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Muhammad Ali - Oscar Bonavena Press Conference, New York City

Date1970

Label TextMuhammad Ali faces the press with the same power he unleashed on Oscar Bonavena, the boxer he downed three times in the fifteenth round, forcing an automatic halt to their fight. From the moment he stepped out to fight, Muhammad Ali was able to capture public attention like no other athlete. As an eighteen year old boxer, he took the gold medal at the Olympics in 1960 and declared himself "the Greatest." He won the title of heavy weight champion of the world in 1964. Proclaiming "I don't have to be what you want me to be, I'm free to be what I want," he changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, then took a stand as a Black Muslim and refused to participate in the Vietnam War. Ali said at the time, "I'm giving up my title, my wealth, maybe my future. Many great men have been tested for religious beliefs. If I pass this test, I'll come out stronger than ever." He was stripped of his title, but three years later the Supreme Court overturned the charge against him. Since retiring from boxing in 1981, he has devoted his time to humanitarian causes. The most recent biography of Muhammad Ali is entitled: "King of the World".

Object number83.54.10

ProvenanceFraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, CA; purchased by the Seattle Art Museum, August 8, 1983

Exhibition HistoryPortland, Oregon, Reed College, "Heroes", September 21 - October 31, 1986 Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Hero/Antihero", December 21, 2002 - August 17, 2003 Seattle, Wash., Seattle Art Museum, Go Tell It: Civil Rights Photography, April 30, 2016-January 2, 2017

Credit LinePacific Northwest Bell, the Photography Council, the Polaroid Foundation, Mark Abrahamson, and the National Endowment for the Arts

Dimensions12 1/2 x 18 1/2 in. (31.8 x 47 cm) Sheet h.: 18 in. Sheet w.: 20 in.

MediumGelatin silver print