George signed to meet Ken Norton on March 26, 1974 in Caracas, Venezuela. Norton got the title shot despite the fact he had lost his last bout to Muhammad Ali on September 10, 1973 at the Forum in Los Angeles. Foreman was guaranteed $500,000 for the bout, while Norton settled for $200,000. Don King was now the biggest promoter in the sport, with his backing coming from the mob, who bought his way out of jail after serving four years for having kicked a man in the head to death.
The fight itself was a total mismatch, with George knocking out an overwhelmed Norton out in two quick rounds. Despite the fact that Muhammad Ali was at ringside cheering Ken on, Foreman’s power was too much for Norton and the whole thing was over in five minutes.
Now seen as indestructible by the sportswriters and boxing public, George enjoyed his new life as a celebrity. I personally liked him whenever I saw him, and found him to be a big, friendly sort despite the fact he knocked guys out for a living.
The 25 year old champion agreed to fight Muhammad Ali on September in Zaire, South Africa. The promoters there agreed to pay both men $5 million dollars, an unheard amount of money for the time. September 24 was the original date, and Ali went into serious training for four months, the longest he had ever prepared for a fight in his entire career. Most everyone gave Ali no chance to win, and figured he was too old to deal with Foreman’s power.
Nicknamed “The Rumble in the Jungle” by Ali, it was the biggest fight in boxing since Ali-Frazier 1, and even I was excited about it. At 14, boxing was not a big part of my life, but I certainly was interested any time Ali stepped into the ring. When a cut over Foreman’s eye delayed the bout until October 30, it only made it bigger by giving the press more time to write and talk about it.
Since the fight was only going to be broadcast live on closed-circuit venues, I had to settle on news reports the next day to find out what happened, since my father was not the type to take me to see a fight at an arena. My sentiments were torn, since I liked both fighters and really didn’t want to see either guy lose.
When I learned the next day that Ali had actually knocked Foreman out in the 8th round, I was shocked, as was most everybody. Back then the replays on free tv were usually delayed for months, so I had to settle on reading Sports Illustrated and Sport magazine articles, and getting reports from Wide World of Sports and Howard Cosell on Saturdays. The time ABC had secured the rights and showed it on November 9th, with was quick and great for someone like me.
Watching Ali use the ‘Rope a Dope’ on George was genius, since it allowed Muhammad to rest on the ropes while Foreman wailed away until he got tired. Ali also peppered the champ continuously with hard combinations throughout the whole fight, and by the time came in the 8th, it was almost inevitable.
Ali had shocked the world, and was now the two-time heavyweight champion of the world. I could only feel sorry for George, and no one knew how devastating that loss would turn out to be to him, sending him into a deep depression and tailspin that he almost never came out of.
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