47th bout of Muhammad Ali The WBC & WBA World Heavyweight Championship (Age 32 Fights 46 Won 44 Lost 2 Drawn 0 ) vs George Foreman from - Houston, Texas, USA (Age 25 Fights 40 Won 40 Lost 0 Drawn 0 ) Oct. 30 1974 Kinshasa, Zaire KO 8/15 Note : This is an analysed version. Interviews appear from various famous boxers even during rounds, but not missing a sec. of the fight. The contest-analysis continues after the fight at 1:16:23 The bout starts at 29:05 "The Rumble in The Jungle" was a historic boxing match . It pitted then World Heavyweight Champion George Foreman against former champion and #1 contender Muhammad Ali. The fight was scheduled to start at 4:00 a.m. in Zaire to accommodate audiences in the United States. By the time Ali and Foreman met, Ali had avenged his losses to both Norton and Frazier, but Foreman was an overwhelming favorite against a slowing and aging Ali. Foreman and Ali spent much of the summer of 1974 training in Zaire and getting their bodies used to the weather in the tropical African country. The fight was originally set to happen on September 24, but the fight was postponed after Foreman was cut during training. It was rescheduled for October 30. Ali was a very endearing figure to the people of Zaire and his mind games played out well, turning the Congolese people in his favor and against Foreman. A popular chant leading up to, and during the fight, was "Ali bomaye!," which means "Ali, kill him!" Insiders say that Foreman and his handlers actually prayed in his dressing room before the fight that Foreman would not kill Ali, so high was the anticipation that Ali was simply no match for Foreman. Ali came out dancing in the first round and Foreman went right at him. Ali made good use of the right-hand lead, catching Foreman several times. When Foreman got close, Ali tied him up. Before the end of the first round, Foreman caught up to Ali and began landing a few punches of his own. Foreman had been trained well to cut off the ring, preventing escape. At the beginning of the second round, Ali went to the ropes and covered up, letting Foreman punch at him. Ali would occasionally fire back with his own shots. The plan was to let Foreman punch himself out, a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope. “Get away from the ropes,” Ali’s corner yelled. Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer, later said, “When he went to the ropes, I felt sick.” At the end of the second round, Dundee implored Ali to stay off the ropes. Ali waved him away and said, “I know what I’m doing.” Foreman spent all his energy throwing punches that were mostly blocked by Ali or did not land flush. When Foreman did land flush, Ali was able to take it. When the two fighters were locked in clinches, Ali consistently outwrestled Foreman. He leaned on Foreman to make Foreman support his weight, and he held Foreman's head down by pushing on his neck, a move which is both disorientating and can heighten the effect of punches since it causes a greater snap in the neck when a fighter is hit. Ali also constantly taunted Foreman, telling Foreman to throw more and harder punches, and an enraged Foreman responded by doing just that. After several rounds, Foreman began to tire. Foreman was staggered by an Ali combination at the start of the fourth round and again near the end of the fifth, after Foreman had seemed to dominate much of that round. Although he would keep throwing punches and coming forward, after the fifth round, Foreman was very tired and he looked increasingly worn out. Ali continued to taunt him by saying "Hit harder! Show me something, George" and "That don't hurt. I thought you were supposed to be bad." Finally in the eighth round, Ali landed the final combination, a left hook that brought Foreman's head up into position so Ali could nail him with a hard right straight to the face. Foreman staggered, then twirled across half the ring before landing on his back. Foreman got up but not quickly enough. The referee counted to ten and waved the fight over. Ten years after upsetting Sonny Liston and seven years after being stripped of the title, Ali had finally regained the World Heavyweight Championship. 48th bout of Ali :

• published: 05 Mar 2016
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