The Rumble in the Jungle nearly half of the UK's 56million population in 1974. The Rumble in the Jungle is one of Ali's most famous fights, ranking alongside 1971's Fight of the Century between the unbeaten former champion Ali and the unbeaten then heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, and the pair's final match, the Thrilla in Manila in 1975. The Rumble in the Jungle remains a large cultural influence. Ali was a very endearing figure to the people of Zaire, and his mind games played out well, turning the native people in his favour and against Foreman. A popular chant of theirs, leading up to and
The Rumble in the Jungle forward, after the fifth round he looked increasingly worn out. Ali continued to taunt him by saying, "They told me you could punch, George!" and "They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis." According to Foreman: "I thought he was just one more knockout victim until, about the seventh round, I hit him hard to the jaw and he held me and whispered in my ear: 'That all you got, George?' I realized that this ain't what I thought it was." As the fight drew into the eighth round, Foreman's punching and defense became ineffective as the