It’s time to go inside the ring. Prime Video’s newest series, The Greatest, goes back to the beginning of Muhammad Ali‘s boxing career and chronicles his fight — pun intended — to become a champion and, ultimately, a legend.
The 8-episode series builds to one of boxing’s most iconic showdowns: Ali’s Miami fight against Sonny Liston on February 25, 1964. As the show follows the young boxer, then known as Cassius Clay, and his journey to that moment, The Greatest also gives a glimpse into Liston’s life outside the ring before his brutal bout with the young boxer.
Both Best and Joseph trained for months with Rob Sally to prepare for their roles and this finale fight. Neither actor had boxing experience before The Greatest.
“To go to a place of learning Muhammad Ali, it was an advantage for me because there was nothing I had to unlearn from previous things,” Best told TV Insider.
In addition to the grueling physical training, the actors also had to learn the intricate choreography of the 1964 fight. “Everything we shot was play-by-play from the fight,” Best said, with Joseph adding, “Every blow, every parry, every duck, it was choreographed to the actual fight every round.”
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Since the show was filmed chronologically, the costars were fully aware and focused on the magnitude of this moment. Best said they had “laid everything out on the line and sacrificed so much shooting” this episode, and it was a team effort. He noted, “We had on-site physical therapists; we had a fridge that was dedicated to smoothies and just healthy items to keep our bodies alive. We were at that time where every little inch of energy mattered.”
Best added: “We had a real opportunity to do something great here in terms of showing people and reminding people of our black heroes. And a lot of times, too, Sonny Liston doesn’t get any credit, but I feel like the way Amin portrayed him in this, the way Amin lived day-to-day trying to bring Sonny Liston to life for all of us is so admirable.”
Ali famously fought a round against Liston while temporarily blind. “He liked that one because that was the only time he could get some licks,” Best quipped about Joseph. Over the decades, there has been countless debate on whether Liston or his team did anything intentional to blind Ali. In the series, Liston’s cornerman does coat his glove with some type of ointment, but Liston didn’t know he was doing it.
“I’m very happy that it didn’t come off as if Sonny asked for that, but that being a part of a much larger machine that he was a part of that something like that could happen,” Joseph said.
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Ali ultimately won the fight and became the world heavyweight champion at just 22. The series shows Ali celebrating his victory while Liston is still on his stool in the corner, feeling like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. In that moment, Liston can’t hold his emotions in any longer, and his tears just keep falling.
“I feel like Sonny Liston wanted to be loved,” Joseph explained. “I feel like he was looking for just a second chance that society wouldn’t give him as a guy that has connections to the mob, as a guy that’s a felon, pariah, villain, and in that moment, the shame of it all, the shame of losing. If they didn’t accept me as a winner, what are they going to do with me as a person with a loss?”
By the end of The Greatest Season 1, Ali’s story has only just started. Ali and Liston notably faced off again the next year in Maine. Could we see this rematch in Season 2?
“Let’s just say, we got a lot of story left, and we undone. So let’s hope that they make the right decision,” Best said with confidence.
The Greatest, Season 1, Streaming Now, Prime Video
