The Rumble in the Jungle
Encyclopedia
The Rumble in the Jungle was a historic boxing
event that took place on October 30, 1974, in the Mai 20 Stadium
in Kinshasa
, Zaire
(now Democratic Republic of the Congo
). It pitted then world Heavyweight
champion George Foreman
against former world champion and challenger Muhammad Ali
. Ali won by knocking out Foreman in the eighth round.
The event was one of Don King's first ventures as a professional boxing promoter. He managed to get both Ali and Foreman to sign separate contracts saying they would fight for him if he could get a $
5 million purse
. However, King did not have the money. So he began looking for an outside country to sponsor the event. Zaire's president Mobutu Sésé Seko
asked for the fight to be held in his country, eager for the publicity such a high-profile event would bring. King had pulled together a consortium that included a Panama
nian company called Risnelia Investment, 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. Although King is most closely associated with the fight it is Hemdale and Video Techniques Inc., with whom King was a director, who were the official co-promoters of the fight.
and Oscar Bonavena
in an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship from Joe Frazier
. The two met in 1971 in a bout dubbed the Fight of the Century
, and Frazier prevailed, which sent Ali into fighting other contenders for years in an attempt at a new title shot.
Foreman had quickly risen from his gold medal victory at the 1968 Olympics and into the top ranks of professional heavyweights. Foreman was greatly feared for his punching power, size, and sheer physical dominance. Still, Joe Frazier and his promoters believed that despite Foreman's ever-growing list of knockouts and victories, he would be too slow and unrefined to stand up to Frazier's relentless attacks. This would turn out to be a grave miscalculation, as Foreman won the championship in grand fashion by knocking Frazier down six times in two rounds before the bout was stopped. Foreman further solidified his hold over the heavyweight division after he demolished Ken Norton
, who was the only man besides Frazier at that time to defeat Ali, also in two rounds. Though Ali had avenged his losses to both Norton and Frazier in the years since, the younger Foreman seemed an overwhelming favorite against the 32 year old Ali.
Foreman and Ali spent much of the summer of 1974 training in Zaire, and getting their bodies acclimated to the weather in the tropical African country. The fight was originally set to happen in September, but Foreman was injured and cut near his eye during training, pushing the fight back to 30 October.
Preceding the fight, the three night long music festival Zaire 74
took place, including performances by
James Brown
, Celia Cruz
and the Fania All-Stars
, B.B. King, Miriam Makeba
, The Spinners, Bill Withers
, The Crusaders
, and Manu Dibango
as documented in the 2008 film Soul Power
.
Ali had told his trainer, Angelo Dundee
, and his fans that he had a secret plan for Foreman. As the second round commenced, Ali frequently 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
). As a result Foreman spent his energy throwing punches that either did not hit Ali or were deflected in a way that made it difficult for Foreman to hit Ali's head, while sapping Foreman's strength due to the large number of punches thrown by the champion. This loss of energy was the key to Ali's "rope-a-dope" technique.
Ali, meanwhile, took every opportunity to shoot straight punches to the face of Foreman (this quickly began taking a toll on Foreman's face which was soon visibly puffy), and 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. Ali also constantly taunted Foreman in these clinches, telling Foreman to throw more and harder punches, and an enraged Foreman responded by doing just that.
After several rounds of this, Foreman began to tire. Foreman's face also became increasingly damaged by hard and fast jabs and crosses that Ali threw. 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 much of that round. Although he kept throwing punches and coming forward, after the fifth round Foreman was very tired and looked increasingly worn out. Ali continued to taunt him by saying "They told me you could punch, George!" and "They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis
." According to Foreman, near the end of the fight, Foreman slammed Ali with a thundering body blow, and Ali whispered to him "Is that all you got, George?" to which Foreman thought "Yep...that's about it." After that, Ali began to dominate Foreman.
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, and Ali pounced as Foreman tried to pin him on the ropes, landing several right hooks over Foreman's jab followed by a five punch combination culminating in a left hook that brought Foreman's head up into position and a hard right straight to the face that caused Foreman to stumble to the canvas. Foreman did get up, but not before being counted out by referee Zack Clayton.
