George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali | The Rumble In The Jungle | Talkin Fight

Name: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali | The Rumble In The Jungle | Talkin Fight
Uploaded: 2022-11-01T13:39:14+00:00

Transcribed:

Foreign [ Music ] good afternoon, I’m Lou Eisen boxing historian, and this is ring talk today today.

Two days ago, on Sunday October 30th was the 48th anniversary of one of the most historic fights in the entire 300 year history of modern boxing.

It’S when Muhammad Ali made the gods weep when he climbed the mountain of impossibility and made it probable and made it happen by defeating the reigning and undefeated monstrous, not monstrous monster like heavyweight champion of the world, a Man Who Thought who everyone thought would never be Beaten, George Foreman, by knocking on eight rounds inside here to reclaim the title.

It had been seven years since the criminal uh boxing Commissions in the United States and the sanctioning bodies, which were full of criminals and Mobsters, stole his title for refusing to enter the Vietnam draft and because of that and Ally, didn’t go to Canada.

He didn’t burn his draft card, he fought it legally in the United States and he was eventually um Vindicated when the Supreme Court ruled in his favor by nine, nothing score and and eight nothing score, I believe, and and Ali then uh.

They couldn’t give him his title back, so he had to come back and fight and he had his two fights he had had to fight with uh.

First fight back Jerry Corey stopped him in three knocked out Oscar bonavita 15.

Then he took on Joe Frazier now.

If he fought Frazier in the 60s, he would have beaten Frazier, I think rather easily, but Frazier probably would not have been ready.

Then he had to fight Frasier in the third fight back.

Angela Dundee didn’t want it.

He wanted Mohammed to have at least two most likely three more fights before he fought Frasier, but Ali was millions of dollars in debt to his lawyers and he needed the money.

So two and a half million had to take the fight made it close, outlanded Frazier but lost the fight and and uh he went on to try to get the title back and kept fighting and fighting and fighting lost to fight to Norton who broke his John.

The second round had a rematch beat Norton six months later and uh.

In that time, Joe Frazier was the world heavyweight champ, and he took on the 1968 Olympic champion, George Foreman, who is now the world heavyweight champ or who was going to be.

Excuse me for the title and Foreman was looked at as a big Underdog.

Three four to one Underdog.

No one gave him a chance to beat Joe Frazier.

He was too rough around the edges.

He he threw his punches around, but no one you know they weren’t.

It was in they were in denial, Frazier hadn’t really trained for the fight.

He took him too lightly, but he’s on a mission.

Foreman was six four 225 and he could – and let me put it this way.

You know you see guy.

I said this the other week.

You know you see guys sometimes that are so strong.

You look at your friend while watching him fight and see that guy could stop a charging rhino or that guy could stop a Buick or a Mack truck with a punch.

That was forming Foreman hit guys.

They went three feet in the air and came down and it’s Richard priorities to say: Foreman, didn’t just punch you out.

He punched you up and then you’d land and said Foreman Pryor’s great joke was you know, George Foreman come out and say tell me which onesie ever was a referee because I’m going to kill the other mofo.

So Frazier’s has this rain, that heavyweight champ, great Champion great person and he fights foreman and Foreman, takes him out in two rounds.

Drops him six times, Howard cosells there at ringside and Angela Dundee’s, the color commentator my surrogate father and you can hear Angela yelling stop the fight he’s going to kill him he’s going to kill him and Ali thought.

This would just be a routine defense for Frazier and now Frazier stranger loses now he’s got to climb this big gigantic Mountain Sonny, Liston number, two younger stronger than Liston and and uh, and a better boxer, so Ali had his work.

Cut out from a foreman was born on January 10th.

I believe, hey in in um, Houston 1949 grew up in the Fifth Ward, and this was a tough tough.

Fifth Ward was one of the toughest Diaries in the United States.

If not the world, you see various burials in Southern America which are supposed to be tough in crime rate, and this is what it was like.

Foreman was unusually tall for his age and a tough guy.

So he didn’t back down from anyone.

As he said when he was young, he was a thug.

He engaged in Petty thievery and uh.

I think he had a very low self-esteem and then Foreman, of course, uh one day he’s going to school and you know he sees people leave his house, so he leaves climbs in through the window on the side of the house.

I mentioned this several weeks ago and Foreman climbs in through the window goes back to bed, his sister catches him and says so, don’t and he’s sort of shocked.

Oh I got caught so she said.

Oh, don’t worry, George you’re a loser, I’m a loser! None of us will amount to anything anyway.

It doesn’t matter.

If you go to school, not upset him because he thought deep down, I’m not a loser, I’m a person of worth and he was watching TV.

He couldn’t read or write and he saw an advertisement for the Job Corps and he went and joined the Job Corps and he said I’m the product of a passionate America and he moved to Oregon where he met doc Broadus he was taking carpentry.

He learned to read and write it’s hard to explain this to people I’m 61.

So when I was five, my mother died and I moved around to different places.

My father had a nervous breakdown, so my sister and I had to move to different schools and so being five and then turning six and seven.

I you know I hadn’t learned to read or write yet so people were.

