KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Judex Tshipanda, 71, sits on a wall outside Kinshasa’s Tata Raphaël stadium, remembering what is considered one of the most memorable days in the African country’s history central.

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 worldwide 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 took on legendary proportions and pushed a whole generation of young people to take up boxing.

Tshipanda was a serious boxer at age 21, when Muhammad Ali landed in his hometown of Kinshasa before the fight. The American athlete would come to his boxing club to train, and Tshipanda and other “fanatics” would race alongside Ali’s jeep on his return home.

“It inspired the whole Congo,” said Tshipanda, who later founded a boxing club inside the Tata Raphaël stadium, called La Tête Haute de Muhammad Ali, meaning “the head held high by Mohammed Ali.”

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The Tata Raphaël stadium, whose exterior walls are covered in multi-colored murals inspired by African art, has since fallen into ruin, a victim of the poverty and mismanagement plaguing Congo, also known as the DRC.

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

Rebels finally ousted Mobutu from power in 1997 after decades of brutal and corrupt rule, sparking a series of wars that fought in Congo until 2003 and which historians estimate killed between 1 and 3 million people. .

The country never fully recovered. Militia conflict persists in the mineral-rich east, and Congo also remains one of the world’s poorest and most corrupt countries.

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For many people in this central African country, the figure of Ali, as well as the fight that took place 50 years ago, remain symbols of a better time. Minister of Sports of Congo declared on social media on Wednesday – the anniversary – that the event inspired “constant enthusiasm and unwavering pride”.

It also recalls a time when Congo’s soft power “commanded respect throughout the world”. A planned commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the rumble, organized by the government, barely took place on time. During the night, around a hundred people came to see the young Congolese boxers compete in a ring erected inside the Tata Raphaël Stadium complex, but on a concrete area outside the official stands.

However, many of the country’s big boxing names came to pay their respects, including members of the national boxing team and leaders of the boxing federation.

Landry Matete, 24, nicknamed Balo, quietly watched the matches 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 – despite taking place long before he was born – inspired him to take up in this sport.

“It’s like the founding of a house, it means a lot to us,” Balo said, adding that the event left an indelible mark on the country’s history.

“Congo is a boxing country,” he said, but explained that a lack of opportunities meant a lot of sporting talent was wasted. “Those who get the opportunity always shine,” he said.

To this day, Congo still produces exceptional boxers. Martin Bakole, of Congolese origin. ranks as the No. 1 heavyweight in the World Boxing Association.

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

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

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

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

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