George Foreman defended his undisputed world heavyweight title against Muhammad Ali
Date: October 30, 1974
Venue: Stade du 20 Mai, Kinshasa, Zaire
Foreman stance: orthodox
Ali stance: orthodox
Muhammad Ali was stripped of his undisputed world heavyweight titles and his boxing licences in 1967. He returned to the ring three and a half years later, and after three consecutive wins, he challenged Joe Frazier for the undisputed title. Ali lost that fight on points. He then won his next ten fights before losing on points to Ken Norton, who broke his jaw in the process. Ali won the rematch, and also beat Joe Frazier in a rematch. Up next was a second chance to regain his titles, in a fight that was billed The Rumble in the Jungle.
George Foreman had his first amateur boxing contest in 1967 and became the Olympic heavyweight champion at the 1968 games in Mexico City. Foreman won the undisputed world title when he became the first man to beat Joe Frazier, destroying him in just two rounds. José Roman was stopped in the first round of Foreman's first title defence, and Ken Norton lasted two rounds in the second defence. At this point, Foreman was 40-0 with 37 KOs. One issue hampered Foreman's preparations for his fight against Ali. Foreman had got cut in sparring, forcing him to postpone the fight for a month and leaving him unable to spar during his training.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
George Foreman - George Foreman - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/90
Muhammad Ali - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/000180
