Happy 70th Birthday, Muhammad Ali. You are still the greatest.
In honor of Ali’s birthday I would like to mention Neil Liefer. Liefer was the one who took the iconic photo of Ali during the Sonny Liston fight in 1965. That photograph is considered one of the greatest sports photograph of all time, but oddly enough it didn’t make any magazine covers or any awards. Liefer was a very young photographer at the time and was seated in what was not exactly considered the “money” spot. 
If you look closely at the photograph you will see a horde of photographers on the other side of Ali, and between his legs, Herbie Scharfman, a very esteemed photographer.
Liefer once said that shooting sports is being in the right place at the right time. In an interview he stated, “What the good sports photographer does is when it happens and you’re in the right place, you don’t miss. Whether that’s instinctual or whether it’s just luck, I don’t know.”
Liefer’s favorite photo he ever shot (and one of the few hanging in his home) is the aerial shot of Ali vs. Cleveland Williams. He climbed up and positioned his camera in the rafters and then shot it via remote from ringside. It’s a beautiful, abstract, completely unique shot that can never be replicated. Aside from the perfect positioning and completely original perspective, the white canvas hearkens metaphorically back to a different era.
Today, the canvas is littered with a myriad of logos and promotions. Everyone paying for the chance to associate (and exploit) themselves with greatness. The photo is clean and pure – in an oddly triumphant, violent way.
So happy birthday to Ali and hats off to Liefer, from one artist capturing another and giving us the gift to experience it forever.