
During America in the 1960s, sports were growing substantially in popularity year by year. The first ever NFL Super Bowl happened in January 1967, the Boston Celtics won nine out of ten championships, and Muhammad Ali nearly owned the entire sport of boxing. Muhammad Ali had a fighting style that nobody had ever seen before, and a mouth that turned him into a national superstar. Yet the fight that made Ali turn heads was when he viciously knocked out the undefeated Sonny Listen in the first round of the World Heavy Weight Championship. This fight brought out many controversies and was the most anticipated and watched fight in boxing history. Ali’s constant motormouth before and after fights made him notorious with the reporters, and also with fans. Some people hated that Muhammad Ali was able to predict what was going to happen, then convert his words into actions. Although some people perceived that Ali had despicable boxing etiquette, he stood out from his competition and people began to realize that the “trash talking” was a form of confidence that reflected positively towards himself and negatively towards his opponents. The image of Ali-Liston by Neil Leifer turned skeptics of Muhammad Ali’s weird form of confidence into believers, the iconic photograph uses elements such as contrast, scale, and line to contribute to the feelings of confidence and motivation. Ali-Liston captures the liveliness and toughness that was present within the ring at Central Maine Youth Center in Lewiston, Maine.

 Neil Leifer was as most people say, in the right place in the right time. He was able to capture the perfect shot of the Muhammad Ali, displaying the design element of contrast. Contrast, making items stand out, is the reason we are able to see Ali’s intense facial expression and distinct muscle definition within the photo. Also due to the lighting in Central Maine Youth Center, viewers are able to see the shadows of  Liston’s gloves on the ground which helps confirm that the boxing match has ended with a knockout. As the lighting gives contrast to the left side of Ali’s face, it is easy to feel the liveliness and confidence coming from Ali’s mouth. What some people know as trash talking, Ali’s confidence was heard across the ring after Liston dropped to the ground, Ali screamed, “Get up and fight”. Contrast not only helps the audience identify facial expression but also muscular definition. Ali’s muscular definition gives meaning to the photo by demonstrating his toughness and sheer excitement. The way his right bicep and shoulder are flexed, assists the audience in recognizing the emotions and physical elements that contributed to the success of Muhammad Ali.

The scaling between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston is evident because of the massive size of Ali compared to the scaled down Liston, sprawled out on floor of the ring. The exact placement of Ali is directly in the middle of the photo, and the reason for this is to display his dominance in the ring. Muhammad Ali towers over Liston, making him look inferior as well as defeated. Not only does Ali’s dominance show forth in the scaling of the photo but so does his overflowing confidence. At first glance, the viewers eyes are locked on Ali because of his size, then it becomes simple to notice his mouth stretched open and eyes clenched in excitement. Ali’s towering dominance and overflowing confidence are interpreted because of the size of Ali in relation to Liston inside of the image.   

In order to guide the readers eye, Neil Leifer uses the design element of line in his photo. Line can cause the separation between one or more objects, and in this case it distinguishes Ali and the spectators at the fight. The line of the boxing ring rope is able to guide a readers eye into analyzing the emotions of spectators during the fight alongside Ali. Just by noticing the jaw dropped facial reactions of the audience it is easy to make the accusation that Liston was knocked out viciously. Camera’s are present on most of the spectators which can signify the historic importance of the much anticipated fight. After recognizing the line stretching across the picture, it is made apparent that behind the line is a receding crowd of fans. This adds to the interpretation that not only was Ali vs Liston a greatly anticipated fight, but thousands of fans came in order to support their favorite boxer.  

If Neil Leifer had taken the picture a second earlier or even later, he would have failed to capture the emotions and excitement in the air that day at Central Maine Youth Center. Instead, viewers would be unable to see the confidence, motivation, and dominance that Ali exhibits nor be able to establish an accurate representation of the image. Without the famous image, less and less people would remember the importance of the fight along with Muhammad Ali’s unique form of confidence. “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was”, said Ali as he displayed his uncontainable personality which ended up being the underlying message behind the famous photograph.  
