Fifty years ago Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman and reclaimed the heavyweight boxing crown in the bout dubbed ‘Rumble in the Jungle.’
On October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, known as the “Rumble in the Jungle,” to regain his world heavyweight title.
Foreman had been a big favourite in the fight, but Ali stopped him in the eighth round in one of the great upsets in heavyweight history.
Ali had been stripped of his heavyweight crown in 1967 for refusing to be drafted for military service during the Vietnam War.
Ali’s fame and style went far beyond the ring and boxing, which is why he is considered one of the true legends of all sports, with a flair for performance both in the ring and in front of the camera.
“I said last night, I had a dream, when I got to Africa I had one Hell of a rumble, I had to beat Tarzan’s behind first for claiming to be the king of the jungle, for this fight I wrestled with the alligators, I’ve tussled with a whale, I done handcuffed lightning and put thunder in jail, you know I’m bad, I have murdered a rock, I injured a stone and I hospitalised a brick, I’m so bad I make medicine sick, I’m so fast, man, I can run through a hurricane and don’t get wet, when George Foreman meets me he’ll pay his debt, I can drown a drink of water and kill a dead tree, wait ’til you see Muhammad Ali.”
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942, a descendant of pre-Civil War era American slaves.
Long before his dazzling footwork and punching prowess made him a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion known as Muhammad Ali, the young athlete honed his skills by sparring with neighbourhood friends and running alongside the bus on the way to school.
Ali began his boxing career as an amateur in Louisville in the 1950s, won a gold medal in boxing in 1960 at the Olympics in Rome.
He went on to become a three-time world heavyweight champion, first winning the title by defeating Sonny Liston in 1964.
Clay’s personality shone out in media appearances.
Cassius Clay – “Who’s the greatest ? I will give you one more chance ! Who’s the greatest ?
MEDIA -“You are !”
Cassius Clay – “All right ! “
He converted to Islam soon after his win and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
However, in 1967 Ali had his boxing licence suspended and was stripped of his WBC and WBA titles.
Labelling himself a conscientious objector, Ali refused induction into the military service – with the US Army at that time engaged in war against North Vietnam – refusing to fight in the war because of his religious beliefs.
Ali received a five-year prison term for draft evasion, but remained free while his case was on appeal.
The conviction was eventually quashed by the Supreme Court in 1971.
His return to the ring came in March of that year, when he faced Joe Frazier, who held the WBC and WBA heavyweight titles that formerly belonged to Ali.
Frazier retained his belts following a unanimous decision from the judges at the end of ‘The Fight of the Century’.
He was soon focusing his efforts on settling old scores.
Ali won his rematch against Frazier, who had lost his titles to George Foreman at the start of 1973.
Foreman then put those titles on the line when he faced Ali in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Despite facing an opponent who was both bigger and younger than himself, Ali used all of his boxing know-how to engineer a victory.
Using what he later called ‘rope-a-dope’ tactics, Ali stood against the ropes and soaked up all that Foreman could throw at him before knocking out his opponent – who rapidly wilted in the Kinshasa heat – in the eighth round.
George Foreman was defeated and Ali regained the heavyweight crown in the bout dubbed ‘Rumble in the Jungle.’
A rematch in the Philippines with Frazier – the ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ – followed in 1975.
Ali won by way of a Technical Knockout (TKO) in the 14th round, but any retirement plans were soon put on hold.
He made six more successful defences of his WBC and WBA titles before he lost a split decision to Leon Spinks in 1978, only to reclaim the belts with a unanimous decision in the rematch that same year, after which he announced his retirement from boxing.
After a two-year sabbatical, Ali returned to the ring in 1980, but he suffered a tenth-round TKO to Larry Holmes and lost to a Trevor Berbick a year later by way of a unanimous decision.
That proved to be the final fight of Ali’s career, which he finished with a record of 61 bouts, 56 wins (37 by knockout) and five losses.
Shortly after retiring from the ring, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease – a degenerative disorder that effects the central nervous system.
Tagged the ‘Louisville Lip’ and the ‘People’s Champion’, it is the moniker ‘The Greatest’ that Ali would perhaps be most proud of.
Muhammad Ali died on 3 June 2016.
