Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
This is an extremely rare original on-site 1974 fight poster for what has become known to history as “The Greatest Heavyweight Championship Battle of All Time" - "The Rumble in the Jungle". Fought between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in Zaire, the first heavyweight championship fight ever fought in Africa! Both fighters were former Olympic Gold Medal winners and the heavily-favored Foreman was undefeated up until this time. Ali proved once and for all that he was "The Greatest”, brilliantly allowing Foreman to punch himself out. Ali suddenly came alive and used his famous "Rope-A-Dope" technique to defeat Foreman in the 8th round. As a result of this fight, Muhammad Ali was named Fighter of the Year by Ring magazine, and "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated. Ali also received the 1974 Hickok Belt Award being named Professional Athlete of the Year. This rare poster printed on light cardboard measures 14” x 18” and pictures both fighters in a waist high aggressive pose. Printed in French, the native language in Zaire, this exceptional poster is from the very first printing advertising the fight as it is dated for the original scheduled date of September 25 whereas the actual fight was rescheduled due to an injury to Foreman’s hand and fought October 29. An unbelievably attractive artifact from the greatest heavyweight bout of all-time! Comes with Gotta Have It LOA.