it was October 30th 1974, I was 9 years old and not that interested in boxing, but I knew about Muhammad Ali, and I realised the big media hoopla around this event.

Rumble In The Jungle turned out to become the greatest fight in history

Ali, boma ye!

The Rumble in the Jungle was an historic boxing event in 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). Held at the 20th of May Stadium on the night of October 30, 1974 (4:00 am), it pitted the undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali, a former heavyweight champion. Ali won by knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the eighth round. It has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century".[3]
The event was one of Don King's first ventures as a professional boxing promoter. He managed to get 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 Panamanian 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, Hemdale and Video Techniques Inc., with whom King was a director, were the official co-promoters of the fight.

[Edited 10/30/14 6:17am]

[Edited 10/30/14 6:24am]

As a kid I´d stay up late to watch Muhammad Ali doing his thing. Some fights were really short though.

I was too young to watch this one but I still remember the cultural impact and the aftermath of this fight. It left a very longlasting impression in the 1970s.

In the 90s I went to the cinema to watch the documentary. That was a pretty good documentary. What I liked about this fight is not only the fight as such but the fact that it showed two very different aspects of being black in America. On the one hand you had the all-American Foreman, who could not understand why people in Kinshasa rooted for Muhammad Ali even though his skin complexion was lighter than that of George Foreman, and on the other hand you had the proud, rebellious, former champ and kind of underdog Muhammad Ali who had lost a lot previously because he stood tall for what he believed in and lost his title for his principles (and didn´t want to go and fight in Vietnam) and converted to Islam.

also this

KoolEaze said:

As a kid I´d stay up late to watch Muhammad Ali doing his thing. Some fights were really short though.

I was too young to watch this one but I still remember the cultural impact and the aftermath of this fight. It left a very longlasting impression in the 1970s.

In the 90s I went to the cinema to watch the documentary. That was a pretty good documentary. What I liked about this fight is not only the fight as such but the fact that it showed two very different aspects of being black in America. On the one hand you had the all-American Foreman, who could not understand why people in Kinshasa rooted for Muhammad Ali even though his skin complexion was lighter than that of George Foreman, and on the other hand you had the proud, rebellious, former champ and kind of underdog Muhammad Ali who had lost a lot previously because he stood tall for what he believed in and lost his title for his principles (and didn´t want to go and fight in Vietnam) and converted to Islam.

"When we were Kings" I only saw it later on TV, truly a great documentary, well made!

I also loooove that soundtrack CD including James Brown, BB King, Crusaders, Bill Withers etc.

SuperSoulFighter said:

Was that when James Brown performed in Zaire?

Yes. There is movie about this fight: "When We Were Kings".

^ And there's also the documentary 'Soul Power' about the concert - both of which are excellent.

deebee said:

^ And there's also the documentary 'Soul Power' about the concert - both of which are excellent.

I still have not watched that. Got it a while ago........

Was that when James Brown performed in Zaire?

indeed. actually I posted a James Brown youtube clip above. and mentioned the soundtrack including JB

Yes. There is movie about this fight: "When We Were Kings".

indeed. actually I mentioned this and how great it is above.

And there's also the documentary 'Soul Power' about the concert - both of which are excellent

indeed. actually I posted the complete youtube film above






so does anyone actually read any of my posts at all??

Dancelot said:

Was that when James Brown performed in Zaire?

indeed. actually I posted a James Brown youtube clip above. and mentioned the soundtrack including JB

indeed. actually I mentioned this and how great it is above.

And there's also the documentary 'Soul Power' about the concert - both of which are excellent

indeed. actually I posted the complete youtube film above






so does anyone actually read any of my posts at all??

Foreman was lame...

I mean: hitting like mad for nothing + tired as fuck + ass kicked...L-A-M-E

Dancelot said:

it was October 30th 1974, I was 9 years old and not that interested in boxing, but I knew about Muhammad Ali, and I realised the big media hoopla around this event.

Rumble In The Jungle turned out to become the greatest fight in history

Ali, boma ye!

Ali looks scared in this photo. He sure wasn't in the fight though.