I just know my own name and someone mentioned in class.

It felt like living in a dark World.

All I want to do, which I did during the day was high, so and don’t go to school and that’s what foreign did, but when he got there, people took the time to teach him how to read, and he said, and I experienced the same thing learning: How to read is like going from a dark room into a bright room with a thousand lights and once he learned to read, he couldn’t stop he kept, and he still to this day, he can’t read: there’s not enough books in the world for George Foreman to Read he’s constantly devouring books, that’s what he does and brilliant man and they find out.

You know this.

If one person said you should pick on some in your own size, if you’re that strong, you want to fight, try boxing and he did and he was good at it and they entered him in amateur tournaments and he had a record of something like 16.

4, 20 and four, but this was 1966-67 and Todd.

Brodus said you know you should enter the Olympics, it’d be a great springboard and it’s interesting what happened in the 70s, because you have three straight Olympic Champions: Ali the light heavyweight gold medalist from the Roman Olympics.

In the 60, then you have the 60, the the the uh 64 Olympics in Tokyo with Joe Frazier, the heavyweight gold medalist and then the Mexican Olympics in 68, with the immortal uh, George, Foreman and uh.

As I mentioned uh recently The Watch – it’s I don’t mean to be demeaning when I say you have to laugh, but Foreman’s power was so overwhelmingly strong that he hit these guys in the Olympics.

These were not amateur fighters from Iron Curtain countries, russian-controlled countries, Soviet countries.

These guys were, in their 30s mid early to Middle 30s.

These were guys of 15 20 years experience, who’ve been trained well as Fighters, and they were using their science.

Their technique and format just walked in and first two three punches whack whack whack, you know breaks the guy’s nose knocks out 15 teeth.

You know, hits a guy in the eye fractures his orbital bone.

These guys are thinking what this doesn’t happen.

We we’re Soviet block Fighters, we always win and blood’s pouring out and he won a decision in the first fight and the other guy.

You see just annihilated the last one was uh, Johannes, zapulis and and uh he just bludgeoned him in the second round and the referee uh stopped the fight and zapulis was staggering.

The way Trevor Berwick was after the last knockdown for Mike Tyson.

He was just he didn’t know where he was, he was heavily concussed, so Foreman takes out the red flag or the American flag.

Always? If, because he wants people to know on me, I’m George Foreman, I’m from the United States – and he got booed for that – and you know former stuff for his own as all African-Americans do even today suffered tremendous uh racism, but he chose to overcome it.

It’S not that it didn’t affect him, but other athletes.

There.

You know uh Edwards and Carlos raised a Black Fist Tower salute, which was the right thing to do, to highlight the inequality of civil rights in the United States and Foreman got grief for that, but he ignored it.

He went on turn pro his first biggest win was over.

He won all his big fights, but his first big win was over was over uh George chavalo getting hit by Foreman as opposed to Frazier Foreman Frazier is like getting hit by a mid-sized car at 75.

Miles an hour former was like a Mack truck at 50.

Did Foreman hit me in the chin, the hair on my toe big toe hurt, so Foreman was annihilating people all the way up, and then he gets to fight Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica and I’ve said this before uh.

It was pay-per-view and sleeping in my bed.

In my apartment, my father wakes me up: wake up wake up what what? What’S going on the fight’s on what fight Foreman Frazier, it’s not on its pay-per-view.

You know you got to go.

Oh close! Soaker closed circuit, so I go in the living room.

Someone at a TV station here in Toronto had made a mistake and was watching it there and flipped a button, and the whole country saw it for free and I’m watching it.

I just couldn’t believe it and he knocked him down six times.

Uh last knock down.

He lifted Frazier up in the air.

It’S like watching a fire hydrant get pulled from the pavement.

First, you went up in the air.

Two three feet landed and then finally, Arthur mccanny stops to fight Frazier’s heavily concussed Foreman defends the title against um Joe King Roman, which was a blowout first couple rounds, and then he fights, Kenny, Norton and Norton was thought to have a good chance.

Norton’S the same size he’s got a Hercules like body he’s a very awkward fight fighter.

He fights in a crab defense and Eddie trained him and Norton’s very strong and don’t forget he beat Natalie.

He broken his jaw lost a second fight to rematch, but against Foreman people.

Everyone thought Norton had a good chance.

The Norton’s strategy was to use Foreman’s momentum against the performance.

It’S going to come right out and try to kill me like he does everyone else.

So I’m going to keep moving back, keep moving back shoot my jab in his face.

My jab will blind him.

Then I’ll come over with a right hand and hurt him, and as he does, he shoots the jab a couple times hits form and forming keeps coming forward.

Foreman, who may have had the best jab of all time in boxing history, hits him with a jab and Norton’s eyes.

Roll hits him with another jab and then comes over with the crushing right hand down both Gardens.

He gets up, but he never recovers from the first knockdown and Foreman’s pounding him and Norman goes down again makes the round comes out.

The next round goes down, gets up and then formally you know, hits some two three four times in a final left hook and Norton’s out, I mean he’s on the ground.

