GEORGE FOREMAN still has nightmares of his Rumble in the Jungle loss to Muhammad Ali FORTY FIVE years on from the unforgettable fight. Malebo, a Zairean band of the 1970s, composed the song "Foreman Ali Welcome to Kinshasa" in honor of the event. [16], Foreman and Ali spent much of the middle of 1974 training in Zaire, getting acclimated to its tropical African climate. Ali had told his trainer, Angelo Dundee, and his fans that he had a secret plan for Foreman. The event had an attendance of 60,000 people. You are bidding on a very nice interesting Muhammad Ali bit of memorabilia. I'll never be able to win that match, so I had to let it go. 12-02-2020, 08:38 PM #2. Ali did not hurry to set up a rematch, making title defenses against unheralded opponents such as Jean Pierre Coopman and Richard Dunn. INSTAGRAM. When Ali arrived in Africa, he was greeted with the love and respect that he so desperately desired in his home country. The Rumble in the Jungle was a historic boxing event in Kinshasa, Zaire on October 30, 1974. "[24] Foreman also stated: "Then, in 1981, a reporter came to my ranch and asked me: 'What happened in Africa, George?' The play-by-play commentary was done by "Colonel" Bob Sheridan. George Foreman spoke to RingTV.com about the reason a rematch with Muhammad Ali never happened. George Foreman vs. Ken Norton, billed as "The Caracas Caper", was a professional boxing match contested on March 26, 1974 for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight championships. Orchestre G.O. He constantly taunted Foreman in these clinches, telling him to throw more punches, and an enraged Foreman responded by doing just that. [5] The fight grossed an estimated $100 million (inflation-adjusted $500 million) in worldwide revenue. He had a gift. I realized that this ain't what I thought it was."[22]. His face became increasingly damaged by hard, fast jabs and crosses by Ali. [18] The championship was scheduled for 4 am local time to appear on live closed-circuit television in the Eastern Time Zone of the US at 10 pm. Ali won by knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the eighth round. Meanwhile, Ali took every opportunity to shoot straight punches to Foreman's face (which was soon visibly puffy). In a later rematch, Young again edged Lyle and went on to outpoint George Foreman in 1977. [33] By becoming the host country to perhaps one of the most influential and significant fights in history, Zaire gained representation in the world of sports on a global scale and assisted them in finding an identity. Widely considered to … What makes this special is how he signed it, Muhammad Ali a.k.a. Held at the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël), it pitted the undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight champion. [3][4] It was a major upset victory,[5] with Ali coming in as a 4–1 underdog against the unbeaten, heavy-hitting Foreman. It has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century". [citation needed]. When the two fighters were locked in clinches, Ali consistently out-wrestled Foreman, using tactics such as leaning on Foreman to make Foreman support Ali's weight, and holding down Foreman's head by pushing on his neck. Continuing by revealing his own amusement by the comment, Foreman added: “I … [13], King had pulled together a consortium that included Risnelia Investment from Panama; the Hemdale Film Corporation, a British company founded by film producer John Daly and the actor David Hemmings; Video Techniques Incorporated of New York; and Don King Productions. Despite repeatedly calling Ali out, Foreman was unable to secure a rematch with the champion before Foreman abruptly decided to retire after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977. In 2012, The Daily Telegraph reported Foreman's declaration: "We fought in 1974, that was a long time ago. Continuing by revealing his own amusement by the comment, Foreman added: “I almost laughed, cause I never saw a day in high school.”, “George you were just a kid in High school when I beat Liston,” I almost laughed; cause I never saw a day in High school. Malebo Song - BBC Music", "Fugees, James Brown & Others On Fight Film Soundtrack", "When We Were Kings - Original Soundtrack", "Rumble in the Jungle - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company", "The Irish Charts - All there is to know", "Ali Bomaye by The Game feat. The film of the Zaire fight shows Foreman striking Ali with hundreds of thunderous blows, many blocked, but many others getting through. A chant for Ali took little time to form. On October 30, 1974, 32-year-old Muhammad Ali becomes the heavyweight champion of the world for the second time when he knocks out 25-year-old champ George Foreman … Don King arranged this fight with the music businessman Jerry Masucci, who took his famed musicians, the Fania All Stars, to play at the venue. [10] This included a record estimated 50 million viewers watching the fight pay-per-view on closed-circuit theatre TV. Foreman was unable to connect with the people of Zaire the way Ali did. FACEBOOK. Before the end of the first round, Foreman began to catch up to Ali, landing punches of his own. The one prominent photo that George Foreman keeps in his office at home in Texas shows him knocked to the canvas by Muhammad Ali in their