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Ali, the Fight

Abbas documented the legendary 'Rumble in the Jungle' between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that took place in 1974

Abbas

Abbas | Ali, the Fight World Heavyweight Boxing Championship. Surrounded by his bodyguards, and the world press, President Mobutu Sese Seko receives Muhammad Ali in his palace. Kinshasa, Zaire. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight World Heavyweight Boxing Championship. Muhammad Ali fooling around. Kinshasa, Zaire. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Muhammad ALI during training. Kinshasa, Zaire. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Kinshasa, Zaire. Muhammad ALI in his training camp. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali and Foreman Boxing match. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Muhammad Ali during training. Kinshasa, Zaire. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight World Heavyweight Boxing Championship. Muhammad Ali about to be weighed before the start of the championship. Kinshasa, Zaire.1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Ali and Foreman Boxing match. An African-American spectator in a colorful suit. Kinshasa, Zaire.1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Ali, the Fight Ali and Foreman Boxing match. A journalist follows the fight through binoculars. Kinshasa, Zaire. 1974. © | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight World Heavyweight Boxing Championship. On the right ex world champion Joe Frazier. Kinshasa, Zaire. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Ali, the Fight Ali and Foreman Boxing World Title. Before the match, Muhammad Ali is hyped up by his famous cornerman Drew Bundini Brown. Kinshasa, Zaire. 1974. © | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Drew Bundini Brown. World Heavyweight Boxing Championship between American fighters Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Muhammad Ali, throwing a punch. Kinshasa, Zaire. October 30, 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Boxer Muhammad Ali avoids a punch by George Foreman during the World Heavyweight Championship. Ali won by K.O. Kinshasa, Zaire.1974.October 30th, 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight World Heavyweight Boxing Championship between American fighters Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The referee bends over Georges Foreman who has been knocked out by Muhammad Ali. Kinshasa, Zaire. Oc (...)
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Ali and Foreman Boxing matich. A crowd invades the ring after Muhammad Ali (center) knocked out George Foreman. Kinshasa, Zaire. October 30, 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Boxing promoter Don King, who arranged the fight. Kinshasa, Zaire. October 30th 1974. 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Muhammad Ali talking with the press in his dressing room, after the fight he won. On his right is his brother Rachaman.Kinshasa, Zaire. October 30, 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Abbas | Ali, the Fight Muhammad Ali during his fight versus George Foreman. Kinshasa sports stadium, Kinshasa, Zaire. October 30, 1974. © Abbas | Magnum Photos

The Rumble In The Jungle was one of the greatest sporting events of the 20th century. The heavyweight world championship fight took place on May 20, 1974, and saw the ‘unbeatable’ George Foreman go head-to-head with the older Muhammad Ali, and would go down in the records as was one of the biggest upsets in sporting history.

The fight took place in Kinshasa, Zaire after fledgling promoter Don King convinced the Zairian dictator Sese Mobutu that the fight would put his country on the map.

The match spawned the book The Fight by Norman Mailer and was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary. Furthermore, the fight between Ali and Foreman put Don King on his way to boxing promotion supremacy. The legendary match also served as an inspiration for billions of people around the world, with Ali becoming one of the most recognised people on the planet.

Abbas, while documenting Mobutu’s Zaire, followed Ali throughout his training in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and captured the fights defining moments.

The fight between Ali and Foreman also started Don King on his way to boxing promotion supremacy and served as an inspiration for billions of people around the world as Ali became the most recognised person on the planet.

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