He staggers up the ropes at the count of nine and then his corner just throws the talent and they stop it, because Foreman would have killed him if the fight went on literally and so Ali’s watching this at home.

With his friend Howard Bingham – and you know he just he said well, you know wow.

What are you gon na? Do I mean Bingham was watching it.

Excuse me.

Ali was at the fight uh.

What I meant was the first Frazier fight when he watched Frazier lose to foreman and Howard Bingham.

The photographer Alley’s best friend said.

The only thing Frazier is the champion.

Now of is falling down, so Ali is there a ringside Yellen come on, can come on, beat him, do this and Norton couldn’t do it, and so, after Colonel Bob Sheraton said to him? How does that happen? How does Norton Go the Distance with you in two fights, gives you two tough fights and Norton takes him out or Foreman takes them on two rounds and it’s easy and Ali was smart.

He said: listen, I’m not a big puncher, I’m not a strong guy, although Ali had almost 40 Knockouts and like 56 fights so or 61 fights so Ali could punch, but it was an accumulation of punches where it’s forming.

It was just one shot that would take you out, so he said to him.

You know I thought guys like, like George chevalo Cleveland Williams.

You know Ernie Terrell listened that were much stronger than me, but I beat him on science.

I out thought them.

I was able to move and use my speed, my footwork ring technique and that’s how I beat Foreman because Foreman just comes out like the mummy and just whomp throws punches around and he said Foreman’s never had to go more than two or three rounds.

I want to see what happens if he has to go to distance, because I believe his parachute won’t open.

He said: Foreman’s mentality is I’ll, kill him right now and if you can’t, what’s he gon na do and we don’t know what he’s gon na do because he’s never been put in that situation.

So Ally, you know, is ready to fight foreman and the fight’s going to be October.

I think 24th or September 24th 25th in Zaire, which was through Congo, uh Democratic Republic, anxiety or Democratic Republic of the Congo, taken over by the dictator, uh Mobutu and Mobutu.

What he did was uh government mailer told me on the set of Cinderella, Man that when you were there at the stadium on the day of the fight the grass there was, you could see the green grass, but there was blood like it was all this red Liquid, he said it was blood.

He said what mabutu did was there were jail cells under the stadium and he’d, taken thousands of criminals, and he didn’t want when the North American Press was there for press members or tourists to be robbed.

You know pickpocketed and stabbed so he just murdered all the criminals.

He just took all these people who had criminal records, thousands of them and just killed them that was Mobutu and the fight’s supposed to be September and during the fight one of Foreman’s um and his boss, man Jones one of his sparring partners, uh caught Foreman in The eyelid, with an elbow and opened up like a three or four inch, cut Stitch.

It wasn’t that big, a cut wasn’t that deep, but it was still a cut that we got depressed, but you know Ali.

He only got depressed for a couple days and then he thought you know no.

This is good.

This gives me an extra four or five weeks and while Foreman’s resting, so it’s cut, isn’t uh doesn’t get reopened, I’ll, be out running and Ali looked at it as sort of a marathon.

You know I’m running a marathon against him.

Oh he sprained his ankle.

He’S got to sit down for a bit, I’m gon na keep running, I’m not gon na stop and let him catch up so Ali kept training and kept training.

The people in Zaire loved him.

He he would meet with the people.

He would train.

He would jog with them and they started to yell all along the way Ali boomaye, which meant Ali, kill him in the sporting sense, not really literally kill him.

It’S been a lot of myths.

George Foreman uh wasn’t as disliked there.

As people said he was um.

He had a German Shepherd dog there and they said well that alienated desire in people because they used to be uh.

A colonial state of of uh, Dutch colonial state and the Dutch used German Shepherds to keep them at Bay, but which was true, but they didn’t dislike George or his dog.

That simply isn’t true.

That’S just all hyperbole that was made up.

Um, George, you know was not, it was basically it wasn’t that he was unfriendly.

He was the champ and he realized a lot goes with it.

So since my time in my life to make my mark in my life and make my money, I have to focus so even with the cut he still has to do his running, he still has to do jogging.

He still has he.

He still has to to get up every day and do his calisthenics.

He wanted to leave Zaire until the fight and then go that’s what was said and go to Paris or go to some other country, a Western Country where he could get normal food and not worry about the water.

But he didn’t do that.

They wouldn’t let him out of the country and that really upset him.

So I don’t know if that’s true or not, because you know they both got there a good month and a half a couple months before the fight, so they could acclimatized to the zairian climate.

And why would you want to leave at that point? Foreman definitely was not comfortable in its surroundings.

Uh.

He was more familiar at home in Houston, Texas, but it didn’t mean he wanted to leave or that he was afraid of athlete.

That’S OBS former, wasn’t afraid of anyone still isn’t and Foreman was a very good fighter.

So Ali’s training and training – and you know back then a lot of training camps.

You had spies in the other camp and and people knew where they were.

You had a Spartan partners with changing camps.

All the time and some inspiring Partners went to Ali and said you know you better watch out for George he’s got a an anywhere punch and the anywhere punches.

He lands it.

