The two protagonists, each in their own way, roared loudly. And, of course, the combat echoed in all corners of the world. 50 years, half a century, have passed, and that unforgettable evening of boxing continues to honor its most famous nickname: “Rumble in the jungle”. That is, “Roar (or rumble or roar or noise…) in the jungle.” In the early hours of October 30 to 31, 1974, George Edward Foreman (Marshall, Texas, January 10, 1949), then champion of the world heavyweight, he faced Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Marcellus Clay (Louisville, January 17, 1942–June 3, 2016). Two American boxers fighting for universal supremacy more than 13,000 kilometers from their country, in Kinshasa, capital of Zaire, an African country today called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “It is one of the great fights in history, in part because of the eccentricity that rodeo. It was a work of art that the promoter Don King pulled out of his sleeve by paying what was not in the writings (five million dollars to each boxer) thanks to the support of a dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, who was unknown at the time. the scope of his actions,” recalls Jorge Lera, Eurosport journalist. “Foreman was much more than the champion,” Lera continues. He was a monster, he was massacring every rival that was put in front of him. In front of him, Ali sought to recover the title and sporting prestige that he had lost in 1967 for refusing to fight as a soldier in the Vietnam War. They prohibited him from boxing for almost four years, and during that period he did not stop feeding his other self, that of social activism. “Ali transcended sport, he was a true idol of the masses,” says journalist Jaime Ugarte. A real character in the fight against racism, captured in his famous phrase when he refused to go to Vietnam: ‘I don’t have any problem with the Vietcong because no one has called me a nigger (pejorative term).'”Mobutu had a ring set up in The 20 de Mayo stadium (today Tata Raphaël) filled it—60,000 people—and turned it into an act of racial vindication. “Days before the fight, there was a mega-concert for which they hired the biggest black stars such as Celia Cruz, BB King, James Brown and The Spinners,” says Lera. The expectation was fueled for weeks. Five, exactly. The fight was scheduled for September 25, but Foreman suffered an injury to his right eye while training and had to be postponed. Both boxers, their respective entourages, journalists from around the world and other personnel kept the African country at the international information epicenter for a month. «I was born in 1999, but my grandfather told me the story of this mythical combat and it remained engraved in my memory. Many people born before or after this great event remember it very well,” says Plotin Yambenga, a Congolese journalist. “It was a great event through which President Mobutu sold a good image of his country. For some analysts, it was an opportunity for Mobutu to demonstrate his country’s strength. Zaire was not only a country ruled by a dictator, but also a place where great things could happen. The current government has created a commission to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this great combat, a decision that has been very well received,” adds Yambenga. The weeks of waiting were not long. Foreman and Ali, who were training in turns in the same place, were in charge of cheering them up by warming up the atmosphere. Above all, the applicant. In a book as famous as it is recommended, ‘The Combat’ by Norman Mailer, numerous provocative episodes are collected. As an example, this brief verbal exchange during one of those shift changes: “Upon hearing the sound of Foreman’s entourage passing nearby, Ali shouted: ‘Come in, chump.’ I’m not going to hurt you.’ ‘I don’t even want to hear you,’ Foreman responded in turn. One day before the fight, Foreman was the big favorite. In Las Vegas the bets were 14-5 in his favor. “If Clay (Ali) achieves victory, five dollars in his favor can become 17,” the agencies’ tickers detailed. What happened in that jungle ring starting at 4 in the morning – unusual local time adjusted for the American television audience—was recreated a decade ago on ABC by David Gistau: “Ali’s fight was an astonishing feat of intelligence. First he went on the attack, and purposely exasperated Foreman by starting the combinations with his right hand, the back one, which was humiliating because it was equivalent to despising him for being slow in reacting. When he was out of his mind, he locked himself in the ropes and allowed him to hit him with all the hooks he wanted, until he was exhausted. From time to time I would whisper in his ear things like, ‘Is that all you’ve got, George? They told me you hit hard.’ Foreman came empty-handed into the eighth round, and Ali threw him off the ropes after harassing him with some dizzying jabs that drove the giant crazy like a swarm. That tactic of holding on until the opponent’s fatigue went down in history as ‘Rope-A-Dope’, a term that in the United States is even used for political language. Suicide tactic “Ali no longer had the legs he used to have,” he says. Jorge Lera—, so he had to stand on top of the ring canvas, which had softened with the humidity and heat. It was like boxing in beach sand. You couldn’t be moving all the time, the ropes were also loose, and he devised that strategy. Ali takes punishment, but it’s not like he gets a beating. If you look at assault by assault, in all of them he has his options and he also hits Foreman. Jaime Ugarte insists that “Ali surprised everyone with a tactic that a priori seemed suicidal: letting a guy like Foreman wear himself out by hitting him in the ropes. It seemed that this could be the end. But Foreman emptied himself, even psychologically because Ali talked to him a lot, provoking him. For Lera, “the great legend of Muhammad Ali is based on that practically miraculous reappearance. For me he is the most important athlete of all time. Not the best, but the most important. There has been no one with his impact and influence on the society of the time.” José Luis Garci, film director and boxing enthusiast, continues to call Alí by his birth name and surname: “Cassius Clay not only changes boxing , but its time. Clay is the purest exponent of the 60s, as much as Camelot and the New Frontier, Vietnam, the Beatles and the Rolling, Malcolm X or Martin Luther King. With him the real rebellion is born, he is before Berkeley and May ’68. Clay is a new Uncle Tom’s cabin. He is the true prophet of social change and not Marcuse. The permanent revolution. Even today, we lack perspective to know the true extent of his blows to the system. They stripped him of the title, he came back, he regained it in Zaire, he lost it again and won it again.” Jeancy Lualua, former Congolese boxer, witnessed the iconic fight: “My first impression was excitement mixed with a certain anxiety. Seeing two legends face each other in a ring was incredible. I was nervous for Ali, because Foreman seemed very powerful. But I also had hope, because Ali always had that ability to surprise. “The atmosphere was electric,” says Lualua. The stadium was full of passion. You could feel the tension in the air, each spectator held their breath with each blow that was landed. It was a unique, almost magical moment. What struck me the most was the way Ali used his speed and agility to avoid Foreman’s blows. For this former boxer, “this fight put Africa on the boxing world map. For Congolese boxers, he was a source of immense inspiration. Many young people began to dream of becoming professional boxers, and this opened doors for international competitions. “In my country, this duel was a national pride. People were talking about this fight for months. Globally, it was seen as a turning point in boxing history, a matchup that transcended sport to become a cultural event. It brought together people from different cultures and social classes. “It showed that sport can be a vector of unity and hope in an often divided world,” concludes Luala. Plotin Yambenga comments that “after football, boxing is one of the sports with the most fans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ). More and more Congolese are interested in him, especially with the rise of Martin Bakole. The DRC is not only a country of great footballers, but also a nation of great boxers. New boxing clubs are springing up in every neighborhood of Kinshasa. “This shows that the fight between Ali and Foreman has encouraged many Congolese to take up boxing.”
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