The fight showed that Ali was capable of taking a punch and also highlights 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. Film of the Zaire fight shows Foreman striking Ali with hundreds of thunderous blows, many blocked, but many others getting through. Foreman mostly struck to the sides and kidney region, but also landed some vicious shots to the head, seemingly with no effect.
This fight 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. It is shown several times annually on the ESPN Classic network. After this fight Ali once again told the world he was the greatest. A year later Ali won an epic battle with Joe Frazier
in the Thrilla in Manila
. Although his skills and reflexes deteriorated noticeably in later bouts, he remained Champion until 1978, when he was dethroned by Leon Spinks
. He regained the title for an unprecedented third time after beating Spinks in a rematch. However, his later comebacks proved less successful and he was beaten by Larry Holmes in 1980 and Trevor Berbick in 1981.
Despite repeatedly calling Ali out, Foreman was unable to secure a rematch with the champion before he decided to retire after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977. (Ali did not hurry to set up a rematch, making title defenses against unheralded opponents such as Jean Pierre Coopman and Richard Dunne. However he would repeatedly state that his rematch with Foreman was one of the major fights he wanted to get to before retiring.) Ten years later Foreman made an unlikely comeback, culminating in him regaining the world heavyweight championship at age 45 -- at that time, the oldest man ever to win the title.
, a documentary of the fight in Zaire, because of his Parkinson's disease
. George Foreman helped him up the steps to receive the Oscar.
Foreman openly made fun of himself on the British quiz show A Question of Sport
.
winning documentary
, When We Were Kings
. The biographical movie Ali
(2001) depicts this fight as the film's climax. In addition Norman Mailer
, who had been part of the press corps sent to cover the event, wrote a book, The Fight (1975), describing the events, and placing them within the context of his views of black American culture. George Plimpton
was also part of the press corps, covering the fight for Sports Illustrated
. He later featured it in detail in the book Shadow Box
(1993). Hunter S. Thompson
was also sent to cover the event, for Rolling Stone
magazine. Though, according to TIME Magazine, Hunter "chose to float in his hotel pool, a bottle of hooch in hand, while the great fight took place, and he was unable to file anything." http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1820266,00.html
The HBO made for TV movie entitled Don King: Only in America
, depicts the build up to the fight and the maneuvers that King had to perform to set it up as well as numerous scenes which show the way Ali gained the favor of the people of Zaire.
Ali was a very endearing figure to the people of Zaire, and his mind games played out well, turning the Congolese people in his favour and against Foreman. A popular chant of theirs leading up to, and during the fight was "Ali bomaye!", which means "Ali, kill him!" In addition, the events surrounding the fight, such as its musical acts (BB King, the Fania All Stars and James Brown
amongst others), added to its cultural impact.
Several songs were written and released about the fight: the Jethro Tull
song "Bungle in the Jungle" was released in October, 1974, though Ian Anderson
claims he wrote the song at least a year before the "Rumble in the Jungle", Johnny Wakelin
wrote a song about the match called "In Zaire", the Fugees also wrote a song about the event with A Tribe Called Quest
, Busta Rhymes
and John Forté
titled "Rumble in the Jungle", and The Hours
wrote a song about the event titled "Ali in the Jungle".
The incident was covered in an episode of ESPN Classic
's The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...
, examining reasons why people shouldn't blame Foreman for losing.
The gloves and robe
worn by Muhammad Ali in this fight are part of the collections of National Museum of American History
at the Smithsonian Institution
.
On the April 30, 2011 edition of ABC
's Winners Bracket
, the Rumble in the Jungle was named the greatest moment in the history of ABC's Wide World of Sports.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
event that took place on October 30, 1974, in the Mai 20 Stadium
Stade Tata Raphaël
Stade Tata Raphaël is a multi-purpose stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Originally known as Stade Roi Baudouin when it was inaugurated in 1952 and Stade du 20 Mai in 1967, it was used mostly for football matches...
in Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
(now Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
). It pitted then world Heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
champion George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
against former world champion and challenger Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
. Ali won by knocking out Foreman in the eighth round.
The event was one of Don King's first ventures as a professional boxing promoter. He managed to get both Ali and Foreman to sign separate contracts saying they would fight for him if he could get a $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5 million purse
Purse bid
A purse bid is an initial step in arranging a professional boxing match, involving the fight's/card's promoter. All interested registered promoters may bid on the amount of the purse , if the sides representing each fighter fail to agree on it before the deadline...