He throws it, it lands anywhere and wherever it lands, it does damage and Ali just was watching film of him and Ali’s people kept telling him how bad former was, how amateur she was, and Ali just thought.

You know the guy comes in.

He throws winging wide punches out the door.

Anyone who does that to me can’t win it’s not possible, I’m throwing straight punches.

You can’t Telegraph your punches against Muhammad Ali and expect to beat me it just isn’t in the rambled possibility and so before the fight.

He spoke with George Cheval, who fought for him and she followed stopped in three rounds.

He was still up against the ropes.

He was still punching back, but the referee stopped it and he asked shivado.

What do you think and he said well I’ll, tell you something Muhammad, because George Shabbat were very close, very, very close and and uh and George still misses him terribly to this day.

He said you know, George comes out, George Foreman comes out and tries to kill you every second of every round and I’m there on the ropes and I’m catching a lot of the shots some are getting through.

But I’m thinking if the fight had gone.

Three.

Four five more rounds he’s not going to have much left.

If you can do that, if you can withstand that and get him to expend his energy, you can take him in the later routes, and Ali would do this in training.

Camp Ellie never believed in beating up on sparring partners, some guys, like Dempsey, you know performing with destroyed his firing Partners, but Ali’s training camps are very controlled, so Angela Dundee would say this is what we’re going to do today at Muhammad we’re going to work on You slipping a jab, moving to your right and then throwing the straight right over the other guy’s low, left, jab and – and they would do that and it wasn’t just getting in the ring and trying to beat the hell out of each other foreign.

They would do that and then Ali would you know later on in the sessions, would lie against the ropes and like this and and practice punching shots.

You know to conserve energy Ally later told his doctor Freddie Pacheco.

He thought it was toughening up his body organs, but Pacheco said it doesn’t work that way: you’re thinking of a guitar player here against calluses on his fingers and then can play the guitar without pain.

He said you can’t get calluses on your kidneys or liver or organs or other or lungs.

You just get damaged.

So it’s better.

You don’t do that, but Atlee wasn’t going to listen and you know: Ali had a storied career he’d come from the Olympics uh.

He beat listen, he was a seven to one underdog.

You know, 100 Sports writers are interviewed on TV.

You can get the tape on YouTube and uh 98 of the 100.

You know listen the first time he hits him listed in one round, uh Ali, this young kid Cassius Clay has talent.

I give him two rounds list and we’ll knock him out.

Only two guys.

You know one British guy, one guy from New York.

I think herb cups, and that said that you know, uh listens, fought three rounds in the last three years.

One round each fight he hasn’t trained for this fight.

The longer Cassius Clay makes it Go, the more listen will tire and that’s exactly what happened and and of course, uh.

Clay ends up.

Uh listing quits clay wins the title changes his name to Muhammad Ali and then beats him in the rematch and then keeps fighting.

Won’T go to the Vietnam War.

You know none of them ever called me in the n-word.

None of them prevented me from drinking from a white water.

Fountain, no reason for me to go there.

99 of all, the troops 90 of the troops on the front line.

Troops who are cannon fodder, are African Americans and, if you’re going to draft me, how come you’re, not drafting Tom, Seaver or Pete Rose or any of these other guys.

But you drafted me and they drafted Muhammad, because Muhammad was the head of the Civil Rights Movement at that time did de facto had of that movement and also of the youth movement, and he was just charismatic young figure that had all people, regardless of race, Tweeter Cutler, believing that you know he was right and he was right, there’s no reason to go to war.

We don’t have to kill these people, and the war is based on the obsolete domino theory that if one Asian country goes um communist, they all will and of course, the most ironic thing.

If you’re going to take anything away from this uh podcast is, after the second world war, Ho Chi Minh of North Vietnam.

Vietnam goes to United States state department and says I want to be in the American sphere of influence, but people didn’t know who he was so some idiot says to his boss.

Just a Chinese waiter introduces them and said we’re controlled by the French.

Get us out of the French we’ll be an ally of the United States and the United States, so we couldn’t care less get lost, so then he goes over to Russia.

They always take that a chance to take Vietnam and bring it into its own sphere of influence.

There never would have been the war had that so Ally doesn’t want to get involved in that, and so all these boxing commissions, who who New York State boxing commission and sanctioning bodies wbawbc who, who employ convicted pedophiles, convicted murderers, convicted rapists.

They all judge Ali who’s.

Never even got a speeding ticket doesn’t smoke or drink who a God-fearing man and they take his title away.

But you can only take the title away in a ring and there was that famous thing in in Esquire magazine where they have the 30 people, Norman mailer.

The great actor James, Earl Jones, George Plimpton, all these famous people, pointing to the camera and saying, if you don’t believe Muhammad Ali is the heavyweight champion in the world then get in a ring with him.

So Ali fights it through the courts, he wins gets a license back to fight in Atlanta.

He goes and he beats Jerry Corey.

Then he then he beats uh Oscar bonavina, who other people couldn’t stop and he beats him in 15 rounds and then he fights Frazier and he loses.

And then he has more fights and he’s doing well and um hey great to see you scrapbook too and I’m doing fine.

