40 Years Ago – Rumble in the Jungle

It was the biggest boxing match of all time: on October 30, 1974 in Kinshasa, the capital of what was then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), heavyweights George Foreman (left) and former champ Muhammad Ali took to the ring. The fight became known as the "Rumble in the Jungle," and has become the stuff of sporting legend.

The bout in Kinshasa's National Stadium was a global media event and at the time, the biggest sporting event to take place on the African continent. Boxing promoter Don King worked with Zaire's dictator, Mobutu, to set up the fight. Mobutu hoped to use the fight to promote his country.

The two fighters and a large entourage of support staff, officials, and journalists spent weeks in Zaire after an injury to George Foreman meant the fight had to be pushed back a month. The world champion suffered a cut to his eyebrow that had to heal before he took to the ring.

Muhammed Ali managed to gain the support of the people of Zaire. He was a celebrated hero. Foreman was hated for appearing with a German shepherd – just like the Belgian occupying forces of the Congo were known to do at the time. "Ali bome ye!" cried the fans: "Ali, kill him!"

Ahead of the fight, none of the experts thought Ali had any real shot at winning. Foreman appeared to be too tough with his string of 40 undefeated fights. But Ali's tactics proved effective: he hung on the ropes and ducked Foreman's wild punches.

Another part of Ali's strategy was to taunt Foreman: "Come on! Can't you hit any harder?" said Ali over and over while launching a seemingly endless series of punches that didn't appear to faze the champ.

The showdown came in the eighth round when Foreman began to tire. A quick combination to Foreman's head by Ali sent the world champ to the mat. By the time Foreman got back up, his ten seconds were up, and the fight was over.

The world champion was beat, but he proved to be a good sport: "Muhammad gave me an over dose of his right. He won fair and square, and now I'm just proud to be a part of the legend of Ali," Foreman said later.

For Ali, the "Rumble in the Jungle" was the return to the throne. Seven years after he refused to fight in Vietnam and then lost his world title, he was back on top – and is still considered "the greatest of all time."

As hard as Ali and Foreman fought in the ring in 1974, they got along quite well later and would occasionally make appearances together. One such occasion is seen here at the 1997 Oscars, where Ali's Parkinson's is clearly recognizable.