It is 50 years since boxing's iconic "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire—now the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and which ended in spectacular fashion, purportedly to the eyes of a billion viewers worldwide. An event of high drama, Ali, then 32 and carrying two professional losses, was seen as the underdog going into the heavyweight championship fight against 25-year-old Foreman, a notoriously powerful puncher—and undefeated. Yet, it was Ali who came out on top, knocking out a tired Foreman in the eighth round after wearing his opponent's energy down by using his new "rope a dope" technique to absorb or avoid heavy punches.
Zairians, whose support Ali had courted before, chanted the now infamous slogan, "Ali, boma ye!", which translates as, "Ali, kill him!" In the build-up to and even during the fight, Ali openly taunted Foreman in his sharp-tongued style, intensifying the psychodrama that electrified the hotly-anticipated event. But while boxing was the centerpiece, the Rumble in the Jungle was about more than just the fight. It was a breakout moment for promoter Don King who organized the bout with millions of dollars in financing from Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko, a dictator who seized a propaganda opportunity to promote his country—and his beliefs—on the world stage.
A music festival, Zaire 74, preempted the fight between September 22 to 24 to help promote the bout, and featured major stars including James Brown,.
