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Muhammad Ali: The never-seen-before photos of the boxing champion’s most private moments at his Philadelphia home

   

‘The Greatest’ boxing champion passed away earlier this month and pictures from photographer Carl Fischer reveal the former heavyweight champ in some of his most intimate moments.

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Muhammad Ali on the phone at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Muhammad Ali on the phone at his home in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaCredit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

'The Greatest' in a quiet moment as he reads a newspaper at his home

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'The Greatest' in a quiet moment as he reads a newspaper at his homeCredit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

Ali on his way to watch Joe Frazier fight Jimmy Ellis at a Philadelphia theatre

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Ali on his way to watch Joe Frazier fight Jimmy Ellis at a Philadelphia theatreCredit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

The fighter pulls the kind of animated expression fans came to know and love

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The fighter pulls the kind of animated expression fans came to know and loveCredit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

The negatives from the Esquire snapper have been locked away in archives for 46 years but have now been unearthed.

In February 1970 Fischer was sent on an assignment to photo the boxing legend - aged 28 at the time - around his Philadelphia neighbourhood, before heading to the sanctum of his home.

And Ali let his guard down to grant Fischer remarkable access to take these amazing snaps.

 

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The photos were all taken the night of a heavyweight title fight between Joe Frazier and Jimmy Ellis taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Ali watched the fight privately, sat in the dark, inside a Philadelphia theatre through a closed-circuit live feed.

He then drove back to his home.

Ali's family and friends were waiting, with the photographer granted the opportunity to snap yet more pictures of fighter, with Ali showing his paternal instincts towards his two-year-old daughter Maryum.

After the fight Ali hold his two-year-old daughter Maryum at home

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After the fight Ali hold his two-year-old daughter Maryum at homeCredit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

Ali makes a phone call in his kitchen while Maryum plays in front of him

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Ali makes a phone call in his kitchen while Maryum plays in front of himCredit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

Maryum reverses roles with her father and serves the wide-eyed Ali her milk

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Maryum reverses roles with her father and serves the wide-eyed Ali her milkCredit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

Carl Fischer's iconic photo of Ali on the front cover of Esquire in 1968

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Carl Fischer's iconic photo of Ali on the front cover of Esquire in 1968Credit: Esquire / Carl Fischer

Fischer said: “Esquire thought there'd be a story there but it turned out not to be much so the story never ran.

"We sat in the balcony and watched the fight, and with the lights down, no one recognised him.

"But when it was over, for some reason…as the lights went up, he jumped up on the seat and yelled, 'I am the champ, I am the champ!'

"The crowd loved him and went crazy and it was all we could do to get out of there."

"There was never a photograph Ali told me not to take.

"He was a celebrity, he was an icon, but he never played it that way."

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