Richards Notes:-

'When I had finished Bryn Terfel as Falstaff I was looking forward to making something with slightly little less detail!  It was a fascinating project but one which , when I got down to the nitty gritty , totally took over my modeling time for a full six months. This was obviously frustrating to our collectors who, although patient, were  looking forward to new additions to their collections. So with a sigh of relief I started a long overdue project - Muhammad Ali. ‘ This will be alot simpler ‘ I thought - no costume - just shorts and boxing boots! What I hadn't anticipated was the complexity of a pose which has over the years become an icon of sporting history. There was simply no room for artistic license. The figure had to be correct in every detail but in 3 dimensions. Whoops – I did it again! So four months down the line I’ve almost finished- the complicated expression on Ali’s face, the muscle structure, the creases in the shorts, the 17 lace loops on each boot are all there when I close my eyes at night – but the results I hope will be worth it and I myself can’t wait to see the finished piece.’