I got him once in the stomach,” said the 52-year-old who became a boxer himself and now trains young fighters.Īli completely won the occasion. Judex Tshibanda remembers Ali coming to box with the local children. He stayed with the important people and was really interested in the women,” he said. “Foreman was too moody, even if he was black like us. In this photo taken on OctoUS heavy weight boxing champion George Foreman getures during the weigh-in before the heavy weight world championship in Kinshasa. Guy Lioki, now 50 and a referee in amateur boxing tournaments, twice came across Foreman - who had already aggravated the local population by arriving on his plane accompanied by two German Shepherd dogs which evoked memories of the brutal rule of their former colonial masters Belgium -before the fight when a child. He did not like this population and that was a factor in his defeat,” added Serry.
Foreman did not like contact with black people. We considered him a Zairean who was living in America. I could have made a name like Muhammad Ali,” he said.Īli won the fight and also the hearts of the people of DR Congo, which was then known as Zaire. I would still like to box, but I'm over 50 now so I can't. “I was a good boxer but my father forced me to give up and study. Stadium security chief Abdelaziz Saliboko Serry took up boxing after watching Ali and Foreman. Now each day, dozens of men, women and children still train in the stadium.Īfter work and school they practice hooks and simulate fights, often without gloves and when they are still hungry. Photo by AFPĪli soaked up the pressure for seven rounds, taunting his opponent all the time, and then knocked him out in the eighth with a lightning right hook. In this photo taken on Octoshows US boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali 11 days before the heavy weight world championship in Kinshasa.
Then the world was scared that Ali, aged 32 and fighting his way back to the top after his ban for refusing to fight in the US Army, would suffer a humiliating beating by the fearsomely powerful George Foreman, the defending world champion. Water leaks into the gyms where Ali and George Foreman trained for their epic fight.īut Kinshasa, capital of one of the poorest countries in the world, remains proud of having staged one of the most important sporting events of the 20th century on October 30, 1974. The terraces, which were packed with 100,000 people for “The Rumble In The Jungle”, are falling apart. KINSHASA: The Tata Raphael stadium looks as though it has lost a few rounds against Muhammad Ali in the 40 years since it staged the greatest boxing fight in history.
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