Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had their long-awaited rematch on January 28, 1974, at Madison Square Garden in New York. A week before the bout, both men met at the ABC studios in New York to discuss their upcoming fight. Howard Cosell hosted the show, which featured both fighters watching a replay of their historic March 8, 1971 battle, and commentating on what they saw. Ali continued to agitate Joe by calling him ignorant, and talking about the fact Frazier wound up in the hospital, while all the only thing he suffered was a swollen jaw. A furious Frazier stood over Ali, and the two wrestled and tussled on the ground for a few minutes, until security broke them up.
The actual fight was good, but nowhere near their epic first brawl. Ali was fit, and boxed well the entire 12 rounds, while Frazier chugged forward as usual. There were no knockdowns scored, and the decision was clear-cut for Ali. I saw it on VHS tape many times over the years, but it was far from riveting to watch. Ali had his revenge, and set his sights of the winner of the upcoming March fight between the champion George Foreman and Ken Norton in Caracas, Venezuela.
After Foreman easily disposed of Norton with Ali ringside, all obstacles were cleared for the two to meet. Promoter Don King found Zaire, South Africa and their president willing to pay both men $5 million apiece, and September 25, 1974 was cleared as the date to host the spectacle. Dubbed “The Rumble in the Jungle”, it was sure to draw attention globe-wide, especially since Ali was famous the world over.
Ali went into training at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania like he hadn’t in years. Many feared for his safety against the young powerful Foreman, and figured at 32 years old, Ali was too old to defeat a slugger like George. The champion trained in earnest, but when both men moved their camps to South Africa, George suffered a bad cut over his right eye eight days prior to the bout.
After an initial uproar from Ali, October 30 was agreed upon as the new date. With no other choice, both men stayed in Zaire, and continued training another six weeks. Most of the public in South Africa was pulling for Ali, and the longer he was there, the more popular he became. By late October, the whole world was anxious to see it finally take place.
I was 14 years old at the time, and relied on newspaper clippings to see the results. I was glad Ali had won the historic bout by knockout, and shocked the world in the process. His “Rope a Dope” strategy had worked brilliantly, with him laying on the ropes, while Foreman punched himself out. By the eighth round, George was exhausted, and Ali knocked him out with a combination off of the ropes.
Ali was now the 2-time Heavyweight Champion of the World, a magnificent feat on it’s own, but coupled by the fact he had knocked out the huge favorite in Foreman, made it even more incredible. The new champion returned to the States a hero, while Foreman went into seclusion, filled with shame and embarrassment.
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