. However, King did not have the money. So he began looking for an outside country to sponsor the event. Zaire's president Mobutu Sésé Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
asked for the fight to be held in his country, eager for the publicity such a high-profile event would bring. King had pulled together a consortium that included a Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian company called Risnelia Investment, the Hemdale Film Corporation
Hemdale Film Corporation
Hemdale Film Corporation, known as Hemdale Communications after 1993, was an independent film production company and distributor founded in London in 1967 as the Hemdale Company by actor David Hemmings and his manager, John Daly. Hemdale was initially founded as a talent agency that helped launch...
, a British company founded by film producer John Daly
John Daly (producer)
John Daly was a British film producer.-Personal life:John Daly was born in South East London, a part of London which was badly bombed and damaged in World War II. He attended a Roman Catholic school. Daly was father to Jenny, Michael, Julian, and Timothy...
and the actor David Hemmings
David Hemmings
David Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer....
, Video Techniques Incorporated of New York and Don King Productions. Although King is most closely associated with the fight it is Hemdale and Video Techniques Inc., with whom King was a director, who were the official co-promoters of the fight.
Build-up
In 1967, Ali had been suspended from boxing for three and a half years for his refusal to obey the draft and enter the Army. In 1970 he first regained a boxing license and promptly fought two comeback fights, against Jerry QuarryJerry Quarry
Jerry Quarry , nicknamed "Irish" or “The Bellflower Bomber,” was an Irish-American heavyweight boxer. Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, 1968–1971, and was one of the biggest stars of arguably the greatest era in the history of the heavyweight division.-...
and Oscar Bonavena
Oscar Bonavena
Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena was a heavyweight professional boxer with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his Beatles haircut, and enjoyed professional success in both Argentina and the United States...
in an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship from Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
. The two met in 1971 in a bout dubbed the Fight of the Century
Fight of the Century
Fight of the Century was the promotional nickname given to the first boxing match between champion Joe Frazier and challenger Muhammad Ali , held on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York....
, and Frazier prevailed, which sent Ali into fighting other contenders for years in an attempt at a new title shot.
Foreman had quickly risen from his gold medal victory at the 1968 Olympics and into the top ranks of professional heavyweights. Foreman was greatly feared for his punching power, size, and sheer physical dominance. Still, Joe Frazier and his promoters believed that despite Foreman's ever-growing list of knockouts and victories, he would be too slow and unrefined to stand up to Frazier's relentless attacks. This would turn out to be a grave miscalculation, as Foreman won the championship in grand fashion by knocking Frazier down six times in two rounds before the bout was stopped. Foreman further solidified his hold over the heavyweight division after he demolished Ken Norton
Ken Norton
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional .He and Ali...
, who was the only man besides Frazier at that time to defeat Ali, also in two rounds. Though Ali had avenged his losses to both Norton and Frazier in the years since, the younger Foreman seemed an overwhelming favorite against the 32 year old Ali.
Foreman and Ali spent much of the summer of 1974 training in Zaire, and getting their bodies acclimated to the weather in the tropical African country. The fight was originally set to happen in September, but Foreman was injured and cut near his eye during training, pushing the fight back to 30 October.
Preceding the fight, the three night long music festival Zaire 74
Zaire 74
Zaire 74 was a three day live music festival that took place on September 22 to 24,1974 at the 20th of May Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire...
took place, including performances by
James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
and the Fania All-Stars
Fania All-Stars
The Fania All-Stars was a musical ensemble established in 1968 by the composer, Johnny Pacheco, as a showcase for the musicians on the record label Fania Records, the leading salsa record company of the time.-Beginnings:...
, B.B. King, Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, The Spinners, Bill Withers
Bill Withers
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...
, The Crusaders
The Crusaders
The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
, and Manu Dibango
Manu Dibango
-External links:*...
as documented in the 2008 film Soul Power
Soul Power (film)
Soul Power is a 2008 documentary film directed by Jeff Levy-Hinte about the Zaire 74 music festival which accompanied the Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight boxing championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in October 1974....
.
