Adi Dassler, the founder of adidas, was a versatile athlete whose passion shaped his designs. From its early days, adidas established itself as the sports brand that created for all sports and all athletes. Among those sports was boxing.
Designing a pair of boxing boots might seem simple: a thin sole to keep you grounded and premium leather for a perfect fit. From the outset, adidas carved out a niche among specialized boxing brands, eventually becoming the trusted name for the greatest boxer of the era—and perhaps of all time—Muhammad Ali. So much so that when Ali was stripped of his title, he sent his boots as a gift to Adi Dassler, who had designed them specifically for him.
In his white and red boots, Ali fought against German boxer Karl Mildenberger and, after his return to the ring, in an exhibition match against George Hill in Atlanta. He trained with the iconic three stripes but did not wear them for his next official fight against Jerry Quarry following his suspension. Just hours before his match against Oscar Bonavena, Ali’s camp announced that he was considering leaving adidas.
Horst Dassler, Adi Dassler’s son, sought to change Ali’s mind—with a special gift. He sent John Bragg, a trusted adidas employee who worked with U.S. athletes, to New York. Ali often likened his movements in the ring to dance steps and spoke of how dancers’ costumes amplified their motions—tassels and fringes that floated, enhancing every move.
Bragg and Horst aimed to make Ali’s boots an extension of his dance-like rhythm. Hours before the fight, they sourced satin tassels and found a group of shoemakers specializing in theatrical footwear for opera, ballet, and stage performances. The shoemakers, unfazed by the unusual request, crafted boxing boots with tassels just in time.
Bragg kept the boots hidden from Ali’s entourage, revealing them only to the boxer himself. With tassels sewn onto the collar, Ali had exactly what he wanted. At the pre-fight press conference, Ali used the boots as a rhetorical flourish, announcing that the best shoemakers in the world had come from Germany to create a pair of boots just for him.
Ali defeated Bonavena in the 15th round and wore his adidas boots again in his legendary fight against Joe Frazier, who was also wearing adidas. The two graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, capturing an image that defined adidas’s relationship with boxing.
The bond between adidas and Muhammad Ali extended far beyond his athletic career. In 2004, when adidas sought a slogan to encapsulate the brand, they were inspired by Ali:
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
“Impossible is Nothing” became the cornerstone of adidas’s largest campaign to date, marking the brand’s revival. In those campaign visuals, Muhammad Ali himself appeared, competing alongside his daughter. Impossible is Nothing. A philosophy that has kept the brand true to its roots—and to boxing.
