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An Iconic Image That Captured A Legendary Knockout

NPR
Published May 24, 2015 at 5:16 PM EDT
Portrait of Muhammad Ali with Sports Illustrated photographer Neil Leifer during photo shoot at Life Studios, New York, NY. Photo from <em>Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs</em>, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)
Courtesy of Sports Illustrated Content Management
Portrait of Muhammad Ali with Sports Illustrated photographer Neil Leifer during photo shoot at Life Studios, New York, NY. Photo from Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)
Photograph taken by Leifer at the 1984 Olympics as Carl Lewis set a record during Men's 4x100M Relay and went on to win four gold medals. Photo from <em>Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs</em>, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)
Neil Leifer / Courtesy of Sports Illustrated Content Management
/
Courtesy of Sports Illustrated Content Management
Photograph taken by Leifer at the 1984 Olympics as Carl Lewis set a record during Men's 4x100M Relay and went on to win four gold medals. Photo from Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)
Muhammad Ali with Neil Leifer holding the iconic photograph. Photo from <em>Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs</em>, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)
/ Courtesy of Neil Leifer
/
Courtesy of Neil Leifer
Muhammad Ali with Neil Leifer holding the iconic photograph. Photo from Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)
Leifer's shot of the victorious Dodgers at the 1963 World Series Jim Gilliam(left), with Don Drysdale and John Roseboro at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Photo from <em>Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs</em>, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)
Neil Leifer / Courtesy of Sports Illustrated Content Management
/
Courtesy of Sports Illustrated Content Management
Leifer's shot of the victorious Dodgers at the 1963 World Series Jim Gilliam(left), with Don Drysdale and John Roseboro at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Photo from Relentless: The Stories behind the Photographs, by Neil Leifer with Diane K. Shah (University of Texas Press, 2016)

NPR's Arun Rath speaks with Sports Illustrated photographer Neil Leifer, who captured the moment afterward when Ali towered over Liston.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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