I hope you’re doing well uh and I hope you comment, I hope, you’re commenting on these things.

Please comment, and so what happens? Is Ali uh doing well? He has some setbacks right.

He loses to Kenny Norton breaks his job, but then he comes back and he he keeps winning beats Norton.

The second time sets him up for a rematch.

Frazier had lost a foreman and now they’re going to fight in Zaire and the way the fight came off was very interesting because Don King wanted to do the fight and Don King who, who was a bombster from the Cleveland Mafia uh here to Cleveland mob behind Him, in fact, if you want to watch the fight with with um uh, Ernie, Terrell and Ali on YouTube and then there’s a flight earlier, I think it’s the Cleveland Williams fight where, after the fight you see, you see um it’s a black and white film and There’S Ali beside him as a young George, chevalo, who’s, doing color, commentating and then behind them is Joe, is Don King, but his hair wasn’t up then, and King had gone to jail twice for murder and how did he get out of it? The mob the mob got him out, and so King has said to foreman and Natalie I’ll I’ll, get you five million each.

He didn’t have five million each.

He didn’t have five million to give them.

So he signed a promissory note with both Fighters.

They got their them to sign it, and then he went he looked around for to get the money and he went to mabutu who’s.

A corrupt dictator who’s who raided his country’s coffers and stole money from everyone murdered.

Hundreds of thousands of people – and he said I’ll – put the fight on the show African Pride.

It bankrupted the country which was pretty well bankrupt to begin with and uh people thought this is crazy.

You know people would say to George Foreman: listen, you can beat Ali, but he’s done so much for us and so much for black people and all people don’t kill him.

Just beat him and I’m foreign okay, I’m not going to kill him I’ll.

Just knock him out, I won’t kill him and they had this press conference in New York and it was an interesting press conference because and everyone’s talking, so Angela Dundee’s there in the middle, he can hear George Foreman said something to him.

Foreman said something to him.

Like hey, how you doing or or what’s what’s going on and and and but Angel didn’t hear it so he says to Gene Kilroy, Muhammad’s manager.

What did he say? He said you’re a dumb and then and and Angela turns to Foreman you big, ignorant son of a I’m, not afraid of you he’s screaming at him and George is saying Angela: what’s what’s your problem? Why would you call me about me? I did it.

I just said how you do an edge and of course it was a joke played on him by Gilroy and Angela thought.

Oh man, I could have just got myself killed.

What did I get into, but during this during this press conference, people are all looking and the sports writers are worried, and I always said I know what you’re all thinking you’re all looking at me thinking, George Foreman’s gon na kill me you’re thinking.

This is the end of Muhammad Ali, but he said you guys don’t understand something.

There’S a there there’s a fatal flaw in your logic.

He said black people are not afraid of black people.

The way white people are afraid of black people.

He said to you, white people, George Foreman, some big, bad ugly monster that walked through the forest, killing dragons and knocking down trees with a single punch.

He said to a bad guy, like me, he’s just another guy from the ghetto he said, I’m physically as big as him.

I have the same weight, you know reach and everything.

There’S no reason I should be afraid of him, except the formula was a lot younger and so, while they’re having a press conference Angelo piped up and Muhammad’s got the experience, Muhammad’s already fought, listen and Don King made the mistake looking over and saying, shut up, Angie And Muhammad was infuriated, look at him said.

Don’T you ever say that? Will you ever talk to Angelo Dundee that you’re not running things here? You think you’re running things here, you’re, no one, I’m running things the world doesn’t care about you.

They only care about me.

I’M the one running the whole production.

Don’T you ever talk to Angela way, and this was in front of everyone, and it was one of the few times Don King with chastised in public, and so they make the fight and they go into training and during training.

You know Muhammad’s talking to all these people, that new foreman and inspired with foreman and they’re all saying Foreman does this and Foreman does that, and he knows what he’s doing and Foreman’s Camp is to sing this and Muhammad’s old he’s he’s 32.

He doesn’t have it anymore, we’ll just trap him on the ropes and beat the hell out of them and in fact, before denied of the fight they all prayed and formed the dressing room for about half an hour, not for victory that they wouldn’t take the life Of Muhammad Ali they didn’t want, we want to win, but we don’t, please, God, don’t let Muhammad Ali end up in critical condition or die, because that would be a Monumental tragedy, so they’re getting ready and the in the dressing rooms – and you know Muhammad Muhammad – has His hands taped and I’m watching I’m there make believe Gardens of my dad and my dad all the way there going saying.

Well, I pray for Muhammad and keeps we always had this argument.

Joe Lewis was the greatest of all time and I said Muhammad’s the greatest of all time and we may have switched because I still think now.

My father after the fight said you’re right Ali is the greatest of all time and then now at my age.

I think maybe Joe Lewis really was the greatest of all time hard to find anyone better and because no one in the history of boxing could punch like Joe Lewis, or put punches together so Ali.

It’S in the dressing room and he’s looking at his Corner.

Man and bundini, and all of them and they’re all his whole Entourage.

They’Re all you know sad, looks in their face and goes hey.

