Rumble in the Jungle - October 30, 1974

On this day in 1974, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman fought each other for the world heavyweight championship in Zaire in one of the most memorable boxing matches in history. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hey everyone, welcome to the podcast. I'm Eves
and you're listening to This Day in History Class, a
podcast that really takes to heart the phrase you learn
something new every day. Today it's October nineteen. The day

(00:24):
was October thirtieth, nineteen seventy four. Former heavyweight champion Mohammed
Ali beat undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman in a
fight at the twentieth of May Stadium and what was
then Kinshasa Zaire. Sixty people attended the fight and it
was the world's most watched live television broadcast at the time.

(00:45):
Both Ali and Foreman were Olympic gold medal winners. Ali
was known for his speed and skill, while Foreman was
known for his power. Foreman became heavyweight champion when he
beat Joe Frasier in nineteen seventy three. Ali was one
heavyweight champion two. But Ali had been fighting for a
chance to regain the title since he was stripped of
it and suspended from boxing in nineteen sixty seven after

(01:09):
refusing to comply with the draft. Boxing promoter Don King
arranged a fight between the two, getting them to sign contracts.
Foreman was the favorite. He had knocked down champion Joe
Fraser six times in two rounds before he k owed
him to win the championship, and he beat Kim Norton
in two rounds. Ali, on the other hand, had lost

(01:30):
to Fraser in Norton. The fight was one of Don
King's first ventures as a promoter. Both Ali and Foreman
wanted five million dollars for the fight, but King did
not have that much money to put up. There wasn't
much of a framework for professional boxing in Africa until
nineteen seventy three when the African Boxing Union was formed.

(01:52):
The president of Zayre, Mobutu Seku, agreed to host the
fight in his country because he knew it would bring
tourism and publicity. He provided training facilities and a venue
for the fight. Ali and Foreman spent the summer training
in Zaire to adjust to the tropical climate. The fight
was scheduled for September, but when Foreman got a cut

(02:13):
above his right eye about a week before the fight,
it was pushed to octobert but a concert series called
Zi Year seventy four that was set up as a
promotional event for the fight went on The festival took
place from September twenty two at the twentieth of May Stadium.
American and African musicians like Celia Cruz, BB King, James Brown,

(02:35):
and Miriam the Kaba performed in the series. Around eighty
thou people attended the concerts. The fight began just after
four am local time, so it would be broadcast during
prime time in the United States. Even though Foreman was
favored to win the fight, Ali was more beloved in Africa.
Ali spent more time out in the local communities and

(02:57):
spoke to the press. He later reflected that the fight
was also about racial issues and about the relationship between
black Americans and Africans. Ali used the strategy of leaning
on the ropes and taking Foreman's punches until Foreman tired.
At the same time, Ali took chances to punch Foreman
in the face. Alie sent combinations back at Foreman starting

(03:19):
in the fourth round. As Foreman tired out, Ali was
taking a lot of attacks, but he ended up defeating
Foreman in an eighth round knockout. The fight, one of
the most famous matches ever, helped confirm Ali's status as
the greatest boxer. It attracted around fifty million viewers on
closed circuit television worldwide and pulled in around a hundred

(03:40):
million dollars. Foreman retired in nineteen seventy seven, though he
later regained the World Heavyweight championship at age forty five,
after losing his title in nineteen seventy eight and regaining
it again months later. Ali retired in nineteen eighty one.
I'm Eve Steff Coote and hopefully you know a little
more about history today than you did yesterday. Looking up

(04:03):
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(04:28):
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