.
It was the final step in a seven-year odyssey to reclaim the heavyweight world championship having had his crown taken from him by forces outside the world of boxing. The monstrous George Foreman was now in possession of the belts and deemed the new king.
What is regarded as one of the best fights in history barely tells half the story. The journey to Rumble In The Jungle remains one of the most remarkable in boxing history and in a game where the line between sport and spectacle is so routinely blurred, it has still stood the test of time. 50 years on, its legacy is still felt.
Metro looks back on how the fight represented something much more significant socially, culturally and politically, with former world champion Johnny Nelson recalling its impact on him and his own career as a Black British fighter.
Ten years before events in Zaire – now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Ali ascended to the summit of heavyweight boxing, beating Sonny Liston inside six rounds to become world champion. Still known as Cassius Clay, that victory catapulted him into the stratosphere. Much more than a fighter, Ali was a voice for the oppressed, an irresistible entertainer and a true people’s champion.
But three years later, after nine title defences that took him across the US and twice to London, he was stripped of his world championship and banned from boxing for three years. Ali’s refusal to serve in the Vietnam War on religious grounds – a decision he was almost sent to jail for – derailed his career. He returned to the ring in 1971 but defeats to Joe Frazier and Ken Norton prompted questions whether his best days were behind him. But Ali avenged those losses and was back on track to reclaim the biggest prize again.
Amid all this, there was a new player in town. After winning gold in the 1968 …
Read More
