Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay

Mahammad Ali RIP

Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay

 Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay passed away June 3, 2016 in a hospital in Phoenix surrounded by family and friends. In my opinion along with millions of others he was not only the greatest fighter of all time but also one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen. It’s not my intention or within my ability to add any words to describe this man I only knew through the media, is is my intention however, out of respect, to add this photo blog to my collection as my own memorial to this unique and wonderful individual.

Photo credit for the header to his post  John Rooney Associated Press.

Hanging out with Stevie Wonder

What about the 60s hair styles on the ladies? Photo credit Redferns.

 Always the clown

Ali clowning around in the back of a taxi with a very serious guy beside him. Photo credit James Drake Time & Life Pictures Getty Image.

Great shot with Sammy Davis Junior

This is one of my favourite shots. Photo credit Bettmann Corbis.

Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay training session in Miami 1966

  This shot of Ali after a training session in Miami in 1966 is an amazing study. Photo credit Gordon Parks.

Sonny Liston 1965

To me this is the greatest photo of Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay I have ever seen. It holds a little more meaning for me because I actually remember exactly where I was the night it happened on May 25th 1965.

Photo credit John Rooney Associated Press.

I was the 6th engineer on the “La Maria” a 12,000 ton cargo ship, we were tied up at Duluth on the shores of Lake Superior which is nearly halfway across America in the state of Minnesota. I was working 12 hours on and 12 hours off, I had finished my watch at midnight so after a long sleep and a day looking around the shops I went to a dockside bar and listened to the fight between Cassius Clay & Sonny Liston. I still have my diary from those days so I can quote exactly what I said & thought after Liston was knocked out, “what a fix it was”.

Olympic gold in 1960

This photo is also special for me as the guy on the right of Cassius in Australian Tony Madigan who picked up the Bronze medal. Tony competed in boxing at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and finished in fifth, fifth and third place, respectively. In 1960 Madigan lost his semifinal to the greatest of them all, Cassius Clay.

While on the subject of Tony Madigan a late friend of mine from Sydney had a run in with him and came off 2nd best, here is an excerpt from one of my photo blogs featuring this story, just follow THIS LINK.

Way back in the 60s & the 70s just the name Tim Bristow struck fear into the heart of all those who knew him, an enforcer with a reputation of being one of the most brutal street fighters in Australia. Put simply he was legend, a bouncer at the Newport Arms hotel, would be contenders for his crown would travel from all over Sydney to try their luck, many came and all of them were sent packing battered and bruised. There are countless stories making up the legend of Big Tim Bristow, one of the few times he actually lost a fight was against 3 times Olympian Tony Madigan who narrowly lost to Cassius Clay in the 1960 Rome Olympics, the story goes Tim wanted a rematch the following week and Madigan declined, my guess is that Madigan didn’t have to prove anything to anybody.

The fight of the century Jan 28, 1974

  His ability to move away from his opponent, Joe Frazier, with such grace makes Frazier’s hay-maker look utterly crude. Ali appears to be untouchable. How ironic, then, that Frazier won the contest that was dubbed Fight of The Century.

World title fight in 1971

What a pest Ali was, here he is taunting Joe Frazier before their 1971 fight which he in fact lost to Frazier.

Madison Square Garden re-match  January 28 1974.

Ali chatting with the press after winning the re-match against his arch rival Joe Frazier which set up their 3rd meeting  “The Thriller in Manila” on October 1st 1975.

George Foreman

What an incredible photo taken before Ali’s second fight with Jerry Quarry. Photo credit Neil Leifer/ Sports Illustrated/Getty Images.

The Rumble in the Jungle

 Ali reclaimed the heavyweight title after his long suspension for refusing to be drafted into the US Army. If you have not seen it the following YouTube video of the Rumble in the Jungle.

When we were Kings.

The day Ali invented “rope a dope”.

Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay

Ali training with the speed bag. Photo credit Jess Tan/AP.

Leon Spinks takes a right to the jaw.

A tremendous action shot with Ali looking very fierce indeed. Photo credit  Dirck Halstead/Getty Images.

Ali regained the WBA heavyweight title and avenged his split decision loss to Spinks from seven months prior. He also became the first man to win the World Heavyweight Championship three times.

Sugar Ray Leonard

 Soon after Ali passed away Sugar Ray posted the following on Twitter, “That I truly admired, idolized and loved in Muhammad Ali. My true feelings have not totally surfaced yet because No One beats Muhammad Ali.” 2nd Tweet “I woke up this morning with a tear coming down my cheek, an ache in my chest along with an appreciation of a man, fighter and friend.”

The greatest sport photo ever.

In 2003 this was voted the greatest sport photo ever by the Observer. Even photographer Neil Leifer calls it his best shot, one he says on which he cannot improve. It was the 1966 heavyweight title fight between Cleveland Williams and Muhammad Ali, he placed a camera in the rafters of the Houston Astrodome in order to get a shot of the canvas when the victor knocked out his competition. It has been said that it is the only photo Neil Leifer took himself that is hanging in his house, also he regards this as his favorite photograph from a 40-year professional career.

Thanks for visiting my Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay photo blog, in memory of the greatest fighter who ever pulled on a pair of gloves. RIP Muhammad you were the ultimate champion.

 Checkout some more of my terrific blogs on the links below.         

Holiday Inn

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Sabai Wing North Pattaya

The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.

 

• Rio beach babes
• Florianopolis Brazil 
• Bangkok river ferry
• Fabulo
• us HCMC
• Amazing World Food 
• Lyme Regis Jurassic coast
• Hiroshima Japan
• Sydney Harbour
• Lake Como Lake Garda Italy

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