LONDON.-Proud Central presents The ALI Folio™: An intimate portrait of Muhammad Ali as seen through the lens of internationally acclaimed photographer Sonia Katchian. The only collection of its kind, this exhibition is the most intimate photographic portrait of Ali ever seen, shot all over the world alongside his family, friends and close traveling companions. 30 years since he won his third and final World Heavyweight Championship, these images celebrate the world’s favourite sporting hero at the pinnacle of his career exclusively from the woman he once called “the greatest photographer in the world”.

Sonia Katchian became the first foreign journalist to be kidnapped on Beirut’s infamous Green Line in 1975 when she was working in Lebanon covering the civil war. Also the first woman photographer on The New York Post, in 2001 she was called to Hollywood to consult on the biopic feature film Ali starring Will Smith where her pictures were inspiration and visual information for the film director Michael Mann.

No other photographer has had the same access to Ali’s work, home life and family as Sonia Katchian. The first woman to have been credentialed to shoot at ringside for a heavyweight championship fight, their relationship grew from a chance meeting in Manhattan in 1974 and has resulted in photographs that show us more than Ali the Icon: from Ali the family man to Ali the man of the people, from loyal son to serious sportsman.

Sonia Katchian says: “Being in Muhammad Ali’s presence was such a privilege – I’ve always hoped that when I finally released my pictures to the public that they would see a facet of the man that was visible only to those who knew him up close and personal.”

Previously unseen and unpublished in the UK, this exhibition is the chance of a lifetime for any sports fan to see the real story of the man they call ‘The Greatest’. Proud website address www.proud.co.uk.