What’S wrong with everyone.

You look like you’re going to a funeral.

Don’T you know this is just another day in the magical life of Muhammad Ali.

God would not have put us here if he didn’t think we would win.

I wouldn’t be fighting this man.

If I didn’t think I could beat him, I’m not going to sign up to fight a Sherman tank, because I can’t beat a Sherman tank, but this man is Mortal.

I can beat him any man that punches around could not beat me.

I can’t beat him on strength, but I can beat him on science and technique and I will do that and so they walk out and the 20th of May stadium and Muhammad comes out and gets in the ring and the audience.

Sixty thousand people, you know Ali bomaye and Ali’s waving his hand waving them on, come on, keep saying it keep saying it and farmer kept him waiting for 30 minutes 35 minutes and Dundee.

So don’t worry about that.

He goes.

I don’t care, I I’m.

This is my audience now.

This is my ring and Ali’s getting used to the ring he’s getting you.

It’S a lumpy ring.

It’S a soft canvas, slow canvas, so he’s getting used to it, he’s finding out the different parts of the Ring where he can stand where he shouldn’t stand and Foreman comes running out in the burst and he gets into the ring and they get to the center Of the ring and former gives him that mean walking the sweats coming off from his brown alley says now I got you sucker because you followed me off through high school all through High School.

You watch me and you envy me and you admire me and now you got ta fight me and Foreman told me is later that he almost laughed.

It was the only time he almost broke that because he thought he wanted to say to Ali which he did after he said Muhammad.

I never went to high school.

What are you talking about? I was too busy being a thug.

When did I go to high school, so the referee Zach Clayton gives them the instructions and before the fight Ali had called um Tyson’s trainer Custom Auto – and you know this is 74.

So at this point Tyson’s eight years old, so he called customado and he said what would you do and he said well, you know farming beats most guys before they get in the ring out of fear, but his defense is not great.

He doesn’t have to have a good defense because he has really no expectation of someone trying to hit him back.

So he said to Muhammad I’d, come right out and hit him with a straight right hand.

That’S an important fact in this fight because the straight right hand you know, like that, you throw across your body, it’s a sucker punch because you you’re telegraphing it from this far away, and then you throw it and you’re saying to the other guy I had such Lack of respect for your boxing abilities that I can.

I can Telegraph this punch and still line it, because I know you don’t have the ability or the intelligence to block it and that’s what Ali did and that was a hard shot and Foreman was stunned and Ali landed a couple more and then he moved back And he was dancing all around the ring and then he would stop and land some more inform and Ali was much quicker than former was.

But then former would trap him on the ropes and let his hands go and hit Ali in the flanks.

Ali’S flanks were terribly red, pound them on the arms and those punches hurt Ali block most of the head shots he caught a couple and after the first round you know when the when first round ended, you know Ali went to his corner and the thing is You know Angela Dundee had a rule only one guy talks to the fighter, because a fighter can’t pick up that many voices, because you know he’s sitting here staring at form and phone staring at him farm and Scott archumar and Dick Sadler talking to him.

He can’t really take it all in and Muhammad’s looking at this monster that he’s thinking to himself.

You know people lied to me.

They weren’t, you know they didn’t know they weren’t telling the truth form is so much better than everyone said.

He was Houston’s, not a walk, a walking Slugger a thug in the ring.

He knows how to cut the ring off he’s very smart in the ring and he said I’m taking eight steps to every two he takes.

I can’t do that because in six rounds my legs are gone.

He could just sneeze on me and I’ll be out cold, so I got ta make him expand his energy, that’s what I have to do and he did what he did in training camp.

He went to the ropes covered up lean back and let farmer punch himself out and former kept hitting him and you could hear Angelo in the second third fourth round Ali get off the robes and you knew what Angela was worried because he always called him.

The big guy, when he called him Ali, he was really worried and get off the road tally, get off the ropes and finally, after the second and third round alley comes to the corner and said shut up.

I know what I’m doing you know I I can’t.

I can’t dance, you know it’s too hot, too human he’s too good at cutting the ring off.

I got ta make him waste his energy and the best way to do that is to let him punch himself out, I’m catching all those shots and he did but the shots hurt.

He pounded Muhammad’s arms and his hips and his shoulders.

Muhammad’S arms hurt, but he took him and there was a time.

Third fourth round you’ll see her fifth round where performance throwing shots and Muhammad’s moving his head.

He ducks and one time he ducks, and so he comes out for him and hits him with the left hand, which usually would have taken anyone out, but Foreman, even at this point in the fourth or fifth round was so tired.

He didn’t have his Steam on it, and so, while this is going on, Muhammad’s grabbing George and clenching him and then leaning on his neck and and pushing it down, and that takes a lot out of a fighter and and also hurts his mobility and Foreman’s got To support Muhammad’s whole weight referee keeps breaking it up, saying Muhammad, don’t lean on his neck, but he still doesn’t so this is continuing to go on and when he clenches him, he says George.

This is the fourth round 11 more to go.

33 more minutes.

You understand that 10, one minute, intermissions, 43, 45, 50 minutes before it’s over.

