Muhammad Ali: I am a fan
August.28,2012
Muhammad Ali: 70 years old
Muhammad Ali’s first sounds were “Gee-Gee, Gee-Gee.” His beautiful mother Odessa Clay called her son “G-G” for the rest of her life, and years later, Ali would say, “After I won the Golden Gloves, I told Mama that from the very beginning, I was trying to say, ‘Golden Gloves.’ ”
Muhammad Ali vs. Cleveland Williams at the Astrodome, Houston, 1966
Neil Leifer: “I think this is the best picture I ever made. It’s the only picture of mine that I have in my home. I could go on for a long time about the technical aspects of the shot, how I studied the Astrodome, planned the photo for weeks before the fight, pictured the shot in my head, rigged up the remote trigger that I used to get the shot from above while I was physically down at ringside shooting the fight — but what makes this so special to me is that it’s as close as I’ve ever gotten to a perfect shot. Ali, Williams, the referee, the reporters, the symmetry, the drama — it’s the one photograph I’ve taken where, looking back, I’d change nothing.” NOTE: Leifer is visible here, wearing a light blue shirt and seated near the top along the left-hand side of the ring, with his camera resting in front of him.
Neil Leifer is a photographer for Sports Illustrated.
Neil Leifer: “I think this is the best picture I ever made. It’s the only picture of mine that I have in my home. I could go on for a long time about the technical aspects of the shot, how I studied the Astrodome, planned the photo for weeks before the fight, pictured the shot in my head, rigged up the remote trigger that I used to get the shot from above while I was physically down at ringside shooting the fight — but what makes this so special to me is that it’s as close as I’ve ever gotten to a perfect shot. Ali, Williams, the referee, the reporters, the symmetry, the drama — it’s the one photograph I’ve taken where, looking back, I’d change nothing.” NOTE: Leifer is visible here, wearing a light blue shirt and seated near the top along the left-hand side of the ring, with his camera resting in front of him.
Neil Leifer is a photographer for Sports Illustrated.
