When We Were Kings

Yeah, I'm in Africa.

Yeah, Africa's my home.

Damn America and what America thinks.

I live in America, but Africa's

the home of the Black man.

I was a slave 400 years ago

and I'm going back home to fight

among my brothers! Yeah!

'For these two African-Americans

'to come home was

of great, great significance.

'Because of Hollywood and TV

'a lot of us

had been taught to hate Africa.'

Once, if you called a Black person

African they'd be ready to fight.

'When I get to Africa we'll get

it on because we don't get along!'

I'm gonna eat him up!

Too much speed for him!

Too fast! Too fast!

I'm gonna retire the

heavyweight champion of the world!

I'm gonna retire

the heavyweight champion!

September 25th

the world'll be stunned!

Tell 'em, Ali!

If you think the world was surprised

when Nixon resigned

wait till I kick Foreman's behind!

'An 18-year-old amateur

champion with a charming smile

'took a physical examination

for his first professional fight.'

It won't be an easy fight

but my plan of attack

on a fighter like Alex Miteff

would be two fast left jabs,

a rapid right cross

and a left hook.

'But in the Belgian Congo,

'freedom was followed

by rioting and an army mutiny.

'For months,

the political pattern kept changing

'until pro-Red

Premier Lumumba was seized

'by the forces

of strongman Colonel Mobutu.'

After watching Mike DeJohn

and Eddie Machen,

I would rate myself number two.

I'm out to break

Floyd Patterson's record

and this being my 20th birthday,

today, January 17th,

that leaves me exactly one year

to reach my goal.

People do say I'm cocky,

some say I need a good whuppin',

some say I talk too much,

but anything that I say,

I'm willing to back up.

The other night I predicted

that I would knock out Banks

in four rounds and I did.

I knocked out Don Warner

and I just annihilated

George Logan in four rounds.

'Close your mouth

and keep it closed.'

- That's impossible.

- Keep it closed.

I'm the greatest

and I'm knocking out all bums.

And if you get too smart

I'll knock you out.

'You'd take him on

before the fight?'

Beat him like I'm his daddy.

I saw Sonny Liston a few days ago.

Ain't he ugly?

I'm young, I'm handsome,

I'm fast, I'm pretty

and can't possibly be beat.

Cassius Clay

goes into the record book

with Corbett, Tunney and Braddock,

bringing off another great upset

in heavyweight history.

It is befitting that I leave

the game just like I came in,

beating a big bad monster

who knocks out everybody

and no one can whup him.

When little Cassius Clay

stopped Sonny Liston,

the man who annihilated

Floyd Patterson twice.

He was gonna kill me!

But he hit harder than George.

His reach is longer,

he's a better boxer

and I'm better now than when you saw

that kid running from Sonny Liston.

I'm experienced now, professional.

Jaw's been broke, been knocked down

a couple of times, I'm bad!

Been chopping trees,

I done something new.

- I wrestled with an alligator.

That's right,

I have wrestled with an alligator!

I tussled with a whale. I handcuffed

lightning, thrown thunder in jail!

That's bad!

Only last week I murdered a rock!

Injured a stone!

Hospitalised a brick!

- I'm so mean I make medicine sick!

- Bad dude!

Bad, fast!

Fast! Fast! Last night,

cut the light off in my bedroom,

hit the switch and was in the bed

before the room was dark!

- Incredible.

- Fast!

You, George Foreman, all you chumps

are gonna bow when I whup him!

All of you! I know you got him picked

but the man's in trouble!

I'm gonna show you how great I am!

I think Ali was scared.

I think he was scared even then.

He knew he was gonna be very scared

as he got closer to the fight.

You know the way George fights.

George comes out...

"I made him the mummy!"

'With his ego he could tell

himself he would dominate Foreman,

'make a fool of him, that Foreman

would never lay a glove on him.'

But in fact, in his sleep

or wherever his private moment came

he knew that he had not done as well

against two fighters particularly,

Joe Frazier and Ken Norton,

whom Foreman had demolished.

Down goes Frazier!

Down goes Frazier!

The heavyweight champion

is taking the mandatory eight count

and Foreman is as poised as can be!

Foreman is going about his job!

'He had an overpowering

intensity when he punched.

'Foreman won

by knocking Joe Frazier out

'and knocked him down

something like seven times.

'Then he destroyed Ken Norton

in two rounds.

'The word "murderous" does not

quite apply, Foreman was awesome.'

This chump has got everybody scared.

Scared of what?

There's nothing to be scared of.

Scared of what?

How many fellas in here

picks George? Be truthful, be men.

Tell the truth.

- John, raise your hand.

Got George?

You got George. Tell the truth.

You! You, fella. Yeah.

No pick? I just wanna know.

You got George...

The time may have come

to say goodbye to Muhammad Ali,

because very honestly I don't think

he can beat George Foreman.

Howard Cosell, you told everybody

I don't have a chance.

Told 'em I don't have

nothing but a prayer.

Well, chump, all I need is a prayer

because if that reaches the right man

not only will George Foreman fall

but mountains will fall!

Maybe he can pull off a miracle,

but against George Foreman?

So young, so strong, so fearless?

Against George Foreman,

who does away with his opponents

one after another

in less than three rounds?

It's hard for me

to conjure with that.

You always say "Muhammad, you're not

the same man you were 10 years ago."

I asked your wife

and she told me you're not the same

man you was two years ago!

After this fight

I suspect Ali will retire.

And through all of the years

my own memories of him

will be as a fighter,

and as the strange and curious

and gregarious and engaging

and sometimes cruel,

and sometimes family man that he is.

I'm gonna let everybody know

that that thing on your head

is a phoney

and it comes from the tail of a pony.

A stolen bicycle.

He had a bicycle

and he went to Columbia Gym.

There was something going on up there

and he left his bike parked outside.

So when he came out

someone had stolen it

and he went inside and he was crying

and he told the policeman there,

his name was Joe Martin,

that someone stole his bike.

And Joe Martin, he also taught the

little boys how to box in the evening

so he asked would he be interested

in learning how to box

and he told him yes, because if he

ever found out who stole his bike

he wanted to know how to fight

so he could beat them up.

An overhand right

sends Sonny to the canvas!

Referee Jersey Joe Walcott is trying

to get Ali to a neutral corner.

Ali yelling at Liston to get up...

- Anchor punch.

- Which fight?

I call it the anchor punch.

- The one Stepin Fetchit helped with?

- Yeah, man.

People couldn't see it,

it was so fast Sports Illustrated

got a slow-motion camera,

they clocked the punch and the punch

flew at 4/100ths of a second.

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