Because of its intimacy, boxing is both our cruelest and most poetic sport. The stark drama that occurs between two men in a ring with nothing but padded gloves between them has inspired artists of all stripes for generations, but its photographers whose art is particularly well positioned to capture the drama. Like other sports, it's a game of tension while the audience waits for big, climatic moments. Unlike other sports where those moments may play out on 100 yard long fields, boxing's best moments can be easily immortalized with a single click of the shutter. Ahead of Saturday's brawl between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC star Conor McGregor (one that may either prove to be a spectacle of commercialization or a game changing moment in the future of combat sports), here's a look back at photographs from some of history's most important fights from the days of Jack Johnson on through Muhammad Ali's fights against Joe Frazier.
