You’ve seen it a thousand times. It’s plastered on the walls of smoky boxing gyms, printed on high-end dorm room posters, and flashed during every "greatest athlete" montage ever made. Muhammad Ali, young and terrifyingly vibrant, towers over a crumpled Sonny Liston. His face is twisted into a primal snarl, his right glove cocked back like he’s ready to do it all over again.
It’s the muhammad ali and sonny liston picture. The one from 1965.
But here’s the thing: at the time, people kinda hated it. Or, more accurately, they didn't know what to make of it. The photograph that we now view as the ultimate symbol of Ali’s "Greatest" persona was actually born from a moment of pure, unadulterated chaos—and a fight that many people thought was a total sham.
The 1:44 Mark: A Knockout Nobody Saw
Let’s set the scene because it was weird. We’re in Lewiston, Maine. Why Maine? Because the fight was basically kicked out of Boston. People were nervous. Malcolm X had just been assassinated, and there were rumors that Ali—who had recently joined the Nation of Islam—was a target. The venue wasn't some grand Vegas arena; it was a high school hockey rink.
The fight starts. Ali dances. Liston lunges. Then, exactly one minute and 44 seconds into the first round, Liston hits the deck.
Most people in the crowd didn’t even see the punch. It became known as the "phantom punch." Even the ringside commentators were fumbling, trying to figure out what just happened. Ali didn't go to a neutral corner like he was supposed to. Instead, he stood right over the fallen "Big Bear" and screamed:
"Get up and fight, sucker! Nobody will believe this!"
That is the exact split-second captured in the muhammad ali and sonny liston picture. It wasn’t a pose of victory; it was a scream of frustration. Ali knew that if Liston didn't get up, the world would call the fight a fix. He was right.
Neil Leifer vs. John Rooney: A Tale of Two Angles
If you look closely at the most famous version of this photo—the one in vivid color—you'll notice a guy sitting between Ali’s legs in the background. That’s Herb Scharfman, a veteran photographer for Sports Illustrated.
Poor Herb. He was the "senior" guy on the scene, but he was on the wrong side of the ring. All he got was a photo of Ali’s backside.
The kid who got the shot was Neil Leifer. He was only 22. He was sitting in the "lucky" seat, but as he’s said in plenty of interviews since, it’s one thing to be in the seat and another thing not to miss the shot. Leifer was using a Rolleiflex camera and had pre-rigged strobe lights in the rafters of the St. Dominic’s Arena.
Because of those strobes, his camera needed time to "recycle" after every flash. He basically had one shot at the knockout. He took it, and the resulting image looked like it was shot in a studio. The blue-tinted cigar smoke, the harsh overhead light, the perfect triangular composition—it was art.
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However, there’s a black-and-white version of the muhammad ali and sonny liston picture taken by John Rooney of the AP. It’s almost the same angle. For years, Rooney’s version was actually the more famous one because it hit the wire services immediately. Leifer’s color shot didn't even make the cover of Sports Illustrated that week. They passed on it! It took decades for the color version to emerge as the definitive icon.
Was the Fight Rigged?
You can't talk about the picture without talking about the "fix." Sonny Liston was a scary man. He had ties to the mob, a reach that could touch the moon, and hands the size of dinner plates. The idea that Ali—who wasn't a known "one-punch" knockout artist—could drop him in 104 seconds with a short right hand seemed impossible to the 1965 press.
- The Dive Theory: Some believe Liston was terrified of the Nation of Islam and took a dive to get out of the ring alive.
- The Mob Theory: Liston owed people money, and a bet against the heavy favorite would have cleared his debts.
- The Reality: If you watch the film in slow motion, the punch does land. It’s a short, chopping right hand that catches Liston right on the temple while his own momentum is moving forward. It’s a "button" punch.
Honestly, Liston probably could have gotten up. But between the chaotic refereeing of Jersey Joe Walcott (who completely lost track of the count) and the fact that Ali was hovering over him like a vengeful god, Liston stayed down.
Why This Image Ranks as the Greatest
The muhammad ali and sonny liston picture matters because it’s the moment Cassius Clay fully died and Muhammad Ali was born.
In their first fight in 1964, Ali was the loudmouth underdog. In this 1965 photo, he is the dominant, polarizing figure that would define the next two decades of American culture. He wasn't just a boxer; he was a political lightning rod. The photo captures that "don't mess with me" energy that made him both loved and hated.
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What to Look for in a Real Print
If you’re ever in the market for a high-quality reprint or looking at an original, there are a few things to note about the technical side of the muhammad ali and sonny liston picture:
- The Color Palette: Original prints use Kodak Ektachrome film, which gives that specific, slightly oversaturated "1960s" look. The canvas has a distinct blueish-gray tint.
- The Background Characters: Look for the guy with the camera between Ali's legs (Scharfman). If the image is cropped too tight, you lose the scale of the arena.
- The Glow: Because of Leifer's strobes, there’s a slight "rim light" on Ali’s shoulders and the top of his head, separating him from the dark background.
If you want to dive deeper into this history, I'd suggest looking into Neil Leifer’s book The Best of Leifer. He goes into great detail about how he set up the lighting for that night. It’s also worth watching the 16mm fight footage on YouTube; it’s the only way to truly appreciate how fast that "phantom punch" actually was.
Check out the "slow-motion" replays specifically—you'll see Liston’s head snap back in a way that suggests the punch was a lot harder than the critics claimed at the time.
Next Step for You: If you're interested in the technical side of how these iconic moments are captured, you might want to look up Neil Leifer's other masterpiece: the overhead shot of Ali vs. Cleveland Williams. It’s a bird’s-eye view that completely changed how sports are photographed.