View 11 more
Perspiration flies from the head of George Foreman as he takes a right from challenger Muhammad Ali in the seventh round in the match dubbed Rumble in the Jungle in Kinshasa, Zaire. Foreman was knocked out in the eighth round. It was 40 years ago that tw Ed Kolenovsky, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko, center, raises the arms of heavyweight champ George Foreman, left, and Muhammad Ali, right, in Kinshasa, Zaire. It was 40 years ago that two men met just before dawn on Oct. 30, 1974, to earn $5 million in the Rumble i Horst Faas, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
Heavyweight champion George Foreman carries two unidentified little girls as he arrives at Kinshasa, Zaire Airport, where the fight for the championship against Muhammad Ali will take place in October. Boxing promoter Don King is seen in background, centr The Associated Press
View 11 more
Muhammad Ali, right, stands back as referee Zack Clayton calls the count over opponent George Foreman, red shorts, in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali won the fight in Africa by a knock out in the 8th round. It was 40 years ago that two men met just before dawn on O The Associated Press
View 11 more
Muhammad Ali watches George Foreman head for the canvas after being knocked out in the eighth round of their match in Kinshasa, Zaire. It was 40 years ago that two men met just before dawn on Oct. 30, 1974, to earn $5 million in the Rumble in the Jungle. The Associated Press
View 11 more
Muhammad Ali tells a crowd of boxing fans in N' Sele Zaire, "Ako bo mai ye," which translates from Zaire's Lingalla dialect as: "I will kill him." Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee is at left, It was 40 years ago that two men met just before dawn on Oct. 30, Horst Faas, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
A Zairian man in traditional clothing carries a spear as he leads Muhammad Ali through a crowd at the airport in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali arrived in a chartered Air Zaire plane from Paris for a world championship fight with George Foreman. It was 40 years ago Horst Faas, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
Archie Moore, right, a former light heavyweight champion, gives a few words of advice to George Foreman, heavyweight champion, during sparring rounds in the presidential compound at N' Sele, near Kinshasa, Zaire. It was 40 years ago that two men met just Horst Faas, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
George Foreman laughs under his headgear at N'Sele, Zaire, after he boxed the first sparring rounds since he suffered an injury over his right eye 29 days ago. The injury had forced a 5 week delay of his fight with Muhammad Ali. It was 40 years ago that t Horst Faas, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
Muhammad Ali, right, boxes with sparring partner Larry Holmes during his first workout at the N'Sele , Zaire training camp in preparation for his title bout with heavyweight champion George Foreman It was 40 years ago that two men met just before dawn o Horst Faas, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
Muhammad Ali winces as he takes a George Foreman left to the jaw in fifth round of their heavyweight championship bout in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali knocked out Foreman in the eighth round to regain the title. It was 40 years ago that two men met just before Ed Kolenovsky, File, Associated Press
View 11 more
Muhammad Ali chants to fans during a sightseeing tour downtown Kinshasa, Zaire. It was 40 years ago that two men met just before dawn on Oct. 30, 1974, to earn $5 million in the Rumble in the Jungle. In one of boxing's most memorable moments, Muhammad A The Associated Press

By Associated Press

It was 40 years ago that two men met just before dawn on Oct. 30, 1974, to earn $5 million in the Rumble in the Jungle.

In one of boxing's most memorable moments, Muhammad Ali stopped the fearsome George Foreman to recapture the heavyweight title in the impoverished African nation of Zaire.

The day before the fight in Kinshasa, Foreman and Ali made separate trips to the presidential palace to pay homage to Mobutu Sese Seko, the brutal dictator who wanted to put his country (now Congo) on the world map. The fight would finally unfold in the steamy darkness of equatorial Africa at 4 a.m., with machine gun-carrying soldiers watching the crowd from ringside and Joe Frazier among the interested spectators.

View Comments

Late in the eighth round, Ali landed a combination with a final right hand that seemed to crumple Foreman in pieces, ending the fight with a knockout.

Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.