He was the most photographed man on the planet for a reason. Muhammad Ali didn't just box; he performed for the lens, understood it, and honestly, he manipulated it better than any PR firm ever could. When you look at photos of Muhammad Ali, you aren't just seeing a guy throwing a punch. You're seeing a meticulously crafted legacy.
Some of these shots are so famous they feel like they’ve always existed, like part of the furniture of the 20th century. But the backstories? They’re usually weirder than the captions suggest.
Take the underwater shot. You know the one—Ali (then Cassius Clay) at the bottom of a pool in a perfect boxing stance. It looks like some high-concept training method. It wasn't. It was a total con job.
Why the Underwater Photos of Muhammad Ali Were a Brilliant Scam
In 1961, photographer Flip Schulke met a 19-year-old Clay. The kid was smart. He noticed Schulke’s underwater camera gear and immediately smelled an opportunity for a "hook." He told the photographer that his old trainer had him practice in the pool because the water resistance acted like weights.
Schulke bought it hook, line, and sinker.
He spent the day at a Miami hotel pool watching Ali strike poses on the bottom. Here’s the kicker: Ali couldn’t even swim. He had never trained underwater in his life. He just held his breath and faked the whole "secret training" routine to get into Life magazine. Years later, Ali saw Schulke and just winked at him. He’d pulled off one of the greatest PR stunts in sports history before he even had a title.
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The Most Misunderstood Frame: Ali vs. Liston 1965
The Neil Leifer photo of Ali towering over Sonny Liston is arguably the greatest sports photograph ever taken. Period. It captures Ali, mouth open in a primal roar, beckoning Liston to get up.
But if you look at the contact sheets from that night in Lewiston, Maine, the "Greatest" almost didn't happen for the photographers.
- Location: A tiny hockey rink in Maine.
- The Punch: The "phantom punch" happened so fast half the crowd missed it.
- The Seat: Neil Leifer was in the perfect spot. The guy sitting next to him? He was a veteran photographer for the AP who missed the shot because Ali’s back was to him.
Leifer was only 22 at the time. He had color film in his camera, which was a massive risk in 1965 because it was "slow" and hard to use in dim arena lighting. If Ali had moved six inches to the left, we wouldn’t be talking about this photo today. It was a 1/500th of a second miracle.
The Intimate Side: Howard Bingham’s Half-Million Frames
While Leifer and Schulke caught the iconic public moments, Howard Bingham caught the human being. Bingham was Ali’s best friend for over 40 years. He took more than 500,000 photos of Muhammad Ali.
Most of these aren't the "G.O.A.T." posing. They’re Ali napping. Ali doing magic tricks for kids in Zaire. Ali at a diner.
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Bingham met him in 1962 when he was still Cassius Clay and offered him a ride in his Dodge Dart. They just clicked. Because Ali trusted Bingham implicitly, the camera disappears in these shots. You see the vulnerability that the "Louisville Lip" usually hid behind a wall of poetry and trash talk.
Gordon Parks and the "Redemption" of a Champion
By 1966, Ali was arguably the most hated man in America. He had joined the Nation of Islam, changed his name, and was refusing the draft for the Vietnam War. Life magazine sent Gordon Parks—a legendary Black photographer—to profile him, partially hoping to find out if Ali was as "dangerous" as the media claimed.
What Parks found was a guy who was charming, polite, and deeply lonely under the pressure of the world’s scrutiny.
The photos Parks took, particularly the close-up of a sweating Ali emerging from the shadows, changed the narrative. It wasn't a sports photo. It was a psychological portrait. It showed a man "dripping with controversy," as the headline later put it, but it made him human again to a public that had turned its back on him.
What Most People Miss in These Images
When you’re browsing photos of Muhammad Ali, don't just look at the muscles or the gloves. Look at the people in the background.
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In the 1964 photos with The Beatles, the Fab Four actually look like the "sidekicks." They had initially wanted to meet Sonny Liston—the guy they thought would win. Liston told them no. Ali (Clay at the time) said yes because he wanted the press. John Lennon later joked that Ali was a "loudmouth," but in the photos, you see four of the most famous musicians in history being completely eclipsed by a 22-year-old boxer's charisma.
Actionable Ways to Appreciate Ali’s Visual Legacy
If you’re a collector or just a fan, knowing where to look is key. You don't just want the "poster" version of these events.
- Check the Magnum Photos Archive: Look for Thomas Hoepker’s work from 1966. He followed Ali through Chicago, catching him looking in car mirrors and walking under "L" trains. It's the most "street" Ali has ever looked.
- Study the Neil Leifer Aerials: Most people know the "standing over Liston" shot, but Leifer’s overhead shot of Ali vs. Cleveland Williams (1966) is a masterpiece of symmetry. It looks like a painting, not a fight.
- Read the "GOAT" Book: If you ever get the chance to see the Taschen "GOAT" book, do it. It weighs 75 pounds and contains the highest-resolution prints of these frames ever produced.
Honestly, the reason these photos still matter isn't just because Ali was a great fighter. It's because he knew that a single image could tell a story better than a thousand words. He wasn't just the subject; he was the director.
To truly understand his impact, start by looking for the 1966 Gordon Parks essay "The Redemption of the Champion" or the Flip Schulke "Ali Underwater" series to see how he used the media to build a myth that survives long after the fights ended.
Next Steps for Your Research
- Visit the Muhammad Ali Center's digital archive to see rare family photos that Howard Bingham didn't release to the mainstream press.
- Search for "Ali vs. Williams 1966 overhead" to see why sports photographers consider Neil Leifer's "other" photo to be his technical masterpiece.
- Compare the 1961 underwater shots with 1970s training photos to see how his physique and public persona shifted from "youthful prankster" to "exiled icon."