Fight poster featuring Muhammad Ali and George Foreman

On October 21974, in in Kinshasa, Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman boxed Muhammad Ali in a match known as the “The Rumble in the Jungle.” This historic sporting event took place at the 20th of May Stadium and was attended by 60,000 people a watched on television worldwide. In what has largely been called “the greatest sporting event of the 20th century,” Ali won by a knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the eighth round after employing his controversial “Rope a Dope” method of tiring his opponent out. This fight was the first heavyweight championship fight on African soil and in the aftermath of colonization, this event took on significance far beyond the ring.

A 1974 poster for the World Heavyweight Championship Fight between Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman. The top of the poster has black text that reads [From Slaveship to Championship]. Below that text, in the top proper right corner, there is a depiction of a ship on the ocean. Below the ship, three enslaved individuals are held in chains. On the proper left side, there is a depiction of a man and a woman. In between the two depictions, two hands with chains around the wrists reach for one another.

At the center of the poster there is a depiction of George Foreman on the proper right and Muhammad Ali on the proper left in front of an image of Africa. Both are depicted from the waist up, wearing boxing gloves and raising their fists in a boxing stance. Below Foreman and Ali, on the proper right side, there is a depiction of Don King wearing a suit jacket and bow tie. On the bottom proper left side there is a depiction of a female musician with a red head scarf and blue dress. There is a guitar, a saxophone, and a drum near her. The poster is signed by on the proper left side above the guitar.

Text on the bottom of the poster reads [WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT · 15 ROUNDS / DIRECT FROM KINSHASA, ZAIRE · TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29 / GEORGE FOREMAN vs. MUHAMMAD ALI / PRESENTED BY DON KING PRODUCTIONS · HEMDALE LEISURE PRODUCTIONS · VIDEO TECHNIQUES, INC. / PRODUCED BY DON KING · JOHN DALY · HENRY A. SCHWARTZ FOR WORLD-WIDE SATELITE TRANSMISSION].