Pugilist, Painter, Poet, Performer: The Many Sides of Muhammad Ali
"Stop Ali It's All Over--Go to Your Corner Now" Drawing in marker by Muhammad Ali
Donated by the LeRoy Neiman Foundation in 2017.
Depicting a Comeback
After three years of exile from boxing, Muhammad Ali returned to the ring in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 26, 1970, to face Jerry Quarry. Prior to the fight, there was backlash from the Governor of Georgia, Lester Maddox, who was a segregationist and considered Ali to be unpatriotic for his conscientious objection. Maddox even went as far as to declare a "Day of Mourning" the night before the fight. Regardless of his opposition, Georgia State Senator Leroy Johnson and Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell pushed for the fight to continue.
This artwork was completed two days before the fight and serves as Ali's documented prediction of how the fight would go. Ali even included a depiction of Lester Maddox running down an aisle in the auditorium exclaiming, "Stop that fight!"
Boxing Match Between Muhammad Ali and Jerry Quarry Drawing, October 24, 1970
