George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier II Norton by knockout in the first and second rounds respectively. Foreman, however, lost his titles to Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle" in October 1974, by KO in the eighth round. The following year, Frazier finally got his first chance to regain the heavyweight titles, challenging Ali in a fight dubbed the "Thrilla in Manila", though he lost by technical knockout in the 14th round. After his defeat at the hands of Ali, Foreman was out of boxing for over a year, sitting out all of 1975. He returned in January 1976 to defeat Ron Lyle and capture
The Rumble in the Jungle sold at $20 (inflation-adjusted $), grossing $60million (inflation-adjusted $million) in the United States. The promoters and fighters received over half of the US closed-circuit revenue, generating an income of at least $30million for the promoters and fighters; Ali and Foreman were paid $5million each. In total, including closed-circuit and free television, the fight was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1billion viewers worldwide, about a quarter of the world's 4billion population in 1974. It was the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. In the United Kingdom, the fight was watched by 26million viewers on BBC One,