US President Donald Trump has said he is considering a pardon for the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

The iconic sportsman was convicted of refusing to turn up for military duty in 1967 after being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.

Ali, who had Parkinson's disease, died in 2016 at the age of 74.

He lost his boxing licence because of the fallout, and was not allowed to return to the ring until 1970.

But the following year, Ali had the conviction quashed after a successful appeal to the US Supreme Court, and then-President Jimmy Carter granted a blanket pardon to all draft evaders in 1977.

Despite that, Mr Trump told reporters in Washington he was looking at "thousands of names" of people who could be granted clemency - including Ali.

The boxer's lawyer, Ron Tweel, said a pardon for his client would be pointless.

"We appreciate President Trump's sentiment, but a pardon us unnecessary," he said.

"The US Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Muhammad Ali in a unanimous decision in 1971. There is no conviction from which a pardon is needed."

Earlier this week, Mr Trump commuted the life sentence of a woman whose cause was championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian West.