Rumble, young man....Rumble!

40 years ago tonight, one of the greatest boxing matches of all time took place - The Rumble in The Jungle.

FiveLive are broadcasting a special on it right now and it makes for compelling listening.

If you're a fan of boxing, you're probably already familiar with the story of the fight and will have watched the excellent "When We Were Kings" documentary about it.

If you're not a fan of boxing and haven't seen it, check it out - it's not just about the fight, it gives a real insight into the character of one of the greatest sporting icons to have ever walked on the planet - Muhammad Ali.

(The other fella wasn't too shabby either, even before he started flogging them low-fat grills.....)

Sadly,I fear that fight,and Ali's present mental and physical state,are inextricably linked.
Despite that,he was, without doubt the most charismatic sportsman I've ever seen.
In fact he transcended sport. We'll never see his like again.

Unbelievable finish, in an unbelievable bout of courage from Ali, how he survived the onslaught was only getting into Big George's mind '' How the fuck are you not going down'' i'm hitting you my hardest .

Ali was rumored to have said in George's ear when being smashed and lent on '' is that all you got George''.

What a fight and a great example of if you want something hard enough and you believe in it , you'll get it.

I remember it well. I listened to the fight on the radio and was convinced Foreman would be too strong for Ali. How wrong I was. Agree about Ali's legend transcending sport. Even today he is probably the most famous person in the world.

Reebok Trotter wrote:I remember it well. I listened to the fight on the radio and was convinced Foreman would be too strong for Ali. How wrong I was. Agree about Ali's legend transcending sport. Even today he is probably the most famous person in the world.

His character was amazing ,people watched him because of who he was, a great man with great courage and skills.

But as a boxing fan he was not the greatest boxer i'm afraid, the greatest and richest boxer of all time is Floyd Mayweather Jr.

But Ali is in the hall of fame.

Ali will always be the Greatest. His incarceration during his prime for refusing to fight in Vietnam should never be underestimated.

Mayweather is the most overrated fighter of all time.

boltonbonce wrote:Mayweather is the most overrated fighter of all time.

Wum.

he's a champion at six different weights, smashing everyone infront of him ,beating on the way some great champions.

Shane Mosley, Oscar dela hoya, our own Ricky Hatton and many more hall of fame.

He's fought the best and won everyone 47 times with 0 losses.

the worsed thing that could ever happen in boxing ' believe me' is that he fights Pacquiao, because it'll be the most one sided title fight in history, Mayweather would blow him off the planet believe me, it would be a point scoring roung ' all rounds to Mayweather' then when Pacman comes in for the knockout knowing that he can't win' he'll get knocked out.

Mayweather is the best boxer ever.

I beg to differ. You know the drill.

Ali was the greatest of that there is no doubt.

He became much, much more than a boxer.

He broke through social barriers, he became a political icon to many, he changed the world we lived in.

Until Mayweather (or Tyson Fury) can achieve that, they will remain just boxers and neither will be held in awe in 40 years time.

Back in the day Ali was the first to realise that people came to see the black boxers get beaten and played up to it.  He hyped up his bouts in such a way that many bought tickets in the hope to see him (and his big mouth) lose.

The thing about Ali though that he was a wonderful boxer who could back up his words but more than that he had the charm, charisma and wit, to make you want to like him despite that you may want to see him get beat.

He became a iconic figure when he stood up to the establishment and was prepared to be stripped of his world title and go to jail rather than be drafted inti the American army and fight in a war that he believed wasn't his in Vietnam.

He also 'through off his 'slave' name' to become a muslim and take the name of Ali - unheard of back then - and by no less a figure than the then most famous man in the world.

He won back his titles by thinking of a stategy (rope a dope) that had never been thought of by anyone in boxing before - which by then had been going about a hundred years in the modern era!

He may not have been the greatest person in the world - I think he was no saint in his personal life - but by using his fame and by his actions and words, he changed the way the world then was - and for the better.

Boxers will come and go over the years but Ali was a colossus who became far bigger than the sport itself and used his world fame for the good of mankind.

Mayweather is more businessman than sportsman,and a pretty soulless one at that.
As a boxer and as a man,Ali towers head and shoulders above him.

Ali is my number one favourite fighter of all time. Mayweather certainly features in my top ten but I doubt Mayweather would have beaten the ' Cincinnatti Cyclone ' in his prime.

Sluffy wrote:Ali was the greatest of that there is no doubt.

