Training the Greatest: The Story of Ali and Dundee
Angelo Dundee's rock at the Deer Lake training camp in Pennsylvania.
Photograph courtesy of Jeff Julian.
Regaining the Title
After his defeat at the hands of Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali had an arduous journey ahead of him to regain the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World. George Foreman took the title from Frazier in 1973, and Ali would fight fourteen times before he got another shot at the title.
In 1972, Ali purchased property near Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, and transformed it into what he would refer to as 'Fighter's Heaven'.
At Fighter's Heaven, Ali took inspiration from his time in Archie Moore's training camp and had rocks painted all around the property with the names of former champions, including Rocky Marciano, Jack Johnson, Jersey Joe Walcott, and a few more. He made sure he had one made with the name Angelo Dundee, as well.
It was at Fighter's Heaven that he trained until his retirement in 1981. It was here that Dundee believed that Ali got his passion and dedication for boxing back. Dundee reminisced in his book, My View From the Corner, that the camp was filled with people Ali considered his family, and he was more than happy to be apart of it--aside from the few times Ali tried to get Dundee in the ring with his brother, Rahman, purely for his own amusement.
Ali and Dundee worked together tirelessly at Deer Lake, and it paid off. Ali fought George Foreman at the Rumble in the Jungle in October 1974 and won. Ali was now Heavyweight Champion of the World for the second time, and still the People's Champ.
