--- title: Muhammad Ali Dead: His Life in TIME Magazine Profiles description: Muhammad Ali proved it should have been no surprise that every time he seemed knocked out, he came back canonical: https://time.com/3537814/muhammad-ali-dead-history/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-04T04:48:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:35.751Z article:section: History og:title: Muhammad Ali Kept Coming Back, In and Out of the Ring og:description: "Muhammad Ali careened across his stage, by turns as hopeful and despairing as his time" og:url: https://time.com/3537814/muhammad-ali-dead-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39a4a0111baadc96/698762c3a988ca42b26aa0a8/1101780227_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 400 og:image:height: 225 og:image:alt: TIME Cover Feb. 27, 1978 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Muhammad Ali Kept Coming Back, In and Out of the Ring twitter:description: "Muhammad Ali careened across his stage, by turns as hopeful and despairing as his time" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39a4a0111baadc96/698762c3a988ca42b26aa0a8/1101780227_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Muhammad Ali Kept Coming Back, In and Out of the Ring > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=f251bfb3-2fd2-490d-b65f-2d43b89755f9&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=f251bfb3-2fd2-490d-b65f-2d43b89755f9&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 100 Photographs: Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston [Watch (HLS stream): 100 Photographs: Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/usmFW6V8.m3u8) (5:54)  _Published 2016-06-04. Neil Leifer’s iconic image of Muhammad Ali towering triumphant over Sonny Liston pinpoints the moment Ali became a larger-than-life legend_  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 4, 2016 4:48 AM UTC  The Feb. 27, 1978, cover of TIME The Feb. 27, 1978, cover of TIME Cover Credit: CURT GUNTHER -CAMERA 5  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 4, 2016 4:48 AM UTC When [Muhammad Ali](http://time.com/muhammad-ali-dead/) was featured in TIME Magazine on Feb. 27, 1978, [the cover](http://time.com/vault/issue/1978-02-27/page/1/) bore the following words: _“The Greatest” Is Gone._ The fight that had prompted the story, and the dramatic headline, was a bout between Ali, then 36, and Leon Spinks, 24, that ended in a split decision—and with Spinks as the new heavyweight champion of the world. The most famous boxer in history, known worldwide, was celebrated as a man at the end of his career. But Ali said at the time that he wasn’t through yet. And, that autumn, he proved it, beating Spinks and becoming the first boxer to ever take the heavyweight championship three times. The headline on that article? _Young Once Again._ TIME had covered Ali’s career from a brief mention in February of 1963—”All clowns in three rounds,” the magazine quoted him saying—and his first cover story later that year, to his later years as an author and the subject of the biopic _Ali_ (another [cover story](http://content.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20020128,00.html), at least for international editions). Throughout, Ali proved it should have been no surprise that every time he seemed knocked out, he came back. It was true in the ring and elsewhere, as when the Supreme Court in 1971 decided that the draft board’s decision to reject his conscientious-objector status during the Vietnam War, a decision that had resulted in his being stripped of his title, had been tainted by what TIME [called](http://time.com/vault/issue/1971-07-12/page/67/) an “admittedly erroneous attack on Ali’s sincerity and religion.” He had in fact promised as much his title had been taken away: that no matter what the world or the sport or life did to him, he wasn’t going anywhere. As TIME quoted him in a cover story about his return to fight Joe Frazier in 1971:  Muhammad Ali quoted in the Mar. 8\. 1971, issue of TIME Perhaps some of today’s boxers will take that promise seriously, imagining Ali haunting the ring forever—but even the most skeptical among us can probably admit that, as a metaphor, that promise is unlikely to go unkept. As it was put at the end of the 1978 cover story, the one that guessed too early that Ali’s career was over, the boxer had the power to “make time stand still—for a little while.” “Muhammad Ali careened across his stage, by turns as hopeful and despairing as his time,” the story [concluded](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,919377,00.html). “He is unlikely to go quietly into the past.” **_Read TIME’s first cover story about Muhammad Ali—then Cassius Clay—here in TIME’s