Winter Auction 2017 Ending January 29
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/29/2017
Of all sports legends, Muhammad Ali more than anyone understood and harnessed the power of words. "I'm not only a fighter," he said. "I'm a poet; I'm a prophet." Armed with his tongue and his fists, few stood a chance. Ali had most of his fights won through psychological warfare even before stepping into the ring. Case in point: The Thrilla in Manila, arguably the greatest heavyweight bout of all time, and the subject of Dan Duffy's trademark text-only portrait presented here. Frazier's head appropriately includes the rhyme, "This might shock and amaze ya, but I'm going to destroy Joe Frazier." While Ali's trunks taunt, "It will be a killa and a thrilla and a chilla when I get the Gorilla in Manila." Indeed, the entire 20 x 24 inch creation is composed exclusively of Ali's own quotations and nothing else. One can hardly imagine a more perfectly fitting artistic tribute to the butterfly, the bee, the king of the world, the bad man, the prettiest thing that ever lived, the savior of the boxing world, the Greatest. Framed to measure 28 1/2 x 32 1/2 inches.