HBO World Championship Boxing influx of streaming options and issues with promoters, along with declining ratings and loss of interest in the sport among HBO's subscribers, made continued carriage of the sport untenable. HBO's long-term move to upscale dramatic programming and an ownership transfer to AT&T's WarnerMedia also played a role in the decision, with an HBO executive commenting that "HBO is not a sports network." Famous matches broadcast on "World Championship Boxing" include: The Rumble in the Jungle, in which Muhammad Ali regained the world heavyweight title from George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire in 1974; Thrilla in Manila, the final encounter between Muhammad
Muhammad Ali had too much to drink. Ali biographer Thomas Hauser, who was present, recalled that for the next 10 minutes Larry Holmes positioned himself between Ali and Frazier, preventing Frazier from reaching Ali. George Foreman then took over and acted as Ali's shield for the next 10 minutes. Throughout this incident, Ali remained oblivious to what was going on. In his 1996 autobiography "Smokin' Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of the World", in which he always refers to Ali as Cassius Clay, Frazier wrote: Commenting on Ali lighting the Olympic flame in 1996, Frazier stated that it would have