The Champ: My Year With Muhammad Ali

by Michael Gaffney

Overview

What was Muhammad Ali really like? Award winning photojournalist Michael Gaffney captures a rare insider's view of Ali's world as his personal photographer in 1977-1978. THE CHAMP is a journey with one of the most extraordinary treasures in our lifetime, Muhammad Ali, The Greatest. These stories - poignant, hilarious and authentic - reveal Ali's true courageous heart and go far beyond his glories in the ring. THE CHAMP is a perfect trilogy in the legendary fighter's career: a tough win against Earnie Shavers, a shocking loss of the World Heavyweight Championship to Leon Spinks, and a glorious redemptive comeback victory against Spinks to win the title for an unprecedented third time. THE CHAMP sustains the legacy of Muhammad Ali who continues to inspire millions and make the world a better place. "Congratulations to you, Michael Gaffney. THE CHAMP is one helluva achievement and one helluva book." BERT RANDOLPH SUGAR, Hall of Fame Boxing Historian

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781478171249
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	07/21/2012
Pages:	104
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.27(d)

About the Author

The Champ is award-winning photojournalist, Michael Gaffney's first book. He started his career as a news photographer in New Jersey in 1972. In 1977, he became Muhammad Ali's personal photographer for a year, traveled around the world, covered 3 fights and made 8,000 photographs of the Champ.

In 2009, he held the first exhibition of his collection: Muhammad Ali - The Champ, at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ. The exhibition was a benefit for the Morristown Neigborhood House, where Gaffney learned to box as a young boy.

The exhibition was well received, earning a feature on ESPN with Hall of Fame Boxing Historian, Bert Randolph Sugar. It was followed by exhibitions in New Jersey, San Francisco and London. The photographs in this book are part of a traveling exhibition: THE CHAMP: Muhammad Ali. Limited edition fine art prints from THE CHAMP are available at San Francisco Art Exchange, Proud Galleries (London UK), SaatchiArt.com, and michaelgaffneyphoto.com.

Michael ran a corporate photography business for 25 years, and was a contract photographer with Muhammad Ali Enterprises in Manhattan. He and his wife Joanna live in Mendham, NJ and Sunriver, OR. Michael has three children, Ian, Cara and Patrick. Joanna has two children, Ana and John