honeydunce

muhammad ali & joe frazier, 2003

“It was easier to get Ali to pose than Frazier. Joe still resented all the torment Ali had caused him
over the years. Ali had made all the money, too. Joe finally agreed to pose when we offered to go to his
gym in Philadelphia.I knew it would be a difficult shoot because Ali had Parkinson’s and, I learned that day,
Frazier had diabetes. Ali walked in, and I set a stool in the ring for him to sit on. Joe said, “What about me?
Man, I can barely walk. My legs are killing me.” But they were happy, joking around and hamming it up in
every shot.Near the end I switched from color to sepia film. I said, “Look, guys, just stare at the camera. No
smiles, no gags.” I did one frame, then a second, and there it was, the picture I was looking for: two
battered warriors who’d left their lives in the ring.” - Walter Iooss Jr./SI