Mobutu Sese Seko Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families" (1998), wrote: Mobutu also was one of the men who was instrumental in bringing the "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman to Zaire on 30 October 1974. According to the documentary "When We Were Kings", promoter Don King promised each fighter US$5 million for the fight. Mobutu was the only one who was willing to fund such amounts. Mobutu, wanting to expand his country's image, put up the nation's money to do so. According to a quote in the film, Ali
Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes Athletic Committee, but it was not made public at that time. Based on the report, Ali was granted a boxing license in Nevada. Ali weighed in at 217½ pounds, his lightest weight since he defeated George Foreman on October 30, 1974. There were no knockdowns, but Holmes dominated the fight and was given every round by all three judges. Holmes won through a technical knockout after Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee stopped the fight after the tenth round. According to the "Telegraph": According to Ferdie Pacheco, Ali's former ring doctor, "All the people involved in this fight should've been arrested. This