Fight poster featuring Muhammad Ali and George Foreman: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

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].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1974
• Created by: David Mosley
• Distributed by: Don King Productions, American
• Subject of: Muhammad Ali, American, 1942 - 2016
• Subject of: George Foreman, American, born 1949
• Subject of: Don King, American, born 1931
• Type: posters
• Medium: paint and ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 40 1/2 × 30 1/2 in. (102.9 × 77.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 38 × 28 in. (96.5 × 71.1 cm)
• Place depicted: Kinshasa, Congo (Republic of), Central Africa, Africa
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: Athletes
• Topic: Boxing
• Topic: Mass media
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Slavery
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2015.90.14
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.