Inked Mag Staff

June 13th, 2016

6 Inspiring Tattoos Dedicated to the Late Muhammad Ali

News of Muhammad Ali’s death on June 3 came as a shock to fans around the world, many of whom weren’t even born yet when the boxing legend fought his…

News of Muhammad Ali’s death on June 3 came as a shock to fans around the world, many of whom weren’t even born yet when the boxing legend fought his last fight in 1981, and already, there have been Ali-inspired tattoos cropping up all over the internet. Tattoos inspired by Muhammad Ali include portraits of the boxer, tattoos inspired by Ali’s famous “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” quote, and ink featuring Ali’s signature, and each one is a permanent tribute to the incredible life the boxer, activist and philanthropist lived.

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., had a profound impact on generations of people during his lifetime, including Mike Evans, receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who took to Twitter on the day after Ali’s passing to show off a Muhammad Ali tribute tattoo on his forearm. The ink features a replica of the iconic image of Ali standing over Sonny Liston from 1965, and Evans accompanied the photo of his tattoo with the caption, “RIP Ali one of the greatest and most inspirational athletes of all time! #FloatLikeAButterfly.”

Mike Evans isn’t the only celebrity out there who has gone under the needle in honor of the late, great Muhammad Ali. Diddy, hip hop recording artist, record producer and longtime friend to Ali, turned his Instagram account into an homage to the greatest boxer of all time following his death, and also shared the story behind his Ali-inspired chest tattoo. “Every tattoo on my body [means] something to me. This one especially. I told [Muhammad Ali] I wanted his signature. I told him I wanted it to be tattooed on me is in the mind of greatness. So he sent it to me. It is the tattoo on my chest #RIPALI.”

The outpouring of love for Ali in the aftermath of his death is proof that the former professional boxer was an inspiration to people of all ages and walks of life, and a number of other regular, everyday people have also posted photos of Ali-inspired tattoos online in the past week.

This Muhammad Ali tattoo, done by UK-based artist Ashley Lewis, is an incredible black and white portrait of a young Ali with his fists in the air, boxing stance-style. Lewis captioned the photo of the portrait tattoo with a quote from Muhammad Ali himself: “’If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough!’”

Another impressive portrait of Muhammad Ali, this arm tattoo features a large, close-up of the boxer in the background, and a smaller version of Ali in that same iconic Sonny Liston fight in the foreground. The black and white Muhammad Ali tattoo was done by Kit Maxwell, tattoo artist at Forbidden Ink in the UK, and was captioned simply, “RIP legend!”

Not everyone opted for a portrait of Muhammad Ali for their tribute tattoos. Tattoo artist and model Katie Marie got a tattoo of a bee inked on her right-hand thumb as a reminder of the iconic boxer, who famously said “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.” Marie captioned the photo, “In Honor of the Great Muhammad Ali.”

This last tattoo is by the incredibly talented Bang Bang. Ali was not only one of the most charismatic and successful athletes of his time, but he was also one of the most photogenic. This tattoo is based off of a famous photo showing the boxer training by shadowboxing underwater before a fight.

Arguably one of the most respected and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century, Muhammad Ali was best known as an Olympic and professional boxer, but he was also a recognized social activist and humanitarian, fighting for the rights of people across the globe, and there’s no doubt that he will continue to inspire people of all ages, even in death. Much like the recent passing of David Bowie and Prince inspired fans to get inked in honor of the music icons, we will likely see plenty more tattoos dedicated to the late Muhammad Ali in the future.

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