50 years ago, on October 30, 1974, the Congolese capital Kinshasa hosted one of the most prestigious boxing fights of the 20th century, the face-to-face between George Foreman and Mohamed Ali. This global event aroused intense enthusiasm in the host country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was then called Zaire. But he also fascinated an entire generation in Africa. RFI brings this legendary moment back to life by bringing together testimonies from several countries on the continent. Continuation of our two-part investigation.
On October 30, 1974, the fight took place in the dead of night, so that it could be seen by as many American viewers as possible. But the UNITED STATES are far from being the only ones there. That night, Africa, en masse, remained standing.
The May 20 stadium in Kinshasa is packed. In Lubumbashi too, in the South-East of the country, people crowd around radios and televisions. “ Not everyone had television anyway, but in our house, we had television, remembers Colonel Steve Ndondji, a big fan of Mohamed Ali. And we were with friends from the neighborhood, even family… For me, it’s a memory that I can’t forget… Indelible… »
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That night, the momentum towards Mohamed Ali was truly pan-African. You only have to enter a smoky brasserie in Casablanca, Morocco today to realize this. Abdellatif was 16 at the time of the fight, which he watched at home on television. The event was well attended: “ It was in black and white. I come from a modest family. Having television, for us, was a luxury. And watching Mohamed Ali was an event (laughs) ! For us, he was a model of social success. He still led many battles beyond the boxing. He was in the civil rights movement. He also supported Martin Luther King. It’s still an example. Because Mohamed Ali was a universal man… »
Fond memories in Accra also, in the Bukom district, an emblematic place for Ghanaian boxing. Around ten young fighters train at the Wisdom Boxing Club under the watchful eye of Ofori Asare. At the time, he was 12 years old, but he remembers that night of celebration as if it were yesterday: “ I supported Ali, says the coach. He had been to Ghana before, so he had a big fan base here. When he fought, we didn’t sleep. For this fight, everyone knew what was happening, so a lot of us listened to it on the radio. In Accra, you could hear the noise people were making, everywhere in the capital… »
“ No sound ? But you are shot ! »
Ivory Coast is in the front row of spectators. President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, a boxing enthusiast, wanted Ivorians to be able to comfortably follow the fight on their small screen. In the days leading up to the fight, the country was truly mobilized. “ A week before, we were already talking about it in the offices, we hardly worked anymore, says Eugène Kacou, who was then one of the heads of the national television sports department. People were talking and talking… This one is going to win… That was almost all we talked about. Some improvised small fights in the streets. The kids would say, “You’re Foreman, I’m Mohamed Ali,” and then the kids would box each other. For a week really, it was something exceptional. »
The fight must be broadcast at 3 a.m. in Ivory Coast, several hours after the theoretical interruption of RTI programs. Exceptionally, the single channel therefore shakes up its antennas. “ I had set up a program to keep them waiting »confides George Benson, one of the voices of sport on Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne. “ We rented the boxing club, where I did a boxing and variety program : a fight, singers… It kept people on their toes. »
At the time of the fight, the atmosphere is electric at the boxing club. “ There was no big screen like today, describes Eugène Kacou, but we put lots of televisions at the central boxing club. And he was drunk : 10 000 people at the central boxing club ! To the point where we were afraid in the football fields. People were watching this from everywhere. There were some who watched from home, there were some who had put small televisions in the street and it was an extraordinary atmosphere ! »
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The sports evening, however, borders on disaster: the signal received by the RTI is not complete. “ We had the image, continues George Benson, but we didn’t have the sound with the French commentary. There was pressure, oh yes, there was pressure. You have the president, you have millions of Ivorians who did not sleep until 3 a.m., and you are going to come and tell them “we have no sound”. But you are shot ! You are shot by everyone the next day ! »
A race for his professional survival begins. “ In two steps, three movements, says George Benson, I jump in my car. I tell myself “I’m going to take some time”. Nay ! Nobody on the streets ! Everyone is in front of their television screen or at the Palais des Sports ! So, I’m comfortable. I go through red lights, there are no cops [rires] ! I remember my entrance on television that night in a hurry. As soon as I turn off the engine of my car I jump into the studio. » We put the headset on his head, he sits at the microphone and improvises – by making up –: “ Ladies and gentlemen, hello, we arrived late unfortunately at the Kinshasa stadium, etc. Nobody realizes it ! »
In front of televisions, next to their radios and around the ring in Kinshasa, spectators see George Foreman beating up Mohamed Ali. But Ali resists. He lasts until the eighth round, where the fight ends. He captured every moment of this moment of triumph. He recounts them in his autobiography:
“ I see George trying to come back, regain his composure, he explains. I hit him with a straight right to the jaw with all the energy and power I have. I almost hit him squarely on the chin, and he stays still. (…) I am ready to continue with combinations, but I see that he is falling slowly, a dazed look in his eyes. I know that he is entering the room of the half-dream for the first time in his life. George is on the ground, his eyes glazed over. (…) I watch each raise of the referee’s arm. (…) “Six…seven…eight…” George turns around slowly. “Nine…ten!” George is on his feet, but it’s over. The referee raises my hand in victory. And the stadium explodes. People walk past the skydivers and climb over the press tables, get into the ring. »[1]
The May 20 stadium exults. In front of their station, next to their radio, millions of Ali fans let their joy burst forth.“ From that night, confides Eugène Kacou, the image that struck me was the ”Whoaaaaa” when Foreman ”came down”. When Ali touched him and he went down, it was like the earth was shaking ! And then there were no more cars in the streets : people had occupied the streets ! »
In Abidjan, in his studio, George Benson is in the same state: “ When he fell, I took off my helmet, ah yes, I threw the helmet away ! And I heard the noise from outside : ”Whoaaaaaaaa! Ali! Ali!” The streets are black with people! Black people… ”Ali! Ali!” They scattered into the streets, and everything, they were happy. Fantastic. »
Fashion in Ivory Coast consecrates the legend. “ In Ivory Coast, Ali’s fascination will translate, for example, to the hairdresser, indicates Christophe Boli, sports historian, author of a biography of Mohamed Ali. Asking the hairdresser “I absolutely want an Ali haircut” was what we called “Ali fashion” in Abidjan. And then, there is also this Ali way of walking. That is to say, Ali will become a kind of icon, an idol, of a new generation of black pride. »
According to American historian Lewis A Erenberg [2]Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, one of the theorists of negritude, sent a message of congratulations to Ali in which he saluted a great activist of black civilization. In Senegal, he explains, Ali’s victory is considered that of Africa, as the triumph of the oppressed.
This article on the Ali/Foreman fight is the result of work collecting testimonies carried out by Patient Ligodi in Kinshasa, Benoît Alméras in Abidjan, Denise Maheho in Lubumbashi, Victor Cariou in Accra, Matthias Raynal in Casablanca, Yves-Laurent Goma in Libreville and Joseph Kahongo in Kisangani. It was coordinated and written by Laurent Correau.
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[1] ALI Muhammad & DURHAM Richard, Muhammad Ali the greatest. My own story, Graymalkin media, 2015. Translation by us.
[2] ERENBERG Lewis A., The rumble in the jungle. Muhammad Ali & George Foreman on the global stageThe University of Chicago press, 2019, p188