In what might be the greatest performance of his Career, Muhammad Ali on this day, October 31, 1974 defeated the reigning champion George foreman in the famed "Rumble in the Jungle" reclaiming his second world heavyweight championship in Kinshasa, Zaire.

That night was more than just a boxing match, it was a moment that transcended sport — a clash of power and brute strength against skill and technique — a night that forever etched Ali's name as The Greatest.

MUHAMMAD ALI

Muhammad Ali born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 was an American professional boxer and activist. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year.

In the early 1960s, he joined the Nation of Islam, a religious organisation committed to black nationalism but would later disavow it in the mid-1970s.

Muhammad Ali, at age 22 would pull off an upset victory defeating Sonny Liston and becoming the World Heavyweight champion. In that same year, Ali would denounce his birth name, believing it to be a slave name and under the guide of his spiritual leader, Elijah Muhammad changed his name to Muhammad Ali reinforcing his belief in Islam.

His reign came to a disappointing close in 1967, following his refusal to be enlisted or drafted into the military owing to his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. Sadly, he was found guilty of draft evasion and was stripped of his world championship.

He stayed out of prison while appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, where his conviction was overturned in 1971. By this time, Ali had lost four good years of his career and peak performance as an athlete.

This did not deter Ali one bit, as he sought to get back on the global stage of boxing despite being out of touch. In 1970, he first regained a boxing license and promptly fought comeback fights against Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena in an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship from the then-undefeated Joe Frazier.

Ali finally got a shot at the champion in the fight dubbed "Fight of the Century" on March 8 1971, but unfortunately, Frazier won a unanimous decision, leaving Ali fighting other contenders for years in an attempt at a new title shot.

THE BUILDUP

While Ali was getting his career back on track, the heavily muscled Foreman had quickly risen from a gold-medal victory at the 1968 Olympics to the top ranks of the heavyweight division.

Greatly feared for his punching power, size, and sheer physical dominance, Foreman was nonetheless underestimated by Frazier and his promoters. This quickly changed when Foreman demolished the reigning Champion Joe Frazier, knocking Smokin’ Joe to the canvas six times in two rounds and instantly putting the fear of God into all other heavyweight contenders.

Those who still had doubts about the brute strength and attacking capabilities of Foreman were forced to believe when he turned 215 pound Norton into a rag doll after he took a few of Big George’s uppercuts and haymakers.

The massacre ended in the second round, making it the eight bout in a row that George foreman had won decisively in either the first or second round.

Foreman in his prime was invincible, the most devastating puncher since Joe Louis, younger, stronger, and a five-to-one favorite.

This made the bout even more anticipated when Rumble in the Jungle was announced, saying Muhammad Ali would face George Foreman for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Foreman and Ali spent much of the middle of 1974 training in Zaire, getting acclimated to its tropical African climate. The fight was originally set to happen on September 25 (September 24 in the United States due to the difference in time zones). However, eight days prior, Foreman was cut above his right eye by an accidental elbow thrown by his sparring partner Bill McMurray in a sparring session. Foreman's cut required 11 stitches, and the date of the fight was pushed back five weeks to October 30.

The championship was scheduled for 4 am local time to appear on live closed-circuit television in the Eastern Time Zone of the US at 10 pm and Zack Clayton was the selected referee for the match.

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE

At 4:30 a.m. on October 30, 60,000 spectators gathered in the moonlight (organizers had timed the fight to overlap with prime time in the U.S.) at the outdoor Stade du 20 Mai to watch the fight.

The ex-champ had been taunting Foreman for weeks, and the young boxer was eager to get going.

And then the bell rang.......

Ali began by attacking Foreman with disorienting right-hand leads. Ali made use of the right-hand lead punch (striking with the right hand without setting up the left) in a further effort to disorient Foreman. While this tactic might have surprised or Foreman a bit or allowed him to give some blows to the head, it barely did any damage to him.

Before the end of the first round, Foreman began to catch up leading with punches of his own. Ali understanding that that would expose him to fatigue easily and given Foreman's ability to cut off the ring and prevent escape, decided to change tactics in the second round.

As the second round commenced, Ali began to lean on the ropes and cover up, letting Foreman punch him on the arms and body (a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope).

By doing this, Foreman wastes energy landing shots that either couldn't hit him properly on the head or other body parts. This loss of energy was key to Ali's rope-a-dope tactic.

Meanwhile, Ali took every opportunity to shoot straight punches to Foreman's face (which was soon visibly puffy). When the two fighters were locked in clinches, Ali consistently out-wrestled Foreman, using tactics such as leaning on Foreman to make Foreman support Ali's weight, and holding down Foreman's head by pushing on his neck.

After several rounds of this, Foreman began to tire. His face became increasingly damaged by hard, fast jabs and crosses by Ali.

But Ali kept taunting him to waste more energy, "They told me you could punch, George!" and "They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis."

According to Foreman in later interviews, "I thought he was just one more knockout victim until, about the seventh round, I hit him hard to the jaw and he held me and whispered in my ear: 'That all you got, George?' I realized that this ain't what I thought it was."

As the fight drew into the eighth round, Foreman's punching and defense became ineffective as the strain of throwing so many wild shots took its toll.

And with just 30 seconds to the end, "The greatest" miraculously came to live stunning up Foreman with light, quick before straightening him up with a pair of sharp jabs and then, with the massive crowd going berserk, landing five hard counter right hands that caused Foreman to stumble to the canvas.

Foreman rose to one knee but referee Zack Clayton signaled the end of the fight before Foreman got to his feet. At the stoppage, Ali led on all three scorecards by 68–66, 70–67, and 69–66.

POST MATCH AND LEGACY

The roar in the stadium had barely settled when Muhammad Ali's triumph in Kinshasa began to send ripples across nations that on October 30, 1974, with 60,000 spectators in the moonlit Stade du 20 Mai in Zaire and millions watching globally, Ali knocked out the previously undefeated and seemingly invincible George Foreman in the eighth round.

Fifty years on, The Rumble in the Jungle still remains one of the greatest boxing matches ever, with various sports outlets like The Fight City naming it his greatest fight "The Greatest" ever fought