George Edward Foreman is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997.
How much did George Foreman earn from Muhammad Ali’s fight?
King promised $5 million paychecks to both Foreman and Ali for their participation in the fight, then record sums. However, King did not have the money, so he needed to find someone to finance his plan. He found his sponsor in Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire’s dictator.
Foreman’s next title defense, on October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, against Muhammad Ali, was historic. The bout, promoted as the “Rumble in the Jungle”, exceeded even its wildest expectations.
When Foreman and Ali finally met in the ring, Ali began more aggressively than expected, outscoring Foreman with superior punching speed. In the second round, Ali retreated to the ropes, shielding his head and hitting Foreman in the face at every opportunity.
Late in the eighth round, Ali came off the ropes with a series of successively harder and more accurate right hooks to the side and back of Foreman’s head, leaving him dazed and careening backward.
After a lightning two-punch flurry squared him up, Ali ended the bout with a combination of solid left hook and straight right flush to the jaw that sent Foreman windmilling hard to the canvas, the first time he had been down in his career.
