The Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight is next month and it will of course be a bloated spectacle. Who knows if it will be a competitive fight. Who knows if it will justify the hype. What we do know is it is one of boxing’s bigger moments.
But it is nothing compared to its biggest. In many ways the Tyson-Paul fight owes everything to something that happened 50 years ago on Oct. 30, 1974: The Rumble in the Jungle.
In Zaire, at the Stade des Martyrs stadium, Muhammad Ali, then 32, fought George Foreman, 25. Most thought Ali didn’t stand a chance. It was understandable. Ali was making a comeback after his world title was stripped for declining to be drafted for the Vietnam War.
It was one of the most principled stances any American athlete has ever taken. But that bravery cost Ali time and experience and Foreman was a vicious fighter who was undefeated.
Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Anderson from the New York Times wrote of the fight: “George Foreman might be the heaviest puncher in the history of the heavyweight division. For a few rounds, Ali might be able to escape Foreman’s sledgehammer strength, but not for 15 rounds. Sooner or later, the champion will land one of his sledgehammer punches and, for the first time in his career, Muhammad Ali will be counted out. That could happen in the first round.”
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The fight ended with Ali knocking Foreman out in the eighth round but the bout’s significance went far beyond what happened in the ring. The bout happened in Africa, which is a dismissed and disrespected continent in some parts of the world. Ali built a love affair with the people of Zaire (now Congo) that lasts to this day.
Ali also got back a title that had been stolen from him.
“The fight when I was at my best as a boxer was against Cleveland Williams,” Ali once said. “The fight that was the best for fans was against Joe Frazier in Manila. But the fight that meant the most to me was beating George Foreman to win the championship of the world again.”
Ali added: ‘So many people come up to me and tell me they remember where they were when I whupped George Foreman. I remember where I was too.”
What the Rumble also did was show the spectacular possibility of how great and beloved a sporting event can be. It was the Super Bowl before the Super Bowl became the Super Bowl.
It was able to be great while also lacking a corporate feel. The fight was rooted and pure because both fighters were the same in their own ways. Ali was an activist and genius and Foreman was the perfect villain who would later become a congenial pitch man. Both men later became friends.
The fight showed what possibility was. It was a beautiful moment.
Boxing would undergo numerous changes, some good, and others awful. Tyson would become part of these great moments. He’d become a legend in the sport.
Boxing has faced challenges from the UFC and sometimes a lack of star power. It weaves between lacking relevance and being powerfully irresistible.
The Tyson-Paul fight exemplifies what boxing is now. Many of us will watch it. Maybe it will be decent but none of us would be stunned if it was absolutely putrid. Not to sound like the old man yelling at clouds but this fight is the artificial sweetener version of boxing. Like diet soda or watching bad science fiction. You’ll drink it or watch it in a pinch. But it lacks a core.
The Rumble reminds us of what boxing greatness was. Can it be that way again? Maybe there’s some fight in another 50 years that surpasses it. Maybe a Rumble 2. But it would be difficult to do that. We know it won’t be Tyson-Paul.