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
George Foreman Joe Frazier and Ken Norton within two rounds. When Foreman and Ali finally met in the ring, Ali began more aggressively than expected, outscoring Foreman with superior punching speed. However, Ali quickly realized that this approach required him to move much more than Foreman and would cause him to tire. In the second round, Ali retreated to the ropes, shielding his head and hitting Foreman in the face at every opportunity. Foreman dug vicious body punches into Ali's sides; however, Foreman was unable to land many big punches to Ali's head. The ring ropes, being much looser than usual (Foreman