The Champ's Camp: A Closer Look at Fighter's Heaven

After spending a majority of his career training at the Fifth Street Gym in Miami Beach, Florida, and setting up camp in countless hotels and convention centers around the world, Muhammad Ali needed a change. His solution? Build a training camp in the woods.

In the early 1970s, Muhammad took a trip to the Pocono Mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania. He was met with fresh mountain air, rolling hills, and green forests as far as he could see. He trained in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, for several weeks in the spring of 1972 before deciding that area was exactly where he wanted to train for the remainder of his career. Soon, he purchased land and began creating what would become known as Fighter's Heaven.

Muhammad Ali's Deer Lake training camp was his training headquarters from 1972 until the end of his career in 1981. He prepared for nearly all of his fights at this camp, which included a gym with a full-sized boxing ring, a large kitchen and dining hall, multiple cabins for guests and employees, and a mosque. The Champ's Camp: A Closer Look at Fighter's Heaven explores the history of this camp through photographs, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia.