The second of a new Guardian Print Shop mini-series featuring classic sports images from the likes of Gerry Cranham, Mark Leech and Tom Jenkins – yours to own from just £55 including free delivery
This 1963 picture of
boxing legend Muhammad Ali, known then as Cassius Clay, was taken a few weeks before his first bout with the
British fighter Henry Cooper at Wembley. There are many sumptuous photographs of “The Greatest” in the archives: him castigating the defeated Sonny Liston, dodging a haymaker from Joe Frazier and, of course, larking around whenever a camera or microphone was nearby. But this frame is different. It captures a youthful Clay in a moment of tranquility – perhaps lost in thought or concentration – his legacy yet to be written. Though Clay was felled by a sweet left hook by Cooper in the fourth round, he would recover to win the bout and went on to achieve unprecedented success in the ring, becoming heavyweight champion of the world three times. Through his refusal to fight in the Vietnam war and his staunch support of civil rights, he ultimately transcended sport itself and become an icon of the 20th century.