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On 30th October, 1974, Muhammad Ali was up against George Foreman at the Mai 20 Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, in a historic fight for the heavyweight title, which was known as The Rumble In The Jungle. George Foreman was the heavyweight champion; a monster of a fighter, a young man who never lost a fight, knocking out 37 of his 40 opponents, including Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, the only two to have ever beaten Ali. Ali was an the old prince of the ring; past his prime at age 32, commentators felt that it was the end of the road for him.

 In short it was a one sided fight.

Ali began his fight with the speed and technicality he was known for, jumping forward to strike Foreman, who was taken by surprise. However by the end of the round Foreman had gained on Ali, landing heavy punches of his own.

However, right away into the second round, Ali stopped. Leaning back onto the ropes, he allowed Foreman to punch him, with no intention to return attacks. This went on for the third round, fourth round, fifth, sixth, seventh.

In the hot and humid night, Ali took the punches, blocking, deflecting, striking once in a while, but never fully countering the attack; leaning back on the ropes all the while, he accepted whatever Foreman threw at him, every hook, every slug.

Then in the eighth round, with 2 seconds left on the clock, Ali struck back, downing Foreman with a left hook and perfect right hand in the fight which made Muhammad Ali the greatest boxer of all time. In the heavy air, Ali had slowly whittled down the younger Foreman with every punch he took.

Perseverance.