Muhammad Ali (b. January 17, 1942) is 65 today. See photo galleries commemorating the life and times of "The Greatest" - Photo Galleries 1; Photo Galleries 2; Photo Galleries 3.
My favourite pictures of Ali are those taken by Flip Schulke in Miami in the early sixties - probably the first to define in images the legend that would become The Greatest. Schulke captured some of the most poignant moments of the civil rights era with his camera (see Schulke's images of Martin Luther King - whose birthday was earlier this week on Monday 15th - here) - and photographed a young Ali training underwater. An image of sublime beauty, in which Ali resembles a god or a discus thrower from ancient Greece. The book has pride of place among my books on Ali, and I was lucky to have seen Flip Shulke's exhibition held at the Photofusion Gallery in London from October to December in 2000.
We all know he's the greatest.
ReplyDeleteHe bravely spoke out against the Vietnam war, as he bravely fought in the ring.
Boxers who don't get knocked out easy, get brain damage more often, because of withstanding all those blows.
The Greatest!
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