Among the dignitaries who will speak on Friday at Muhammad Ali’s memorial service in Louisville, Ky., such as former President Bill Clinton and the comedian Billy Crystal, is one Washington figure who might be something of a surprise: Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah.

Mr. Ali, the former heavyweight champion, showed up in Mr. Hatch’s office in the Senate one day in 1988, apparently impressed by Mr. Hatch’s performance at some high-profile hearings. A deep friendship was born.

Mr. Ali campaigned in Utah for Mr. Hatch’s re-election in 1988 and attended the Republican National Convention that year at his invitation. The former champion was a participant in golf fund-raising events for a charity organized by Mr. Hatch, and the pair were in frequent contact over the years; Mr. Hatch once had one of the fighter’s championship rings, but he returned it on the advice of the ethics committee.

“I like Orrin,” Mr. Ali told Insight Magazine in 1988. “He’s a nice fella. He’s a capable man and he’s an honest man. And he fights for what he believes in.”

Mr. Hatch, a former Mormon bishop, will be representing the Mormon Church at the interfaith service.

“Muhammad Ali was the toughest of the tough, yet he was also gentle and kind,” Mr. Hatch said upon Mr. Ali’s death. “He could spar with the best of them in the ring, but outside the spotlight, he was meek and mild.”