He became much, much more than a boxer.

He broke through social barriers, he became a political icon to many, he changed the world we lived in.

Until Mayweather (or Tyson Fury) can achieve that, they will remain just boxers and neither will be held in awe in 40 years time.

Back in the day Ali was the first to realise that people came to see the black boxers get beaten and played up to it.  He hyped up his bouts in such a way that many bought tickets in the hope to see him (and his big mouth) lose.

The thing about Ali though that he was a wonderful boxer who could back up his words but more than that he had the charm, charisma and wit, to make you want to like him despite that you may want to see him get beat.

He became a iconic figure when he stood up to the establishment and was prepared to be stripped of his world title and go to jail rather than be drafted inti the American army and fight in a war that he believed wasn't his in Vietnam.

He also 'through off his 'slave' name' to become a muslim and take the name of Ali - unheard of back then - and by no less a figure than the then most famous man in the world.

He won back his titles by thinking of a stategy (rope a dope) that had never been thought of by anyone in boxing before - which by then had been going about a hundred years in the modern era!

He may not have been the greatest person in the world - I think he was no saint in his personal life - but by using his fame and by his actions and words, he changed the way the world then was - and for the better.

Boxers will come and go over the years but Ali was a colossus who became far bigger than the sport itself and used his world fame for the good of mankind.

We're on about boxing, not breaking social Barriers , Ali lost loads of times fighting shit fighters on the way, and why mention Tyson Fury?
He's not fit to lace boot of Meyweather.

The best boxer is Mayweather, all boxing fans will see this.

Do you know how hard it is dropping six weights and winning all titles in other weights, ' not just staying in heavyweight'.

But Mr Paranoid thinks he knows best yet again.

boltonbonce wrote:Mayweather is more businessman than sportsman,and a pretty soulless one at that.
As a boxer and as a man,Ali towers head and shoulders above him.

He is the richest sportsman in boxing, yeah he's a well shit businessman 

Hahahaha plucking things off the web now, anyone can be jealous.

Mayweather is truly a great talent but would he have been as successful had he fought during the era of Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Ray Leonard, Wilfrid Benitez, Aaron Pryor, Jose Cuevas and Davey Moore?

scottjames30 wrote:We're on about boxing, not breaking social Barriers , Ali lost loads of times fighting shit fighters on the way, and why mention Tyson Fury?
He's not fit to lace boot of Meyweather.

The best boxer is Mayweather, all boxing fans will see this.

Do you know how hard it is dropping six weights and winning all titles in other weights, ' not just staying in heavyweight'.

But Mr Paranoid thinks he knows best yet again.

You've lost me mate?

Who is Mr Paranoid?

I mention Fury as a joke - it certainly wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

Mayweather won his titles going up the weights - as boxers do as the years go by - not going down them.

Ali did indeed lose - but in his prime only Fraisier and Norton beat him - and although you may think they are shit, I think most judges of the sport would put Fraiser (and Foreman who Ali necer lost to) amongst the best boxers of that weight in its history.

Ali transcended sport, thats why he is considered a great man.

Sugar Ray Robinson is considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time - maybe you've never even heard of him?

It's just an opinion at the end of the day, certainly nothing to get worked up about.

Reebok Trotter wrote:Mayweather is truly a great talent but would he have been as successful had he fought during the era of Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Ray Leonard, Wilfrid Benitez, Aaron Pryor, Jose Cuevas and Davey Moore?

He'd of beat them all, the same things was said before he beat the champions that he beat already, he is truly the best boxer that i've ever seen ,total class.

Believe me, i wish someone could give him a fight but he is just truly class, better than Ali by a county mile in boxing.

Ali is still a great though.

Sluffy wrote:

scottjames30 wrote:We're on about boxing, not breaking social Barriers , Ali lost loads of times fighting shit fighters on the way, and why mention Tyson Fury?
He's not fit to lace boot of Meyweather.

The best boxer is Mayweather, all boxing fans will see this.

Do you know how hard it is dropping six weights and winning all titles in other weights, ' not just staying in heavyweight'.

But Mr Paranoid thinks he knows best yet again.

You've lost me mate?

Who is Mr Paranoid?

I mention Fury as a joke - it certainly wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

Mayweather won his titles going up the weights - as boxers do as the years go by - not going down them.

Mayweather goes up and down in weights, depending who the fighter is and how much he'll earn. he's gone up and down, when he fought Mosley he went up and for his next fight he went down.