Muhammad Ali’s ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ championship belt auctioned at INR 50 crores
There’s hardly anyone who doesn’t know about Muhammad Ali, the American boxer with the famous nickname “The Greatest.” Well, the man with an iron fist definitely lived up to this name and is rightly regarded as a legend and the most influential sports figure of the 20th century. Recently, Ali has been in the news for a rather curious reason. His distinguished World Boxing Council (WBC) belt from his ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ heavyweight title fight (1974) with George Foreman was auctioned. And guess what! It was sold at a whopping 6.18 million USD, equivalent to INR 50 crores. The winning bid was made by none other than Jim Irsay, the CEO of the popular NFL team Indianapolis Colts who already owns many other pieces of Ali. These include the 1965 walkout robe that first displayed the name ‘Muhammad Ali’ instead of his original name Cassius Clay and his shoes from the 1975 ‘Thrilla in Manila’ fight against Joe Frazier. The belt will soon be exhibited at Chicago’s Navy Pier on 2nd August and in Indianapolis on 9th September. Do you want to know more about this legendary belt as well as the fight? Well then, read on.
‘Rumble in the Jungle’ championship belt: Why is it so important?
The WBC championship belt of the legendary Muhammad Ali from his 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ marks his iconic return to the competitive boxing ring after his license as well as the World Boxing Association title was taken away, wrongfully. But why? Turns out that seven years before the historic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight, he had refused to join the US Armed Forces that wanted to employ Ali as a soldier in the ongoing Vietnam War. Also, the belt is the symbol of Ali’s most glorious achievement in his entire career.
You must be wondering why this belt was auctioned if it belongs to Ali. Well, he had given it to his coach Drew Bundini Brown as a homage. Later, in 1988, when Brown had passed away, everything from his storage lockers was sold off at an auction. This treasured boxing memorabilia was also one among them. Since then, it has been in the public domain. In fact, it is one of the two WBC belts belonging to Ali with the other in his private museum collection.
The famous ‘Rumble of the Jungle’ fight
The fabled ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight took place in Kinshasa, Zaire, or the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo on 30th October 1974 at the 20th of May Stadium. During this WBC Heavyweight championship, Ali, for the first time showed the world his famous rope-a-dope tactic that made him an overnight sensation and revived his stunted glory. Before you ask what the rope-a-dope tactic is, it’s a boxing technique in which a contender offers non-injuring offensive punches while leaning against the rope. The goal is to tire out the opponent.
The match had begun with Ali as the underdog against the unbeaten and undisputed champion, the heavy-hitting Foreman, who had recently won the gold medal at the Olympics. However, Ali used his speed and technical prowess to his advantage. In the first round, Ali strategically let Foreman take the lead, but as soon as the second round had begun, he quickly changed his tactics, unleashed his secret plan and introduced Foreman and the world to his rope-a-dope trick. But considering Foreman was a seasoned boxer, Ali’s plan to exhaust him took longer than usual. It was not before the 8th round that Foreman’s defence and punches proved to be ineffective. This is when Ali used his famous five-punch combination and overthrew his opponent. Till date, the boxing community regards this fight as one of the most tactically played match, ever!