Final Portraits of Muhammad Ali Show His Strength, Despite Long Battle With Parkinson's

— -- The last portraits ever taken of Muhammad Ali reveal the strength and dignity of a man known as "the Greatest," even after a decades-long battle with Parkinson's disease and a lifetime of fighting both in the boxing ring and as a civil rights activist.

Zenon Texeira, the British photographer who shot the last photos of the “People's Champ,” told The Sun that when he photographed Ali, "I knew I was in the presence of greatness."

"It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to photograph one of the biggest icons this planet has ever seen," Texeira said, telling the British newspaper that he took the photos two months ago.

In one photo, the 74-year-old boxing legend and humanitarian, who died Friday, raises his fists at the camera.

In another, he looks defiantly, and intimately, into the camera lens for a photo that the newspaper put on the front cover of today’s edition of the newspaper.

Ali’s death has garnered international mourning. His funeral will be held Friday in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and will feature a eulogy from former President Bill Clinton.