In 1974 Muhammad Ali won the world heavyweight championship title for the first time in 7 years in his legendary The Rumble in the Jungle fight against George Foreman. The fight was hailed as the “sporting event of the century” and was the world’s most-watched live television broadcast in history at the time.

In August 1974, photographer Peter Angelo Simon spent 48 hours capturing Ali as he trained to make sport history. The images reveal an insider’s portrait of Muhammad Ali in training for his seminal The Rumble in the Jungle comeback fight against George Foreman. For Print Matters, Simon shares hand-signed limited edition prints from his historic 2-day photo essay.

“Simon captures, on the faces of those who met Ali, the dumbstruck awe and joy that he was able to bring forth.” The New Yorker

“What Peter did with his camera at Deer Lake in August of 1974 lets us experience Muhammad Ali’s private world in a way not seen before.” filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker

Simon has contributed images to publications such as the New York Times and institutions that include the Smithsonian.