50 years since the Foreman and Ali fight in Kinshasa
One billion people stood in front of the television on October 30, 1974. The two most famous boxers of the moment, Foreman and Ali, faced each other in Kinshasa. That fight put the Congo and its dictator, Mobutu, on the map.
The US embassy in Kinshasa has announced that on October 30 it will host a party organized together with the Congolese government. The invitation announces that it will have the presence of artists, musicians and filmmakers from both countries to celebrate the ties that, through the diaspora, unite them. With these data, the event has nothing special among those held in a legation, but it gains interest when we know that the date coincides with that of another event, of much greater magnitude, that took place at the 20 de Mayo Stadium (Tata Raphaël , today), in Kinshasa, 50 years ago: “The Rumble in the Jungle”, or what is the same, the most famous of the combats boxing match, which faced Americans George Foreman, who was defending the champion title, and Muhammad Ali, aspiring and former heavyweight champion.
The title that popularized the confrontation is due to the journalist George Plimpton, but its promoter, the businessman Don King, adopted and amplified it, since thanks to its forcefulness and sound, it met the necessary conditions to function as a promotional slogan for the event, despite of its negative connotations – at least seen in retrospect – by offering a reductionist vision of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then Zaire, and of Africa in general (jungle); And the promoter’s first idea was to call it “From the slave ship to the championship”, an option that the Congolese dictator himself, Mobutu Sese Seko, rejected.
However, the phrase made complete sense to the charismatic, intelligent and controversial King, because in the sale of the fight he always conveyed the idea that the fight in Kinshasa meant that, after having left Africa as slaves, African Americans They returned with glory through their best athletes and musicians to reunite with their brothers on the continent. All at a time when a boiling Pan-Africanism sought unity between African peoples and the diaspora, along with racial consciousness and black pride growing after the struggles for civil rights in the United States and the decolonization movements in Africa. The story and business of the fight were completed with Zaire 74, a historic music festival in the Zairean capital with some of the best African-American artists of the moment, representatives of the best music with black roots such as James Brown, B.B. King, The Spinners or Celia Cruz, along with other unquestionable African artists: the South African Miriam Makeba, the Cameroonian Manu Dibango, or the Congolese TPOK Jazz.
The Mobutu factor
How did a fight with more money at stake than the Americans or British could invest end up being held in the capital of one of the poorest countries in the world? The answer is found in totalitarianism, and an especially ferocious one, that of the dictator with the leopard cap, Mobutu Sese Seko. Three years after the leader changed the name of Congo to Zaire, the country was going through economic difficulties, suffering from enormous corruption and its population was suffering savage repression. For Sese Seko, celebrating the combat in their territory would serve to mislead the population internally, also spurring their patriotic sentiment. At the same time, outside its borders, it was a propaganda campaign that projected a positive vision of a country proud to demonstrate that an event of that magnitude was held in its territory.
In his association with Don King, after putting ten million dollars on the table for each of the fighters to agree to fight, Sese Seko tried to present himself as a leader capable of attracting international figures for the enjoyment and promotion of Zaire, discounting the detail that the fight took place at four in the morning, local time, to coincide with prime time television in the United States.
“The Rumble in the Jungle” should have been held a month earlier, on September 25, but had to be delayed because Foreman suffered a cut that made it impossible for him to participate on time.
In addition to the money for the fight, Mobutu Sese Seko spent huge amounts on preparations and on the music festival, scheduled for the days immediately before the fight. Combat and festival, both starring African Americans, served as an excuse for Mobutu to publicize his policy of authenticitywhich sought to strip African culture of colonial influences. Not in vain, in addition to the name of the country, he had changed his own, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, to Mobutu Sese Seko.
The dictator made event security a priority, and the streets of the capital were some of the safest in the world while foreign correspondents were on the ground. Even so, Sese Seko must not have had it all with him because, although a gigantic portrait of him presided over the stadium, he was not present in the stands on the night of the event, but rather watched it on closed-circuit television.
