Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman - Rumble In The Jungle
Venue: 20th May Stadium, Kinshasa, Zaire. 30th October, 1974.
Muhammad Ali was a major underdog,
boxingfaded prince at 32 years of age. Many boxing commentators
felt that Ali had reached the end of the road. Between Ali
and the title was a bigger, younger and stronger man, who
had never lost and had knocked out 37 of his 40 opponents.
His laste eight fights had all ended inside six minutes. Foreman
had destroyed Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, the two men who
had beaten Muhammad Ali. He was surely unbeatable in the same
way that Sonny Liston had been.
This was the great promotion
by Don King who had managed to raise a purse of $10 million
(to be split equally) from the president of Zaire, Joseph
Mobutu. Mobutu was a dictator who ruled his country through
fear.
Muhammad Ali soon settled into
Africa. He was recognised even in the remotest parts of the
country. He soon learned the phrase that became his mantra,
"Ali Boma Ye" wich translated into "Ali Kill
Him." Foreman, surly and uncommunitive soon lost the
PR battle. Just as Ali had painted Frazier as the outsider
in his own land, he did the same to Foreman in Africa. Very
quickly Ali had the whole country behind him.
Then eight days before the fight,
Foreman's sparring partner Bill Murray accidentally caught
him with an elbow and cut him over his right eye. THe bout
was off. The fight would be postponed for almost five weeks
and everyone would remain in Zaire while Foreman healed.
This of course gave Ali the chance
to work his mind games on his opponent. With a captive press
corps, he characterized Foreman as the Mummy, and mocked his
straight up and down style. Ali claimed he would dance rings
around Foreman when fight night came.
The weather before the fight
was oppressive as the rainy season was fast approaching. The
ropes of the ring would stretch in the heat and the songe
mat softened and would be harder for Ali to move about. The
mood in Ali's camp darkened.
The fighters entered the ring
at four in the morning, to allow the satellite feeds to the
US to be shown Prime Time. The attendance was 60,000 although
Mobutu would watch on TV from his compound for fear of assassination.
At the opening bell, Ali seized
the initiative with an audatious attack. He rushed at Foreman
and landed a hard right hand. Then he hit Foreman with punches
that confounded the champion. Then Ali went to the ropes and
allowed Foreman to hit him.
Even Angelo Dundee was unaware
of Ali's plan. In between rounds one and two Ali would lead
the crowds in chants of "Ali Boma Ye!"
He spent the entire second round
leaning on the ropes, which by now were very slack. Ali swung
back into the ropes to ride Foreman's punches absorbing a
lot of them on his arms and gloves. WHen the round was over
Dundee shouted at Ali to start dancing. In the third round
Ali ignored Dundee's advice and continued his rope-a-dope
tactic.
As Foreman continued to hit him,
Ali began to taunt him "Is that all you got, George?
You disappoint me. My Grandma punches harder than you do...
you supposed to be bad..." After two more rounds, Ali's
strategy was becoming clear. In the hot night, FOreman sucjed
at the heavy air. Ali continued to instruct Foreman to hit
him harder. Then he opened up his gloves and said, "George,
now its my turn," and unleashed some dizzying shots of
his own.
Slumped on his stool after the
bell, Foreman was attended by worrying men. Foreman had not
had to fight for more than six minutes for a long time. In
contrast, Ali had hardly bothered to sit down. "I'll
get him in a couple of rounds," he told Dundee.
For rounds six and seven, Ali
continued to absorb punches, but landed more of his own. Foreman's
swings began desperate. In the eighth, Ali's moment came,
as he knew it would. Foreman aimed one last slug and staggered
forward with the momentum of it. Ali sprang from the ropes,
landing two beautifully timed straight right hands, a concussive
left hook and a last perfect right hand. Foreman flapped at
him and then fell in a slow pirouette. As the count reached
10 he could only half stand and the fight was over.
In seconds the ring was full
and Ali engulfed. He had beaten the unbeatable for the second
time in his career and reclaimed boxing's greatest prize.
Within an hour of the end of
the fight the heavens opened and the stadium was flooded.