famed “Rumble in the Jungle” fight in … The biggest is his avoidance of George Foreman. Middleweight: Joey Hadley (160 lbs) of Catskill, New York, won by a first-round technical knockout (scheduled for four) over Gene Olten (164) of Springfield, Massachusetts. George Foreman posted 76 wins during his career, 20 more than the great Muhammed Ali, who beat Foreman in 1974 in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to regain the world heavyweight crown.But, Foreman scored 68 KOs—nearly double the 37 Ali … The undercard was broadcast live for the American viewers from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. “George, you were just a kid in high school when I beat Liston,” Ali stated, according to Foreman. This loss of energy was key to Ali's rope-a-dope tactic. Muhammad Ali was given little chance to defeat George Foreman When Muhammad Ali was stripped of the heavyweight crown in 1967 for refusing induction into the armed forces, George Foreman hadn’t even hit the professional boxing scene yet. The fight showed that Ali was capable of taking a punch and highlighted his tactical genius, changing his fighting style by adopting the rope-a-dope, instead of his former style that emphasized movement to counter his opponent. In this photo of Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ali is giving George foreman quite a solid punch! George Foreman defends the Heavyweight Championship of the World for the third time against former Champion, Muhammad Ali. Defying convention, Ali began by attacking Foreman with disorienting right-hand leads. The promoters and fighters received over half of the US closed-circuit revenue, generating an income of at least $30 million for the promoters and fighters; Ali and Foreman were paid $5 million each. George Foreman vs Muhammad Ali on October 30, 1974. Follow WBN on TWITTER. Fred Wyman, an American advisor to Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, persuaded Mobutu that the publicity such a high-profile event would generate would help his regime, and Mobutu agreed for the fight to be held in his country. The incident was covered in a season-three episode of, The fight (along with the TV coverage on ESPN Classic) was referenced in "Crosshairs", the seventh episode of the first season of the, This page was last edited on 17 January 2021, at 05:19. The fight was originally set to happen on September 25 (September 24 in the United States due to the difference in time zones). Everything America should be, Muhammad Ali is. 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. Cassius Clay. [19] [27] It was the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. As the second round commenced, Ali began to lean on the ropes and cover up, letting Foreman punch him on the arms and body (a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope). Several songs were written and released about the fight. For example: Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}4°20′17″S 15°19′19″E / 4.338°S 15.322°E / -4.338; 15.322. According to Foreman: "I thought he was just one more knockout victim until, about the seventh round, I hit him hard to the jaw and he held me and whispered in my ear: 'That all you got, George?' Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi came as a primary financial sponsor of the event, providing the purse money for the athletes and covering other major expenses. Full fight stats, opponent information and results - BoxStat.co Advanced Boxing Stats The original undercard, consisting of three bouts, was scheduled for September 24, it featured several Cus D'Amato fighters with notable amateur accomplishments:[20]. He further solidified his hold over the heavyweight division by demolishing the only man besides Frazier at the time to defeat Ali, Ken Norton, in two rounds. Forty-three years ago, many said the fight between undisputed heavyweight champion of the world George Foreman and former titleholder Muhammad Ali was a mismatch. Before that I had nothing but revenge and hate on my mind, but from then on it was clear. [11][12] Decades later, the bout would be the subject of the Academy Award winning documentary film, When We Were Kings. On May 16, 1975 he was given an opportunity to face heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, during Ali's second title defense in his second reign as champion. Muhammad Ali discusses The Rumble in the Jungle in his autobiography. However, while this aggressive tactic may have surprised Foreman and allowed Ali to punch him several times in the head, it failed to significantly hurt him. The Rumble in the Jungle was a historic boxing event in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), on October 30, 1974. The effects were visible as Foreman was staggered by an Ali combination at the start of the fourth round, and again several times near the end of the fifth, after Foreman had seemed to dominate that round. By 1984, we loved each other. Ali made use of the right-hand lead punch (striking with the right hand without setting up the left) in a further effort to disorient Foreman. Greatly feared for his punching power, size, and sheer physical dominance, Foreman was nonetheless underestimated by Frazier and his promoters, and knocked the champion down six times in two rounds before the bout was stopped. They chanted "Ali boma ye", translation "Ali kill him".