During the previous weeks, crime had increased and Mobutu, to avoid problems, had 1,000 people imprisoned. According to writer Norman Mailer, who covered the combat and published a book about itThe Fight (“The Fight”), a legend circulated that said the president had chosen 100 of them at random and executed them. Mailer’s work and the documentary When we were kings (“When We Were Kings”), directed by Leon Gast, which won the Oscar in 1997 for best documentary feature film, are two of the works that have best come close to that event.
The icon Ali and the untouchable Foreman
Ali, who died in 2016 suffering from Parkinson’s, probably triggered by the blows he had received during his career, was one of the greatest athletes of all time. As a boxer, in addition to his strength, Ali, who was born Cassius Clay, stood out for his exceptional technique, speed and agility. A decade before the Kinshasa fight he faced Sonny Liston. Then, quoting his trainer, he said: “I float like a butterfly and beak like a wasp”, a phrase that summarized the style that made him popular in the ring and that led him to be world heavyweight champion on several occasions. But Ali was also an activist for civil rights and racial equality. His conversion to Islam, the defense of his ideas and his renunciation of the Vietnam War, which led him to prison and stripped him of his title, made him an icon that transcended the world of sport. “I have no problems with vietcong. None of them have called me Nigger (‘black’)».
Ali came from that season in the desert when he showed up in Kinshasa. All the commentators were of the opinion that his best boxing years had passed. In front of him was George Foreman, who was scary with his 40 victories (37 by knockout) and after having won the title by beating Joe Frazier, whom he knocked out six times in just two rounds. However, Ali overwhelmed the Texan in charisma. Friendly, boastful, verbally quick and very intelligent, Ali’s verbiage captivated and provoked laughter among those who listened to him, as can be seen in Gast’s tape. Ali presented himself to journalists saying without blinking that he had prepared better than ever: “Last week I killed a rock, injured a stone and sent a brick to the hospital.” He also knew how to be charming, and from the first moment he made the Congolese people see that he was one of them. “I have never felt as happy as when I arrived,” he said. Regarding the country, he highlighted that its citizens spoke several languages, while Americans “we don’t even speak English well,” or he told them: “African Americans are not as good as you. Some of us are richer, but you have a dignity that we do not have. “We are spoiled.” The Congolese reciprocated with unwavering support for a Foreman who did not understand how, being even blacker than Ali, he was seen as an American, while Ali played with children in the street and always had an entourage of locals who told him ” Ali, boma ye» (‘kill him’, in Lingala). He did not hesitate to encourage them.
The fight
The time has come to get into the ring. Everyone expected a fight in which Foreman was going to take the initiative and in which Ali would try to survive while biding his time. However, perhaps Ali thought he should try to finish as soon as possible, so he went all out, using a series of direct but risky blows that did no harm to his rival. From the second round onwards, the fight changed completely. Foreman attacked with all his strength and Ali all he did was defend himself, at first trying to “dance” around him and then allowing himself to be cornered against the ropes, on which he balanced to avoid the blows, taking as best he could those that came his way. receiving. Foreman’s strength was brutal, but Ali took the blows and every so often provoked Foreman with phrases like “Is this what you have for me, George?” or “You disappoint me. You don’t hit that hard…” This tactic may have infuriated Foreman, who released his arm more and more frequently but with less precision due to fatigue. The assaults continued until it was clear that Foreman was exhausted. In the eighth, Muhammad Ali saw his opportunity and chained a series of blows that ended with his rival on the canvas, looking like he didn’t really know where or why he was there.
The fight became one of the most popular broadcasts in history, with an estimated audience of 1 billion people, a quarter of the world’s population at the time.
Ali included “The Rumble in the Jungle” in his record. Don King got a good financial pinch. The Congolese celebrated being the center of the world for a day. And Mobutu saw the completion of a huge personal marketing operation. 50 years later, the party at the American embassy in Kinshasa will not be as crowded, but it is also expected to be much more peaceful.