You understand that and there’s he and you’re punching like a little girl.

My daughter, my daughter, punches better than you.

That’S all you got you’re supposed to be this big, puncher and Foreman.

Leans back hits him with a vicious left hook to deliver, which hurt and Ali said.

That’S it.

That’S the left hook, that’s supposed to scare me and other heavyweights.

They lied to me about you, George.

You can’t punch, you punch like a informant stopped, throwing the punch which you shouldn’t have done and, and he just kept punching himself out and the interesting thing when you speak to Foreman.

After years later, he said looking back in retrospect, what he should have done was when Ali went to the ropes.

He should have just stood his ground and sent a ring and said: listen, I’m the champ.

I got the belt around my waist.

You wan na you attacked me if you’re not gon na attack.

Me then I’ll just stand here.

You know, don’t call it a no decision, you don’t win, you got to come after me and in a way Ali was coming after I mean this wasn’t doing a direct frontal assault because that was that would have been suicidal.

He had to find a way to beat form in another way and Foreman.

You know his coroner kept saying you’re doing well you’re doing well, because the pre-fight strategy was get him on the ropes and pound them, and you can’t say dick Sadler Archie, Moore Moore, who was the greatest knockout artist in the history of boxing and the greatest light Heavily champion of all times, one of the greatest fighters ever to have lived.

You can’t say his information, or his advice to George is wrong, because there was a variable which was Ali, no one expected Ali to take that kind of abuse and still survive, because no other fighter in George’s life had ever done that no one could take.

That kind of punishment from a guy like George and survive – and I even Ali – had his limits and he just kept pounding him and pounding him and Ali kept soaking it up, and you know it’s 110 115 degrees.

Tremendous humidity Foreman is pouring off sweat and he’s he’s breathing hard and they said formula wasn’t a shape.

Former wasn’t shape, but he punched himself out and it was like the Hearns fight with uh with Hagler, where her and said after the fight.

I fought 15 rounds in in nine minutes.

You know I I expended too much energy and that’s what former was doing.

It was so intent to kill Ali that he thought you know that he was going to do that and uh Richard Hutchinson says: Crawford versus uh events and Keith uh Keith or suspense Lopez, harlemen Harlem version.

Yes, these are all good fights.

Coming up, you’re right, great fights, coming up, um, so Ally is strategy, is working he’s becoming um.

Thank you.

Scrapbook uh he’s becoming very, very tired and Foreman’s, not altering a strategy, but at that point you can’t you’re committed to it and why would form an algebra strategy everyone’s Fallen before him? You know it it.

It makes no sense.

You could look at any sport.

You know: Ted Williams was a great belt High fastball hitter 521 career home runs.

Why would he change that after you know, after hitting that many home runs, would make no sense? So why would Foreman change his style? That’S what’s formed in style.

It wasn’t until forming took 10 years off and not because he found religion, but because he he had signed a gunpoint, uh personal services, contract to Don King and when it expired, then he came back because he could keep the money he made and that he was So much smarter when he came back, he had all this wisdom and it took him 20 years to get over losing to Ali and finally, after 20 years he wakes up in bed and says I lost him.

It’S all right.

No, it’s not the end of the world and fifth round sixth round seventh round.

You know Foreman’s punching himself out Natalie’s, really hitting him back a couple times.

It looks like Foreman’s gon na go down.

There was one time earlier in a fight where Department had some trapped in the far corner and the bell ring and they’re staring each other as he steps to a side push his form in the back form of those face.

First into the turnbuckle and as I said, there was a point where former misses a punch and he always goes out with the ring, and so after the seventh round he said to Angela Dundee mom says I think he’s done.

I think he’s finished.

He doesn’t have anything left and Angelo grabs his face and says: look at me now then get him out don’t play with this sucker get him out now.

Let’S go home, take him out now and Muhammad gets up the next round and and Richardson.

I’M not sure how you say: Avan essien um, I will find out for you um anyways.

So that’s not pertinent to what we’re talking about now, though, but thank you.

That’S that will be a great fight and he’s not a bomb he’s a good fighter and he will give Crawford a very good fight, but I want to see tank Garcia.

I want to see tank.

Excuse me versus Garcia, so here’s the thing.

So it goes out for the eighth round and Foreman comes out and Foreman keeps throwing these wide punches and Ali did the move that he did when he knocked listing out the first time and that he did when he dropped Carl mildenberger.

This was the typical alley.

Move slip slide, bang it was designed by Angelo Dundee Foreman’s, throwing these punches.

Farming throws jab Ally slips to his right, creates the angle overhand right right on Foreman’s side of his head.

Foreman’S wobbled Ali hits him a left right left right, left and foreign wobbles in the air for a second.

Now he was going to hit him again and he had performance said he didn’t want to ruin the aesthetic of the moment so Atlee held back Ali didn’t want to ruin the aesthetic.

At the moment.

I just think you know former was moving back and forth as he was wobbling Ali didn’t want to do it again, didn’t think he needed to and former went down and I’m watching this and I’m screaming I’m up in my chair my father’s going to sit down Son and I’m going, I can’t believe it, he did it, he did it, he did it.

