The most famous fight of all time, the “Rumble in the Jungle”, a duel in which a then discredited Muhammad Ali turned the tables and regained the heavyweight world champion belt over The undefeated knockout artist George Foreman, from Zaire (now Congo), turns 50 this Thursday (30).
The duel, the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary ” Quando Éramos Reis ” (1996) and the book ” The Fight “, by the famous Norman Mailer, among countless other forms of media, is not in the slightest risk of losing its position, according to the author and Ali’s main biographer, Thomas Hauser.
“There will be no other fight like the ‘Battle in the Jungle'”, analyzes exclusively to Folha Hauser, author of the award-winning biography “Muhammad Ali, His Life and Times”. “[The Rumble] is a central component in building the legend of Muhammad Ali when we talk about his achievements inside the ring, it is the victory of greatest significance to him.”
Despite pointing out the relevance and unique character of “Rumble in The Jungle”, Hauser makes a reservation: In his view, inside the ring, there were fights in which Ali showed more athletic qualities or that were more even and exciting for the public; This was not the fight with the greatest historical impact whether Ali or not.
“Ali’s peak as a fighter was when he was younger [contra Cleveland Wiliams, em 1966, ao expor todo sua condição atlética e reflexos]and the most dramatic, exciting duel in which he participated was the last of the trilogy with Joe Frazier [em 1975, após o qual Ali afirmou que foi “o mais próximo que chegara da morte”]”explains Hauser.
“There were fights that were more relevant in their historical impact, such as Jack Johnson x James Jim Jeffries; Joe Louis x Max Schmeling 2; or even Ali x Joe Frazeir 1”, continues Hauser, who in addition to being an author, was a columnist for one of the main North American publications. American pugilism during the 2000s, the “International Boxing Digest”.
Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, defended his belt against Jeffries, the “great white hope”, a champion of enormous prestige, who returned undefeated from retirement due to popular outcry to try to defeat him.
In the rematch with Schmeling, the American Louis knocked out his former executioner, a German called by many during the Second World War as “Hitler’s champion”. In the first of their three duels, the Islamic Ali, critic of the Vietnam War and racism, dueled with Frazier, owner of the world belt and who, according to his predecessor, represented the system.
The “Rumble in the Jungle” was the platform for Ali, already one of the greatest champions in history, probably the most charismatic, to demonstrate his genius, impress those who were not his fans, be elevated to the status of legend, transcend the sport and become part of pop culture.
Upon landing in Zaire, Ali was the big underdog. After all, Foreman had quickly and brutally destroyed the only two opponents to have beaten Ali in professional boxing.
Foreman took six takedowns to beat Frazier in two rounds and pulverized Ken Norton, also in the second round. Meanwhile, Ali’s aura had taken a hit due to the defeats to this pair. The consensus was that Ali was not the same athletically. There were those who said they feared for Ali’s physical integrity and life.
What was witnessed was pure genius in action. There he knew he couldn’t exchange blows with Foreman, nor did he have any more “legs” at that point in his career to “dance” in front of him for 15 rounds. He then created and used the “rope-a-dope” tactic, in which he stood still, leaning against the ropes, dodging Foreman’s “bombs”, while, in the process, the world champion was wearing himself out and his psychology was little affected. little melted.
To speed up the wear and tear, Ali told Foreman that he had no grip, that he missed shots, that his situation would get even worse when he started dancing around the ring.
Foreman was finally knocked out in the eighth round, by blows from Ali, but also by physical and mental exhaustion.
After the fight, a jubilant Ali gave a general scolding for not believing in his chances and making him the underdog.
“I warned you, all my critics, that I was the greatest of all time when I beat Sonny Liston [por seu primeiro título mundial, em 1965]and I warned you today that I had not stopped being the greatest of all time”, he criticized. “Never say again that I will be defeated, never make me the underdog until I am 50 years old, then, perhaps, it could be that you are correct.”
Nor did it harm the iconic character of “Rumble in the Jungle” that Foreman retired a few years later, became a pastor and businessman, became known to a generation because of the grill that bore his name, returned ten years later, loved by public and, 20 years after his defeat to Ali, regain his belt and become the oldest champion in the category at 45 years old.
Since 1974, boxing has produced phenomenal heavyweight champions, such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, the brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury, etc. But none of their fights reached “Rumble in the Jungle” status. And, according to Hauser, neither they nor any future heavyweight champion will produce a fight that will surpass her.
“Because none of them are Muhammad Ali,” Hauser explains.
When asked whether the perception of combat will change in the coming decades, Hauser says yes.
“What Ali-Foreman represents in social terms has been lost because, although they know that Ali sacrificed himself for his principles, people don’t understand what those principles were,” argues Hauser. “Certainly Ali’s message was one of tolerance, not division.”
