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On October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa (capital of former Zaire, current DRC), was held the boxing fight of all superlatives between the world heavyweight champion George Foreman and the icon Mohamed Ali. In Aubervilliers, at the Boxing Beats club, the exhibition "The Rumble in the Jungle" tells this extraordinary confrontation. And 45 years later, the magic always works.
From our special correspondent in Aubervilliers,
It has been called " The Fight of the Century ", a nickname already used before and often taken since. For Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997, it was " a gift to the Zairean people and an honor for the black man ". Don King, sulphurous businessman with a heavy past and craftsman of the event, found him the ideal title, the one that remains in the memories and crosses the generations: " The Rumble in the Jungle ", in other words in French " The fight in the jungle " .
On October 30, 1974, at the Stade du 20 mai (current Tata Raphaël stadium) on the banks of the Congo River, one of the most legendary boxing matches took place. American George Foreman, holder of the WBA and WBC World Champion belts for a year and a half and his violent victory against Joe Frazier, faced Zaire in his compatriot Mohamed Ali . This is the story of this fight that retraces the exhibition simply titled "The Rumble in the Jungle" in the room Boxing Beats Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis), north of Paris.
An African and American myth
" This fight is more than a fight. Across the African continent, and particularly in the DRC, he left a trace. It has become a myth ", summarizes Bruno Scaramuzzino, founder and director of the B'ZZ label who set up the exhibition. Lover of Africa - he counts a hundred trips on the continent -, the gallerist is invested to give birth to this tribute to the fight which saw Mohamed Ali, stripped of its titles in 1967 after its refusal of incorporation for the Vietnam War , back on the throne in such an exceptional environment.
And Bruno Scaramuzzino assures: the Boxing Beats room in Aubervilliers is the perfect place. " It's a historic hall in the suburbs. It's good, as a place, to present an exhibition on Mohamed Ali and his fights. It gives extra meaning, "he explains. And Said Bennajem, the man at the head of Boxing Beats, is " very proud " to see his room filled with all these memories of Kinshasa 1974.
" Ali really represents boxing. I am very happy that Bruno decided to do his exhibition here. It is in the sense: it is a beautiful room, there is a giant portrait of Mohamed Ali drawn on the walls, there is the history of the great champions displayed on the walls ... It is a great pride », Says the man who has coached Sarah Ourahamoune, world champion and many times titled, including a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics.
" A boxing table showing a knockout of Mohamed Ali has another meaning here, in Aubervilliers, than in the great places of Paris. (...) This is the future of the gallerist business. We could have done this exhibition in a traditional gallery, with large white walls, a glass of champagne, a Thursday evening avenue Matignon ... But I think it makes more sense here, "adds Bruno Scaramuzzino.
New treasures to discover
The story of this Foreman-Ali (Foreman being then reigning world champion, the custom is that his name is mentioned first) is 45 years old now, but it does not fade. The disappearance of "The Greatest" in June 2016 does not alter it. On the contrary, decades later, unpublished relics resurged in the exhibition "The Rumble in the Jungle". This is the result of the work of Bruno Scaramuzzino, who for example found the track of Francis Matton.
Today, an octogenarian, the photographer has lived in Kinshasa and documented the life of the capital for more than 40 years. Thus, Francis Matton covered the events of 1974, and photos never published so far are to discover Aubervilliers: Ali and Foreman among the Kinois, Ali defying Foreman in the ring, Ali posing next to James Brown, one of the guests of Festival Zaire 1974 ...
At Boxing Beats, we can see photos, paintings, sculptures, videos, comic books ... Many works produced by African artists - names ... - and which are in line with what was " The Rumble in the Jungle "in the mid-1970s. It was more than just a boxing world championship. It was the arrival of the icon Ali on the land of his ancestors, where he was welcomed as a hero of the struggle for the rights of African Americans. It was the work of Mobutu, eager to restore his image and show the world a strong Zaire. It was Don King's sport-business, with millions of dollars (sums never before seen in boxing).
" It was a major sporting, artistic, cultural and political event, around a guy out of the ordinary. (...) All this created an aura around this moment, an aura that has developed, that memory has transformed. That's how myths are built , "says Bruno Scaramuzzino.
" It's a must to remember what Ali and Foreman left us "
Saïd Bennajem was still a child when George Foreman and Mohamed Ali faced each other on the night of Kinshasa. Their confrontation, he knows of course. Whoever loves boxing has heard about Rumble in the Jungle. " Because it's Ali, because it's Foreman, two monsters of boxing. Ali with his exuberance and his story, Foreman the big hitter with his hammer-pestles in his hands ... We thought that Foreman was going to win, we thought he was unbeatable. But Ali had a huge strategy that consisted of tiring him for seven rounds to knock him out in the eighth, "he says.
Between the native of Louisville, born Cassius Clay, and the people of the country then known as Zaire, the relationship was exceptional. " Ali, bomaye! (" Ali, kill him! " In Lingala), they chanted at each appearance of the idol. " I loved Zairians and they gave me back. I had never received so much encouragement and affection. People lined the streets to see me, and I liked to mingle with them, hear them tell me their lives. I spent a lot of time with them because we respect each other. And I know that it made Foreman out of it to see that I was the champion of the people on the other side of the world, "wrote Mohamed Ali in his autobiography The Soul of the Butterfly (Presses du Chatelet editions).
Today, Saïd Bennajem believes he has " the duty to remember what Ali and Foreman left for boxing ". Few great boxers of the years 1960-1970 are still of this world. Before Ali in 2016, Sonny Liston (1970), Jimmy Young (2005), Floyd Patterson (2006), Joe Frazier (2011) and Ken Norton (2013) left. "The Greatest", who died at the age of 74 , and "Big George", now 70, contributed to the writing of a great page of noble art in Kinshasa in the last century. " It's a duty of memory. They left us a mission: continue to promote boxing and to form great champions, "insists Said Bennajem. "The Rumble in the Jungle" was held in 1974; the final gong of the fight sounded the eighth, but it still sounds.
"The Rumble in the jungle", exhibition to see from October 25 to November 30, 2019
Boxing Beats Boxing Hall
39 Rue Lécuyer, 93300 Aubervilliers
Monday to Friday between 17h and 20h30,
During the training of the boxers and boxers of the room
More information on the Facebook pages of the B'ZZ label and Boxing Beats