Earlier this week, Life magazine posted on Google their photo archives. Obviously, there are literally thousands of fantastic photographs, but this John Shearer shot of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, which Shearer snapped prior to their historic 1971 fight, grabbed my attention.
I'd say it illustrates pretty well Ali's devil-may-care showmanship and Frazier's steely determination, which brought out the best in both men throughout the first half of the 1970s, as they beat the holy hell out of one another.
Frazier, of course, would go on, a few weeks later, to beat Ali in Madison Square Garden, while Ali won both the rematch three years later, in 1974, and the third and final fight, the "Thrilla in Manila," the following year. After the third fight, which Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, stopped before the 15th round, Ali famously said it was the closest to dying he's ever been.
