The Greatest (1977 film) The Greatest (1977 film) The Greatest is a 1977 film about the life of boxer Muhammad Ali, in which Ali plays himself. It was directed by Tom Gries and Monte Hellman. The film follows Ali's life from the 1960 Olympics to his regaining the heavyweight crown from George Foreman in their famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in 1974. The footage of the boxing matches themselves are largely the actual footage from the time involved. The movie is based on the book "" written by Muhammad Ali and Richard Durham and edited by Toni Morrison. The song "The Greatest Love
The Rumble in the Jungle U.S. Army. In 1970, he first regained a boxing license and promptly fought comeback fights against Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena in an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship from the then undefeated Joe Frazier. In a bout dubbed the "Fight of the Century", Frazier won a unanimous decision, leaving Ali fighting other contenders for years in an attempt at a new title shot. Meanwhile, the heavily muscled Foreman had quickly risen from a gold medal victory at the 1968 Olympics to the top ranks of professional heavyweights. Greatly feared for his punching power, size, and sheer physical dominance, Foreman