“The Rumble in the Jungle”, pitting heavyweight champion George Foreman against Muhammad Ali on October 30, 1974 remains arguably the most watched and discussed boxing event of all time.
Foreman, who died on Friday aged 76, recently recalled the extraordinary two months he spent in Zaire, the cut over his right eye which postponed the contest from September 25 to October 30, and why his next event was fighting five men in one night to “prove his strength” after a “devastating” first career defeat by Ali.
The iconic event was a moment in time in a golden era of heavyweights, bringing the two great fighters to Africa, heralding the emergence of shock-haired motor-mouth Don King as a promoter, played out under bizarre circumstances underwritten by Mobutu Sese Seko, the country’s autocratic leader, who wished to stage the greatest heavyweight contest possible.