Muhammad Ali — known as The Greatest — was a singular American icon. As a heavyweight boxing champion, of course, but also as a showman and, most importantly, as a pioneer for the rights and advancement of Black people in this country, a defiantly outspoken voice on issues from race to Vietnam who changed this country.
READ MORE: Muhammed Ali Vs. Sonny Liston: The 'Worst Mess In History Of Sports'
By the 1990s, though, Ali’s larger-than-life aura had been subdued by Parkinson’s Disease. It was then, in 1998, when Long Island-born boxing photographer Alicia Shulman had the privilege of profiling Ali in his New York hotel room.
Schulman shared her experience with Ali during an interview Friday on WLRN's South Florida Roundup with host Tim Padgett.
" I remember the night so vividly. It's etched in my mind's eye. It was almost like I was talking to my uncle, you know? He could've been "Uncle Mo," Shulman said. "I was grappling with the dichotomy, the contrast of that this is 'The Greatest,' yet here is this just very tranquil, kind, that he was human, and that is, you know, that's what you walk away with."
One of those images would grace the back cover of the Thomas Hauser biography Muhammad Ali: A Tribute to the Greatest.
As she viewed the cover photo, recalling what feelings the image conjured, she said, " I feel he's a vulnerable human, a humanitarian, a champion of people. A 'champion' not in the sense of a boxing champion."
Ali died 10 years ago this week, at the age of 74. His ties to Miami, where he trained — "at 53rd Street Gym," Shulman noted — and lived in the 1960s, remain as vivid as an anchor punch to Sonny Liston’s chin.
"I think for me, I didn't discover anything that the public didn't already know. I just had the opportunity ... to sit with him in an intimate setting and see him beyond what everybody else sees."
Shulman now resides in West Palm Beach. After Ali’s death — she recorded an essay of her encounters with The Greatest.
" Ali looks me in the aisle and smiles. Click. I ask him to look down and lose the smile. Click, click. Not wanting to trespass on their generosity, I choose my shots wisely, snapping only a few. We chat a bit longer, then I say goodbye and leave the suite, take the elevator downstairs, and disappear out onto Seventh Avenue."
Listen here to the full June 5, 2026 episode WLRN's South Florida Roundup with host Tim Padgett, available on WLRN or wherever you get your podcasts.