[32]. 2 Chainz and Rick Ross on WhoSampled", "Ali in the Jungle by The Hours - Songfacts", The Rumble in the Jungle (Foreman vs. Ali), The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay, I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali, Ferdie Pacheco (personal physician, cornerman), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Rumble_in_the_Jungle&oldid=1000880551, Boxing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, World Boxing Association heavyweight championship matches, World Boxing Council heavyweight championship matches, Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from October 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Middleweight: Dornell Wigfall of Brockton, Massachusetts, vs. Roland Cousins of New York City (scheduled for 6 rounds). The Republic of Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was forever changed after hosting this historic fight. Later Ali exploited George’s weakness in a spectacular con job but, in terms of intelligence, ‘The … While George won all five contests, the bouts were sloppy, even comical, the event more chaotic than anything else, with brawls erupting between rounds or after fights, and Ali constantly taunting Foreman from ringside. As the fight drew into the eighth round, Foreman's punching and defense became ineffective as the strain of throwing so many wild shots took its toll. The referee Zack Clayton signaled the end of the fight as Foreman was rising, which is considered valid. and "They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis." [11][12], In the United States, the fight had an estimated 3 million closed-circuit viewers in 400 venues, with tickets sold at $20 (inflation-adjusted $100), grossing $60 million (inflation-adjusted $310 million) in the United States. This has been signed by Muhammad Ali. [35], The robe worn by Muhammad Ali in this fight is part of the collections of National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution together with a pair of gloves he used in training for the fight.[38]. I was a big Ali fan during the first years following his suspension, taking a lot of grief from my friends for it. The fight was broadcast on closed-circuit television in theaters in the United States and on over-the-air television throughout the world. Meanwhile, the heavily muscled Foreman had quickly risen from a gold-medal victory at the 1968 Olympics to the top ranks of professional heavyweights. As a result, Foreman spent his energy throwing punches (without earning points) that either did not hit Ali or were deflected in a way that made Foreman hitting Ali's head difficult, while sapping Foreman's strength due to the large number of punches he threw. The rescheduled undercard took place on October 29:[21], Ali was famed for his speed and technical skills, while Foreman's raw power was his greatest strength. "[22] Foreman eventually concluded, in 2003: "[Ali is] the greatest man I've ever known. Junior middleweight (for the New England Junior middleweight title): Paul Osborne of Lowell, Massachusetts, won by a fourth-round technical knockout over Al Romano of North Adams, Massachusetts. Today, it is considered one of the greatest sporting events of all time. [23], Over the years, Foreman revised his opinions on Ali and on The Rumble in the Jungle, on several accounts. The bout has since become one of the most famous fights of all time because it resulted in Ali, against the odds, regaining the title against a younger and stronger Foreman. Under Belgian rule from 1908 to 1960, Zaire struggled to gain independence and establish its identity. 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. After several rounds of this, Foreman began to tire. The event had an attendance of 60,000 people. The rise count was eight seconds as scheduled. Ali had trouble walking to the stage at the 1996 Oscars to be part of the group receiving the Oscar for When We Were Kings (1996), a documentary of the fight in Zaire, due to his Parkinson's syndrome. A few weeks before the bout took place on October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, ABC sports broadcaster Howard Cosell spoke of the match in hushed tones, suggesting Ali was engaging in his “Last Supper”. Featherweight: Terry Rondeau of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, former New England featherweight champion, was introduced in the ring before the Osborne vs. Romano fight. A three-night-long music festival to hype the fight, Zaire 74, took place as scheduled, September 22–24, including performances by James Brown, Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars, B.B. Foreman and Ali met in the world-famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ – an event organized by a young Don King in Kinshasa. In the eyes of the people of Zaire, Ali was like a representation of the struggles that they endured. An aged Ali was the huge underdog, having been through many wars during his career. When arriving in Zaire, Foreman exited the plane walking his two German Shepherds, the same dogs used by the Belgians during the colonization as described in When We Were Kings, a film by Leon Gast. Ali continued to taunt him by saying, "They told me you could punch, George!" [31] The Rumble in the Jungle remains a large cultural influence.