Muhammad Ali statue under construction in Lewiston

Starrett Snow and Landscape Services employees work Thursday on the base of an upcoming Muhammad Ali statue in front of Bates Mill No. 5 on Main Street in Lewiston. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Construction work is underway for a 10-foot bronze statue of Muhammad Ali in front of Bates Mill No. 5 on Main Street in Lewiston, developer Tom Platz of Platz Associates confirmed Thursday.

Crews were at the location, neighboring Lewiston’s landmark Hopeful sign, to prepare the ground for the 3-foot base the statue will need.

The statue will depict Ali standing victorious over his felled opponent in the 1965 knockout fight with Sonny Liston in the first round of their championship rematch at what is now The Colisée in Lewiston.

According to local artist Charlie Hewitt, the plan is to unveil the statue on or around May 25, 2025 for the 60th anniversary of Ali’s iconic victory in 1965. Hewitt said there will be a film recounting the fight as well.

“We don’t have an exact time yet, but it’s well on its way,” Platz said Thursday. “I believe the sculptor is getting ready to send it to the foundry, and that’s a multi-month process.”

New Jersey-based sculptor Zenos Frudakis was recruited back in 2018 to bring the city’s vision to life.

“His process is to create a sculpture out of clay, and then from clay it goes through multiple other media before it actually becomes a bronze sculpture,” Platz explained.

“It’s a very lengthy process. It is sculpted in clay and then molded and then resculpted and molded in a different material before it eventually gets to ceramic,” he continued.

“At each stage, the sculptor has to go back through it and detail it again because every time you copy it, it loses some detail,” Platz said. “You continue to do that through the process until it’s finally made out of bronze in multiple pieces. Then, those pieces are welded together and the sculptor goes back and redetails it all again.”

Platz did not disclose how much the statue will cost. “It’s being funded by private people. It’s been (through) fundraising with individuals that we know are interested and are helping to fund it,” Platz said.

Muhammad Ali in Lewiston before his 1965 title fight with Sonny Liston. Associated Press photo

The project has been in the works since 2018, interrupted by a global pandemic in 2020. “I think (Frudakis) probably started on that clay a year ago. That process alone is a year and a half. Foundry process is four months by itself,” Platz explained.

Platz said that the years add up “when you take the process of actually creating the sculpture, picking a site and getting that taken care of and then getting it funded.”

The statue is intended to be a part of the art trail across Lewiston and Auburn. “The hope is, and I think we’ve already started some of that in Lewiston-Auburn, creating sculptures around the two cities and mapping it for people to take that walk,” Platz added.

Ground work on Main Street is set to wrap up by the end of next week, Ben Starrett of Starrett Snow and Landscape Services said.

“Our Muhammad Ali statue will commemorate the historic fight at The Colisée and symbolize the never-ending fighting spirit that our city possesses,” Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said.

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