Iconic Photos: Muhammed Ali and Mike Tyson

Once I had decided to film a boxing short, I found it appropriate to look at photographs of fighters in the ring. A common problem I found however when researching such photographs was that the photographer was often not credited which I will address throughout this post.

Ali's Triumph 

Above is an easy picture to recognise even to those who aren’t boxing fans. The image shows Muhammad Ali standing as the winning over Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship belt. My belief for the popularity of this picture is it perfectly shows triumph, the low angle makes Ali appear very dominating with Liston helpless on the floor.

Although this is one of the most iconic pictures of the 60’s, the photographer is not as easy to identify. Many credit Robinson as the person who snapped this image however he is merely the printer of the picture as stated here;. Beyond this there appears to be confusion as to where the picture originated which though a shame as it would have been interesting to see what else that photographer had taken, it does not detract from the effectiveness of the picture.

Another iconic picture taken of the same moment was by photographer George Silk. The lights being in view makes the moment feel far more of a live show and although they should detract the eye from Ali I find that it instead makes him even more the centre of attention, it’s as if all the lights are pointed on him. I prefer Silk's angle here as to the last for it is instead outside and not inside the ring. Having the ropes in view separates the viewer from the boxer making it seem all the more realistic and gritty whilst also showing how the boxer’s are in their own world.

Both pictures have quite high contrast between the bright lights and dark background which echoes much of Michael Chapman’s black and white style for Raging Bull. There is also a similarity in the low angle of the shot, centre position of De Niro and having the ropes in view.

Silk's picture along with the opening for Raging Bull was a major inspiration for my own opening where the character of Reese is alone in the ring. I did however make the picture far darker to keep in tone with Gordon Willis's style.

Mike Tyson's Strength 

Another boxing picture that stood out to me was Mike Tyson’s tremendous jab pictured below.

Unfortunately like many pictures I browsed through I could not find a credited photographer, which has led me to believe that this is actually a still frame from the match. Never the less it is a perfect picture of the sheer strength Mike Tyson had. The background is appropriately out of focus with the fighters in focus given a good depth of field and the two are taking up the entire frame leaving no glaring dead space. Interestingly and more then likely unintentional the ring’s rope appears to be larger then the boxer’s no doubt as a result of the depth of field and focus. 

It was this picture alone that convinced me to freeze-frame a shot during postproduction of the boxing match. Luckily, the boxer I was rooting for landed such a punch and having it synced with a note from the music made it all the more effective.

If done again it would have been an idea to secure a closer seat at the front row to rid the image of all its dead space. However the desired effect of it being filmed unprofessional would have been slightly hampered.