The fight
Ali began the first round by attacking Foreman with the unconventional (and provocative) 'right-hand leads'. This was notable, as Ali was famed for his speed and technical skills, while Foreman's raw power was his greatest strength; close range fighting would, it seemed, inevitably favour Foreman and leave too great a chance that Ali would be stunned by one or more of Foreman's powerful hay-makers. Ali made use of the right-hand lead punch (striking with the right hand without setting up with the left) in a further effort to disorient Foreman. However, while this aggressive tactic may have surprised Foreman and it did allow Ali to hit him solidly a number of times, it failed to significantly hurt him, and before the end of the first round, Foreman had started to catch up to Ali, landing a few punches of his own. Foreman had also been trained to cut off the ring, preventing escape. Ali realized that he would tire if Foreman could keep making one step to Ali's two, so he changed tactics.Ali had told his trainer, Angelo Dundee
Angelo Dundee
Angelo Dundee is an American boxing cornerman. He is best known for his work with Muhammad Ali , and has worked with 15 world boxing champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard, José Nápoles, George Foreman, Jimmy Ellis, Carmen Basilio, Luis Rodriguez and Willie Pastrano.-Professional career:Born in...
, and his fans that he had a secret plan for Foreman. As the second round commenced, Ali frequently 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
Rope-a-dope
The Rope-a-dope is a boxing fighting style commonly associated with Muhammad Ali in his 1974 Rumble in the Jungle match against George Foreman.-Technique:...
). As a result Foreman spent his energy throwing punches that either did not hit Ali or were deflected in a way that made it difficult for Foreman to hit Ali's head, while sapping Foreman's strength due to the large number of punches thrown by the champion. This loss of energy was the key to Ali's "rope-a-dope" technique.
Ali, meanwhile, took every opportunity to shoot straight punches to the face of Foreman (this quickly began taking a toll on Foreman's face which was soon visibly puffy), and 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. Ali also constantly taunted Foreman in these clinches, telling Foreman to throw more and harder punches, and an enraged Foreman responded by doing just that.
After several rounds of this, Foreman began to tire. Foreman's face also became increasingly damaged by hard and fast jabs and crosses that Ali threw. 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 much of that round. Although he kept throwing punches and coming forward, after the fifth round Foreman was very tired and looked increasingly worn out. Ali continued to taunt him by saying "They told me you could punch, George!" and "They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
." According to Foreman, near the end of the fight, Foreman slammed Ali with a thundering body blow, and Ali whispered to him "Is that all you got, George?" to which Foreman thought "Yep...that's about it." After that, Ali began to dominate Foreman.
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, and Ali pounced as Foreman tried to pin him on the ropes, landing several right hooks over Foreman's jab followed by a five punch combination culminating in a left hook that brought Foreman's head up into position and a hard right straight to the face that caused Foreman to stumble to the canvas. Foreman did get up, but not before being counted out by referee Zack Clayton.
The fight showed that Ali was capable of taking a punch and also highlights 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. Film of the Zaire fight shows Foreman striking Ali with hundreds of thunderous blows, many blocked, but many others getting through. Foreman mostly struck to the sides and kidney region, but also landed some vicious shots to the head, seemingly with no effect.
This fight 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. It is shown several times annually on the ESPN Classic network. After this fight Ali once again told the world he was the greatest. A year later Ali won an epic battle with Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
in the Thrilla in Manila
Thrilla in Manila
The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 1, 1975....
. Although his skills and reflexes deteriorated noticeably in later bouts, he remained Champion until 1978, when he was dethroned by Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...
. He regained the title for an unprecedented third time after beating Spinks in a rematch. However, his later comebacks proved less successful and he was beaten by Larry Holmes in 1980 and Trevor Berbick in 1981.
Despite repeatedly calling Ali out, Foreman was unable to secure a rematch with the champion before he decided to retire after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977. (Ali did not hurry to set up a rematch, making title defenses against unheralded opponents such as Jean Pierre Coopman and Richard Dunne. However he would repeatedly state that his rematch with Foreman was one of the major fights he wanted to get to before retiring.) Ten years later Foreman made an unlikely comeback, culminating in him regaining the world heavyweight championship at age 45 -- at that time, the oldest man ever to win the title.
