Tom Gray On Amazon's Ali Series The Greatest

Amazon Prime's authorized Muhammad Ali drama The Greatest lands November 4 with eight episodes tracking the boxer's rise from Louisville through his 1960 Olympic gold and heavyweight title win over Sonny Liston. Ring Magazine columnist Tom Gray, granted early access to the full series, called the performances and storytelling outstanding.

The production stars Jaalen Best as the young Cassius Clay and Amin Joseph as Liston. Creator and writer Ben Watkins, whose credits include Burn Notice and Hand of God, initially worried about taking on the project. "Muhammad Ali was such a hero of mine," Watkins said, according to Ring Magazine. The fear of misrepresenting a global icon nearly kept him from accepting.

Best's Preparation For Playing Ali

Best, a North Carolina native with minimal acting credits, earned the role after Lonnie Ali approved the casting. His preparation involved obsessive study of archival footage. He watched early Clay interviews on repeat until he memorized the gestures, expressions, and cadence without needing audio, Gray reports. Boxing coach Rob Salley, an Ali superfan, drilled Best on the fighter's fluid movement and relaxed ring style.

The series covers Clay's conversion to Islam, family struggles, and key fights against Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Tunney Hunsaker, Henry Cooper, and Liston. Joseph tackles the harder assignment of portraying the monosyllabic Liston with far less source material than the interview-happy Clay left behind.

Previous Ali dramatizations include a 1977 biopic starring the fighter himself and Michael Mann's 2001 film with Will Smith. Gray's review positions the Amazon series as the most ambitious attempt yet, with roughly six hours of runtime devoted to the early phase of Ali's career.

Source: ringmagazine.com