Ali's Famous "Rumble in the Jungle™" Fight is Revisited at the Ali Center

Guests from 21 states and 6 countries gathered in View Pointe Hall at the Muhammad Ali Center Sunday, March 18 to experience a round-by-round replay of the famous “Rumble in the Jungle™” Ali vs. Foreman fight in Kinshasa, Zaire.

 The event, which was a fundraiser for the Center, featured special guests Muhammad and Lonnie Ali as well commentary by Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee.  Various perspectives on the fight were also given by Leon Gast, director and producer, whose Academy Award winning documentary “When We Were Kings” captured the cultural elements of the “Rumble in the Jungle™,” and Howard Bingham, Ali photographer, friend, and the Ali Center’s first Honorary Curator of Photography.  Ali Center board member John Ramsey was the emcee for the event.  Guests were also treated to a delicious “Knockout” brunch.

Adding even more excitement to the extraordinary event, George Foreman called in by phone to add his comments stating, “I know you are going to enjoy the fight.  I didn’t.”  LeRoy Neiman, artist and long-time friend of Ali, also joined in by phone to provide his artistic take on the historic event in Zaire.  Understandably, the guests were both captivated by Muhammad’s presence and incredibly moved by the once-in-a-lifetime experiences that replayed boxing history and some of the people who shaped it.