archives:_** [The Dream](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,896687,00.html) **_Read George Plimpton’s essay on Muhammad Ali from TIME’s 100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century issue:_** [The Greatest](http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1653049,00.html) _For much more on Muhammad Ali, see TIME’s_ ALI: The Greatest_, a 112-page, fully illustrated commemorative edition. Available at retailers and at_ [_AMAZON.COM_](http://amzn.to/1rbALvP) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] In the 60s and in the 50s, every boy knew two things. You could ask any young boy and he knew who won the World Series last year and he knew who the heavyweight champion of the world was. [ MUSIC ] Boxing was in its prime . >> Lewiston, Maine adopts the heavyweight championship fight. It's bigger than bingo in Lewiston. And the crowds of the curious gather early outside St. Dominic's arena, site of the fight. You know this fight took place in May of 1965. This was just right in the middle of the civil rights movement and the marches and Muhammad Ali. Had announced that he was changing his name. He had joined the black Muslim sect, which added to the anti- Ali feeling. In fact a good number of the American press refused to refer to him as Mohammad Ali. I mean here's a guy who changed his name legally, he wanted to be called Muhammad Ali. He clearly was entitled to have that happen and yet he wasn't. The fight in Lewiston was billed as the Clay- Liston fight. People didn't believe the first fight, Liston was considered invincible. Big bad Sonny Liston. When you looked at the first fight, Ali just creamed Liston. There were a lot of people that thought Liston didn't train. There were a lot of people that had a lot of excuses. And most people, boxing fans, couldn't wait for the rematch. Match. The challenger, who claims to be 31, is the first to enter the ring. Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay, 23, champion, never defeated as an amateur or as a pro. In 1965, most sports fans In particular just didn't understand Muhammad Ali. And how could they? There had never been anyone like him. Athletes are supposed to be modest. 15 rounds or less, the world heavyweight title, the big fight, the big night, round number one. We're waiting [ SOUND ] for that bell, it's a loud one. Here we go. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] You'll note that Cassius wants to stay out in the center of the ring, where he happens to be the king. Muhammad threw, I don't know, maybe four punches at most in the whole fight. And one of them was this Punch which an awful lot of people still refer to as the phantom punch. Right hand shot on the chin And Ali won the rematch again, this time by knocking out Sonny Liston in two minutes in the first round. [ MUSIC ] I probably spent the two days or three days before the fight Battling electricians for current. You know we used to strobe light these arenas so that basically it was like shooting in a studio, shooting a fashion shoot, which is why the quality of the picture is so good. When you had a fight in those days it was primarily there were men in the audience, and a lot of cigar smoke. Well, the main event, the championship fight, wouldn't take place until 10, 10: 30 11 o' clock. By that time there was this fog. Now believe it or not, the strobe lights shooting through that put this little blue cast in the background and it made it just a but more dramatic. Black. I had no idea I had taken this picture. I had no idea that he had put his arm across his chest. I didn't know he was shouting down at him. I certainly didn't hear a word. It's hard to believe how quickly that moment happened. In fact, my photograph is without question the only color photograph of this moment. When I flew back to New York the next day with the film, I picked up the newspaper and there was my picture taken two seats to my left, photographer named Rooney, he got exactly this picture. Now but he got it natural light. I mean everyone ran Rooney's picture, was taken for Associated Press. I was on assignment for Sports Illustrated, so my photograph didn't run anywhere else. It didn't run on the cover of the magazine. It was page four in a four page color portfolio from the fight. Couple of people came by and told me nice picture Niel. And it was never Considered anything special. I think this picture became the iconic image people consider it today to be because Mohammad Ali became the iconic sports legend that he's become. As Ali's legend grew And as Ali got older and people wanted to remember him at his absolute best. And they knocked out big bad Sally Weston in one round. 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