Adidas’ Superstar immortalizes boxing’s biggest star in a luxe shell toe that can go toe to toe with the brand’s strongest legacy entries.

Long before professional boxers were knocking out internet celebrities on your For You page, Muhammad Ali was the boxer. Inside the ring, Ali was an innovator, defined by speed, timing, and lightning-fast glove work.

Outside of it, the People’s Champion was known for his activism and a poetic way of announcing himself. The Shoe Palace x Muhammad Ali x adidas Superstar Pack leans into all of those dimensions.

adidas’ first basketball sneaker becomes the canvas for honoring the late boxer, arriving in two executions. One sticks to the iconic white leather upper with black accents, Three Stripes, and the unmistakable shell toe.

The other opts for a full suit of plush brown leather. Both pairs feature aged-looking outsoles that feel pulled from a boxing gym in the late 1960s, right in the middle of Ali’s prime.

The references do most of the talking. The shoes nod to Ali’s Mount Rushmore status with “Greatest of All Time” scripted beneath the quote, “I’m young; I’m handsome; I’m fast. I can’t possibly be beat.” On the medial sides, the Superstars reference two of Ali’s most famous bouts: the Rumble in the Jungle and the Thrilla in Manila.

Releasing December 28, the Shoe Palace x Muhammad Ali x adidas Superstar Pack will be available on adidas website for $110. It joins a lineage of adidas sneakers named after cultural giants, Stan Smith included. 

Fittingly, Ali himself was known to wear adidas boxing shoes during training and exhibition moments later in his career. A full circle for one of boxing’s biggest stars and one of footwear’s enduring silhouettes.

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