Muhammad Ali Research Paper

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Muhammad Ali is one of the most controversial fighters in boxing history. He is known for his trash talking and being able to back it up. Muhammad Ali’s impact goes further than just boxing. He also fought against racial prejudice and for religious freedom. He was a very proud black Muslim and people hated him and loved him for it. He voiced his opinions louder than most. Muhammad Ali is regarded by a lot of people as the greatest fighter ever. His fights mostly consisted of him dancing around and taunting his opponents before winning. He coined the phrase “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee” which he used to describe how he fought. Neil Leifer is a photographer and filmmaker from New York. He would get in free at Giants…show more content…
The Magazine like his work and hired him to do more. In 1962 he got his first cover when he was only 19. Leifer was known as a risk taker. In 1966 at the Cleveland Williams and Muhammad Ali fight, he put a camera in the rafters above the ring so that he could get an above shot of the losing fighter knocked out. Leifer says thats his favorite photo he’s taken and it's the only one of his that he has hanging in his house. Leifer has photographed 7 Olympic games and followed Muhammad Ali’s career from beginning to end. Neil Leifer has had 170 Sports Illustrated covers. The picture of Ali standing over Sonny Liston after his victory is regarded as the greatest sports photo ever. Ali knocked out Liston in the first round. He won the fight quickly after hyping it up for months. Ali stood over Liston for 20 seconds taunting him instead of going to his corner, finally Liston stood up but it was still considered a first round knockout. Ali won the fight with the “phantom punch” it is called that because most people in the crowd didn’t even see the hit that knocked Liston out. Theres claims that Sonny Liston threw the fight because he owed money to the Mafia. There’s

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