The “Rumble In The Jungle” Boxing Match (1978)
The “rumble in the jungle” refers to the 1974 boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali held at the May Studio in The Democratic Republic Of Congo. It is estimated that just over one billion people watched the fight on television, making it the most viewed live television broadcast at the time. The fight brought in just over $100 million in revenue (which, adjusted for inflation, would be around $500 million now). Before the match Ali was the underdog with 4-1 odds against him; however, on the night he won, knocking out the, until then, undefeated Foreman in the eighth round. The match was originally supposed to happen on September 25th, but it was delayed over a month as Foreman had injured himself in a practice sparring match. Ali had previously surrendered his heavyweight champion title in 1967 as he had refused to join the US Army because of his pacifist beliefs. The legendary boxing promoter Don King was responsible for promoting the event. Both Ali and Foreman had won gold medals for the US in the Olympics and the match was the first time that Ali revealed his ‘rope-a-dope’ technique, which involves taking surface punches from an opponent whilst leaning on the rope in the hopes that the opponent will wear themselves out. It was a winning strategy and much replicated!
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