George Foreman didn't want him to get into the fight", Foreman said when interviewed years later. This fight became known as the "Caracas Caper". Foreman had cruised past two of the top names in the rankings. The win gave him a 40–0 record with 37 knockouts. Foreman's next title defence, against Muhammad Ali, was historic. During the summer of 1974, he traveled to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) to defend his title against Ali. The bout was promoted as "The Rumble in the Jungle". During training in Zaire, Foreman suffered a cut above his eye, forcing postponement of the
Muhammad Ali This led to a rematch with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1974; Frazier had recently lost his title to George Foreman. Ali was strong in the early rounds of the fight, and staggered Frazier in the second round. Referee Tony Perez mistakenly thought he heard the bell ending the round and stepped between the two fighters as Ali was pressing his attack, giving Frazier time to recover. However, Frazier came on in the middle rounds, snapping Ali's head in round seven and driving him to the ropes at the end of round eight. The last four