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50 years later, DR Congo commemorates boxing’s ‘Rumble in the Jungle’

50 years later, DR Congo commemorates boxing’s ‘Rumble in the Jungle’

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – Judex Tshipanda, 71, sits on a wall outside Kinshasa’s Tata Raphaël Stadium and remembers the day that has gone down in history as one of the most memorable in the history of this Central African country.

On October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali fought heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman in an eight-round match – and emerged victorious after knocking his opponent to the ground with a vicious uppercut.

Billed as the “Rumble in the Jungle”, and watched by millions of viewers around the world at the time, the fight is considered one of the greatest sporting events of the 20th century.

But in the Democratic Republic of Congo, then known as Zaire, the match has reached mythical proportions and inspired a generation of young people to take up boxing.

Tshipanda was a serious boxer at the age of 21, when Muhammad Ali landed in his hometown of Kinshasa ahead of the fight. The American athlete would come to his boxing club to spar, and Tshipanda and other “fanatics” would jog next to Ali’s jeep when he got home.

“It inspired the whole of Congo,” said Tshipanda, who went on to found a boxing club at the Tata Raphaël Stadium called La Tête Haute de Muhammad Ali, which means “Mohammad Ali’s head held high.”

Young people train at the "Muhammad Ali's head raised" boxing club in Kinshasa on June 4, 2016. The club is located in the Tata Raphaël Stadium of Kinshasa, Congo, the place where the historic boxing takes place "Clutter in the jungle" took place.

Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP via Getty Images

Young people train at the boxing club “Muhammad Ali’s head up” in Kinshasa on June 4, 2016. The club is based in the Tata Raphaël Stadium of Kinshasa, Congo, the site of boxing’s historic “Rumble in the Jungle”.

The Tata Raphaël Stadium, whose exterior walls are covered in multicolored murals inspired by African art, has since fallen into disrepair, falling victim to the poverty and mismanagement that plagues Congo, also known as the DRC.

Former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko played a key role in bringing the Ali-Foreman fight to Kinshasa. He saw the event as a way to put his country on the map, just 14 years after it gained independence from former colonial power Belgium.

Rebels eventually forced Mobutu from power in 1997 after decades of brutal and corrupt rule, leading to a series of wars that raged in Congo until 2003 and that historians estimate killed between 1 million and 3 million people.

The country never fully recovered. Conflict between militias continues in the mineral-rich east, and Congo also remains one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world.

A portrait of President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko is seen at the stadium in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974, during the fight between American boxing heavyweights Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

-/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP via Getty Images

A portrait of President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko is seen at the stadium in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974, during the fight between American boxing heavyweights Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

For many people in the Central African country, the figure of Ali, as well as the battle that took place fifty years ago, remain symbols of a better time. Congolese Minister of Sports declared on social media on Wednesday – the day of the anniversary – that the event generated “constant enthusiasm and unwavering pride.”

It was also a reminder of a time when Congo’s soft power “commanded respect around the world.” A planned commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the rumble, organized by the government, was barely completed on time. That evening, about 100 people showed up to see young Congolese boxers face off in a ring set up in the Tata Raphaël Stadium complex, but on a concrete surface outside the official stands.

Still, many of the country’s great boxers came to pay their respects, including members of the national boxing team and the heads of the boxing federation.

Twenty-four-year-old Landry Matete, who goes by the alias Balo, quietly watched the games from the front row. The national boxing champion and silver medalist at this year’s African Amateur Boxing Championships said the Rumble in the Jungle – although it took place long before he was born – had inspired him to get into the sport.

“It is like the foundation of a house, it represents a lot to us,” Balo said, adding that the event had indelibly marked the country’s history.

“Congo is a country of boxing,” he said, but explained that the lack of opportunities meant that much of the sporting talent was lost. “Those who are given opportunities will always shine,” he said.

To this day, Congo still produces excellent boxers. Congolese Martin Bakole ranks as the World Boxing Association’s No. 1 heavyweight.

Judex Tshipanda, who also attended the commemoration, credited the Rumble of the Jungle as the reason Congo has consistently produced boxing talent since 1974.

A portrait of President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko is seen on the facade of the stadium in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974, during the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

-/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP via Getty Images

A portrait of President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko is seen on the facade of the stadium in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974, during the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

He can still provide a detailed account of each round, including what punches were thrown and how the boxers moved. But the atmosphere of the night itself remains in his memory.

“In the seventh round everyone started screaming ‘Ali Boma, you!Tshipanda said. “In the eighth round the whole crowd was screaming.”

The phrase, which means “Ali kills him” in Lingala, the dominant language in western Congo, has also been immortalized.

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