Reactions
Foreman and Ali became friends after the fight. Ali had trouble walking to the stage at the 1996 Oscars to be part of the group receiving the Oscar for When We Were KingsWhen We Were Kings
When We Were Kings is a 1996 documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the famous Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The fight was held in Zaire on October 30, 1974.The film features a number of celebrities, including James Brown, Jim...
, a documentary of the fight in Zaire, because of his Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. George Foreman helped him up the steps to receive the Oscar.
Foreman openly made fun of himself on the British quiz show A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...
.
Legacy
The fight remains a large cultural influence. The events before and during this bout are depicted in the Academy AwardAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
winning documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, When We Were Kings
When We Were Kings
When We Were Kings is a 1996 documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the famous Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The fight was held in Zaire on October 30, 1974.The film features a number of celebrities, including James Brown, Jim...
. The biographical movie Ali
Ali (film)
Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964 to 1974 featuring his capture as of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston , his conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War, banishment...
(2001) depicts this fight as the film's climax. In addition Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
, who had been part of the press corps sent to cover the event, wrote a book, The Fight (1975), describing the events, and placing them within the context of his views of black American culture. George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
was also part of the press corps, covering the fight for Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
. He later featured it in detail in the book Shadow Box
Shadow box
A shadow box is an enclosed case used in dioramas with a scene or object that has been specially designed to let light pass through from only one angle, so that objects within are less susceptible to damage from light....
(1993). Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
was also sent to cover the event, for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine. Though, according to TIME Magazine, Hunter "chose to float in his hotel pool, a bottle of hooch in hand, while the great fight took place, and he was unable to file anything." http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1820266,00.html
The HBO made for TV movie entitled Don King: Only in America
Don King: Only in America
Don King: Only in America is a 1997 television film directed by John Herzfeld and written by Kario Salem...
, depicts the build up to the fight and the maneuvers that King had to perform to set it up as well as numerous scenes which show the way Ali gained the favor of the people of Zaire.
Ali was a very endearing figure to the people of Zaire, and his mind games played out well, turning the Congolese people in his favour and against Foreman. A popular chant of theirs leading up to, and during the fight was "Ali bomaye!", which means "Ali, kill him!" In addition, the events surrounding the fight, such as its musical acts (BB King, the Fania All Stars and James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
amongst others), added to its cultural impact.
Several songs were written and released about the fight: the Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
song "Bungle in the Jungle" was released in October, 1974, though Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson (musician)
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
claims he wrote the song at least a year before the "Rumble in the Jungle", Johnny Wakelin
Johnny Wakelin
Johnny Wakelin is a British Pye Records recording artist.-Career:He had his first outings in clubs in his hometown but without big success...
wrote a song about the match called "In Zaire", the Fugees also wrote a song about the event with A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
and John Forté
John Forté
John Forté is a Grammy-nominated American recording artist, composer, music producer, educator and activist. He achieved fame while writing, producing and performing with the celebrated hip hop group The Fugees during the 1990’s, and has released four solo albums, including his most recent effort,...
titled "Rumble in the Jungle", and The Hours
The Hours (band)
The Hours is an English rock band, formed in 2004 by Antony Genn and Martin Slattery.-Career:Antony Genn got his start as a 16 year-old joining Pulp and went on to play with Elastica and Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros...
wrote a song about the event titled "Ali in the Jungle".
The incident was covered in an episode of ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
's The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...
The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...
The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... is a sports series that debuted in 2005 and aired on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. The show ran from April 2005 to April 2007. The show was canceled when ESPN Classic phased out the production of original programs. Some episodes were planned but never completed...
, examining reasons why people shouldn't blame Foreman for losing.
The gloves and robe
Robe
A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a cape or cloak by the fact that it usually has sleeves. The English word robe derives from Middle English robe , borrowed from Old French robe , itself taken from the Frankish word *rouba , and is related to the word rob...
worn by Muhammad Ali in this fight are part of the collections of National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
On the April 30, 2011 edition of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Winners Bracket
Winners Bracket
Winners Bracket is a sports-related television program that airs on ABC. Hosted by Michelle Beadle and Marcellus Wiley, it premiered at 5 p.m. ET April 3, 2010 on the American Broadcasting Company...
, the Rumble in the Jungle was named the greatest moment in the history of ABC's Wide World of Sports.
External links
- http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-streeter25-2008may25,1,1915475.column