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[–]bassman18050 points
1 point
1 point
(+1|-0)
ago
(edited ago)
Fun fact about the Muhammad Ali picture:
He was talking to a sports writer, who was fascinated with his speed in the ring. When asked how he trained to develop such speed, he replied that he spent time throwing punches underwater, so that when he fought on land, the lack of water resistance would make his punches that much faster.
So I looked it up to add a source, turns out I wasn't quite right. It was a photographer that worked for Sports Illustrated and Life. Ali was doing a photoshoot for Sports Illustrated, but he wanted to get in Life as well. The photographer said that he doubted that he'd get Ali in Life. His specialty there was underwater photography. Ali then went into a spiel about how he was the only boxer that trained underwater.
The writer loved this, and just had to get some pictures for an article. So, they went to a pool, Ali threw some punches for the camera, and he got an article in the paper.
It was all a lie. He didn't train in the water, he wasn't even a good swimmer. But, he knew that it would get him free publicity, so he faked it and got into Life magazine.
Bonus picture from the same shoot, in the famous picture, he looks like a full-grown man. But he was only 19 years old, and he looks like it in this one.
He has such a cool history, just a great blend of athlete, businessman, and personality. The way he used all of his talents to climb to the top of the boxing world and contribute to the civil rights movement is incredible.
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[–] bassman1805 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
Fun fact about the Muhammad Ali picture:
He was talking to a sports writer, who was fascinated with his speed in the ring. When asked how he trained to develop such speed, he replied that he spent time throwing punches underwater, so that when he fought on land, the lack of water resistance would make his punches that much faster.So I looked it up to add a source, turns out I wasn't quite right. It was a photographer that worked for Sports Illustrated and Life. Ali was doing a photoshoot for Sports Illustrated, but he wanted to get in Life as well. The photographer said that he doubted that he'd get Ali in Life. His specialty there was underwater photography. Ali then went into a spiel about how he was the only boxer that trained underwater.
The writer loved this, and just had to get some pictures for an article. So, they went to a pool, Ali threw some punches for the camera, and he got an article in the paper.
It was all a lie. He didn't train in the water, he wasn't even a good swimmer. But, he knew that it would get him free publicity, so he faked it and got into Life magazine.
Bonus picture from the same shoot, in the famous picture, he looks like a full-grown man. But he was only 19 years old, and he looks like it in this one.
[–] GaryV83 [S] ago
Hey, thanks for the info! Had no idea, cool thing to learn.
[–] bassman1805 ago
He has such a cool history, just a great blend of athlete, businessman, and personality. The way he used all of his talents to climb to the top of the boxing world and contribute to the civil rights movement is incredible.