The Champ's Camp: A Closer Look at Fighter's Heaven
A drawing of the Deer Lake training camp by Muhammad Ali, dated August 4, 1972.
Donated by the LeRoy Neiman Foundation in 2017.
Building the Camp
Muhammad Ali was very involved in the design of his training camp. He wanted the camp to appear rustic and simple. All of the buildings were log cabins, including what would become the boxing gym. Ali even assisted in cutting down the trees to build all of the cabins.
While his cabin and the guest bunkhouses were built, Ali, his family, friends, and employees, lived in mobile home trailers that were moved onto the property. The buildings that would serve as the gym and the dining hall were completed first, so training could begin as soon as possible. In Ali's trailer, everyone in the camp would gather around a small television set to watch tapes of his old fights.
The camp would ultimately consist of 18 buildings in total.
