Go Feet: Muhammad Ali

Showing posts with label Muhammad Ali. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 June 2016

Muhammad Ali: I am the Greatest at O2

'I’m so fast, man,

I can run through a hurricane and don't get wet'

I've been meaning to go to the Muhammad Ali 'I am the Greatest' exhibition at the 02 in London since it opened, finally getting round to it in the week after he died which obviously made it very poignant.

Essentially its an exhibition that seeks to tell the story of his life through artifacts from his boxing career. Some of them are directly associated with Ali and his immediate entourage - such as gloves worn in his famous 1966 fight with Henry Cooper. Others are from the period, such as posters and magazine covers. There's also film footage with lots of Ali interviews as well as fight footage of course. It doesn't neglect his political activism either, with a room covering his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. This act led to him being banned from boxing for three years at the height of his career - in turn it could be argued that this led to an increased risk to his health as he later fought longer than might have been good for him - though the evidence of a link between boxing and the Parkinson's disease that disabled and ultimately killed him is contentious.

Some of the photos of Ali running I have featured here before are included, as well as interview filmed with him while going for a run.

Posters from the 1974 Ali vs. Foreman 'rumble in the jungle':

1960 Rome Olympics memorabilia, including torches and participation medals:

'Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee' jacket made by Everlast:

Ali vs. Superman:

Ali as Saint Sebastian:

Ali lights the flame at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta:

Inevitable photo in front of posters/covers wall:

Friday, 28 November 2014

Friday Photos (17): Muhammad Ali Running

Muhammad Ali was of course a great boxer rather than a runner, but running (or 'roadwork' as boxers sometimes term it) was a huge part of his training. Hence lots of photos of him running. There is a great quote that is often attributed to him online: “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses-behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights". Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the original source of this - I hope it's not another of those endless circulating internet myths - but it tells a truth about training for any sport.


Cassius Clay (as he was then) running on the Julia Tuttle Causeway, Miami Beach 1961 (from Miami Archives) 'Ever the early riser, Clay would start each day of training at 5:00 am with roadwork. As he ran from his hotel to the gym[in Miami], police would sometimes get complaints that a young black man was running down the streets. In a southern city during the era of segregation, such a black male must obviously been guilty of something' - Muhammad Ali: A Biography by Anthony O. Edmonds).

Ali running in London streets, 1960s
(from Huffington Post)

Ali running in Hyde Park with Jimmy Ellis, 1966

'taken at dawn in Miami as Ali does his roadwork while training for his first encounter with Joe Frazier 1971'
(from Chris Smith Photography)

"Champ had finished his morning workout at the Fifth Street Gym when I asked him to run on the beach. He agreed and told me it would be good training for his leg strength running on the sand in combat boots. He told me he always ran in heavy combat boots so his boxing shoes would feel lighter when he was in the ring. As I took the pictures I thought of something Muhammad had said years before: “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses-behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights"."
(Telegraph)