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Top 5 iconic Muhammad Ali fights
1. ”The Rumble in the Jungle”
Photo via Twitter (@MuhammadAli)
On October 30, 1974, the “Rumble in the Jungle” took place in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), and is perhaps the biggest sports event ever.
If the attendance of 60,000 people was impressive – the international attention the fight gained was nothing but enormous.
The boxing match was watched by an estimated TV audience of one billion viewers worldwide, which was around 25 percent (!) of the world’s population at the time.
In the steaming heat at the outdoor stadium Stade du 20 Mai, Muhammad Ali took on the undefeated heavyweight champion, and Olympic gold medalist, George Foreman in what was Africa’s first-ever heavyweight title fight.
With raw power as his greatest asset, 25-year-old Foreman was a hard-hitting heavyweight who defeated Joe Frazier to become the champion of the world in 1973, and favored by many to defeat ”The Greatest” as well, due to his superior punching power.
During the fight, Ali covered up against the ropes, using the now famous ”rope-a-dope” tactits, blocking his opponent’s punches on the arms. Although many heavy blows got through, Foreman expended tons of energy without doing any severe damage.
Meanwhile, Ali leaned on his opponent, forcing him to carry his weight, as well as firing back with straight punches to Foreman’s face.
After five rounds of this tactic, ”Big George” began to tire, and in the eight Ali broke free and threw a quick combination that stunned his exhausted opponent, before sending him to the canvas with a solid left and a hard right.
Foreman rose to one knee but the referee called off the fight before he got to his feet, resulting in Ali becoming the heavyweight world champion for the second time in his career.