He said he would do it all all.

Last two: three months of high school, I kept saying to people he’s gon na knock him out he’s going to knock him out in the eighth round.

You’Re crazy, Lou you’re, an idiot there’s, no way you can perform at night.

So you don’t understand Hadley’s, not a liar.

If Ali didn’t think he can beat him, he wouldn’t fight him.

At least already said.

I can’t beat a Sherman tank.

I can’t fight 35 Marines at one time, but I can beat George Foreman and and Ali wouldn’t fight him if he didn’t think he could beat him, and so Foreman goes down and Zach Clayton uh, who was the referee for the Patterson Cheval fight he’d, been around Since the 50s starts counting one two, three and Foreman’s lying on his back looking at his Corner, that’s what you’re told to do.

Look at your corner.

Your corner tells you when to get up.

He said his Corner was so frantic, but this wasn’t expected.

This wasn’t supposed to happen, and so it was almost like a Salvador Valley.

Painting of you know, stopwatches melting, I mean it seems so out of the real.

It seems surreal and Foreman’s down in the referee’s counting, and I thought farming made it up, but Zach Clayton said 10.

and it was over and Ali had won and I couldn’t believe it and the whole 60 000 seat Arenas exploded.

Now I was in Maple Leaf Gardens that night watching an enclosed circuit with my father and there was 18 000 people and there was a brief moment of silence brief moment and then everyone went nuts and everyone was crying.

I love you Ali and thank you God.

I love you Ali and and everyone in the in Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

A world away from Xavier was going Ali Ali, and I was so you know I I it happened so quickly.

I said what happened, what happened and my father said he won.

He did it son, he did what you said he was going to do.

He did what he promised you.

He came back, he won the title.

He had climbed the mountain.

He had done what everyone said.

He could not do.

He destroyed he’d come back and he had beaten this big bad ugly monster.

You know, 10 years to the day after you’ve destroyed uh uh Sunny list and he come back climb the climb, the tallest highest most impenetrable of mountains and made to God that’s weak.

He took its crown back that belonged to him and became the second man ever only to win the heavyweight title two times and on in the dressing room.

He walks back to the dressing room.

He hangs a moon, you know pulled this to understanding, but when he’s sitting there he’s talking and David Frost is interviewing him, and he says I’ve told you all you, people that write in the Ring magazine and all you.

People are right into boxing Illustrated crawl crawl.

On your ground fall on the ground crawl on your knees, I’m the greatest of all time, I’m the greatest thing that ever lives.

I told you, I’d, never be beat.

No one could ever beat me.

You’Ll never beat me again.

Maybe when I’m 50 you’ll get me, but don’t count on me, and that was Muhammad millions of people watching all over the world.

The world United as one as one happy moment where everyone, United as the same person at one time and everyone singularly happy.

And that moment was repeated 20 years later, when George farmer knocked up Michael Moore, because Foreman somehow came back, beat the odds won the title again Undisputed champion and the whole world fell in love with Foreman.

They fell in love with him before that Ali and Foreman ended up being friends and and uh Ali, never personally disliked anyone.

He thought perhaps maybe Ernie Terrell for for refusing to call him Muhammad Ali, but it was a historic night.

No one thought it was at all in any way possible.

I think it was it was for for Muhammad.

He said it was the most satisfying of all its victories.

He said the best for the fans was the third Frazier fight, but the one over Foreman.

You know the next day he’s standing at the river and he’s holding his Cane, that Mobutu had given him and all these great Sports writers, Norma mailer were there and George Plimpton Jerry Eisenberg, all of them, and he looked at them and said: you’ll, never know.

If you live for a thousand years, you’ll never know what this moment means to me.

After everything, he’d gone through having his title, stolen being a pariah in his own country being called the worst names all the racism he had to go through, you know being broke not being allowed to work not being allowed to leave the United States having the government.

Take his passport because he wouldn’t go to Vietnam to come back through all of this and win the Undisputed world heavyweight title in convincing fashion by knockout.

They couldn’t take it away from them and they never will in a thousand years from now.

We’Ll still be talking about Muhammad Ali, the single greatest athlete ever in the history, to walk the face of this Earth.

My name is Lou Eisen.

This has been ring talk, I hope you’ve enjoyed it and you guys uh are great.

Thank you.

So much for for texting in, I see all your um all your all.

Your great text, oh by the way, uh Eddie Barrington, is kind enough to say for pronounced.

Man’S name is Eva Nissan, okay, even Asian.

Thank you Eddie.

I appreciate that.

That’S very kind of you, so Crawford’s fighting ivanishin.

That would be a great fight.

Ivanishin could fight, but there’s a lot of great fights coming up.

Please support boxing uh there’s so many wonderful fights coming up, it’s the greatest of all sports.

You know why not because it gives a man a chance to be as good as his opponent, because it gives him a chance to be better and no one proved that more than Muhammad Ali, I’m Lou Eisen.

This is ring.

Talk, thank you for watching.

We will see you again next week take care bye-bye

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