added.  

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Bernie Sanders spoke to reporters this morning before hitting the campaign trail in Los Angeles. He said he considered the late Muhammad Ali a 'hero' and praised him for being against the Vietnam War 

Bernie Sanders mostly talked to reporters today about the upcoming primaries and delegate math, but took a personal moment to speak about boxing great Muhammad Ali, who died yesterday 

At a press conference that mainly featured questions and answers about Tuesday's set of primaries and delegate math, Sanders showed a more personal side briefly when he was asked about the boxer.  

Muhammad Ali, who was born on January 17, 1942 passed away yesterday at the age of 74 

'I am a bit of a boxing fan and clearly Ali was one of the great heavyweight champs of all time, a beautiful boxer and a great athlete,' the presidential candidate said. 

Sanders said Ali was a 'hero' of his, for both his 'great boxing skill,' but also his 'incredible courage,' for coming out against the war in Vietnam. 

'At a time when it was not popular to do so, Ali stood up and said, "I am opposed to the war in Vietnam and I'm not going to fight in it,"' Sanders said. 

'And that incredibly courageous decision cost him three and a half years of his prime, fighting, life,' Sanders continued. 

'It cost him probably tens and tens of millions of dollars. That was his prime, that was when he was at his best, heavyweight champion of the world, could have made millions and millions of dollars,' the senator added. 

Sanders noted how he had previously traveled to Ali's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky and visited the Muhammad Ali Center. 

'That center not only has his boxing history, but also points out about his strong faith in Islam,' Sanders said. 

Sanders suggested Ali resonated with the American people, in part, because of that. 

'He had unbelievable skills as a boxer, but because people saw that he was a man of conviction and enormous courage, which is why, I think, he is probably the most popular athlete in the modern history of the world, not just in America,' Sanders said. 

The Democratic hopeful noted the 'growth in Islamophobia in this country' and talked about conversations he's had with Muslim Americans who are concerned about their kids. 

'I say to those people one of the great American heroes in modern American history was Muhammad Ali, a very proud Muslim,' Sanders stated, before giving a left hook to Trump. 

Sanders has been campaigning in California non-stop for over a week in advance of Tuesday's delegate-rich primary. 

This morning he held a press conference asking the television networks not to call the race for his rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, before California's polls close. 

Clinton could lock up the Democratic nomination Tuesday night with a win in New Jersey, if the media counts pledged delegates – the delegates the Democrats earn from winning primaries and caucuses – and superdelegates, party insiders who also get to vote at July's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. 

Sanders said today that the media calling Clinton the presumptive nominee on Tuesday would be 'inaccurate' because the superdelegates won't vote until the nominating convention.   

'The Democratic National Convention will be a contested convention,' Sanders said.