When We Were Kings Page #4

we sung for trial and tribulation,

and for relief, we sung songs to God

and this music that you hear today

is the same songs

that have been made popular around

the world without any volition.

Oh!

'So anybody who knows anything

'about the rhythm and the blues

as they're so-called,

'should know about Africa.'

# When I first met you, baby

# Baby, you were just

# Sweet sixteen

# When I first met you, baby

# Baby, you was just sweet sixteen

# Just off your homeland, baby

# Oh, the sweetest thing

I'd ever seen #

The music I listen to, in most white

people's houses, I don't hear this,

because your culture wouldn't...

Your woman doesn't leave you

and slip away like our women,

because you had money

to keep your woman.

Your songs are like, "And the train

comes around that mountain,

"In the Folsom Prison,

in the Folsom Prison".

You know, "Y'all come, y'all come."

Chinese got diddly music,

"Pleen ting tang tong ting."

I don't want that and he understands.

Everybody's got their culture.

So we're not saying we hate you

or we're never talking to you again

and doing business, we don't do that.

We're saying

that we want to be independent.

# Baby, I wonder

# Yes, I wonder

# Baby, I wonder

# Oh, I wonder what in the world

is gonna happen to me #

'The great place

to visit in Kinshasa

'was a compound

about 20 miles up the Congo.

'A place called Enseli,

a presidential palace.

'That was where we saw Foreman,

who seemed incredible.'

I'd seen him fight before,

I saw him destroy Frazier

and the thing I always remembered

was that the beaten fighter,

even a man as powerful

and big as Frazier,

and he was very much favoured

to win that,

suddenly becomes the size of a pygmy.

They just diminish in size,

and Foreman suddenly became

this gigantic figure.

'And he had a trainer, Dick Sadler,

tiny by comparison,

'and Sadler would hang on to this

heavy bag while Foreman would hit it.

'Sadler would have been

picked off his feet.'

'Foreman hitting the bag

'is one of the more prodigious sights

I've had in my life.

'Of all the people I've seen hit

heavy bags, including Sonny Liston,

'no one hit it the way Foreman did.'

At the end of 15 minutes

of pounding the heavy bag,

there'd be a hole,

not a hole but a huge dent,

the size of half a small watermelon

in that tremendous bag,

and Foreman used to use

the biggest heavy bag around.

'What would be interesting is Ali,

who would train after Foreman,

'would pass this large hall

where the training took place

'and he never looked at Foreman

hitting the heavy bag.

'He just walked right by

as if Foreman didn't exist.

'If you were gonna fight the man

'you didn't want to see him

hitting that heavy bag.'

I'm a speed demon!

I'm a brain fighter!

I'm scientific! I'm artistic!

I plan my strategy!

He's the bull, I'm the matador!

He's scared to death.

He's scared to death!

He wish he could

get out of the whole thing!

He wish he could get out of the whole

thing! The man is frightened!

He's meetin' his master,

his teacher, his idol!

- Time!

- Is that all?

When I talk and work I'm in shape,

it's all I do.

'Ali announced

he was gonna dance.

'He spoke about it all the time.

'Every interview

in that period he'd say

'"How is Foreman going to get

near to me? I'm going to dance!

'"I'm going to dance and dance! He'll

look foolish trying to find me.'

"And as he gropes his way forward

"in this storm of blindness

at the speed of my dancing

"I will strike him with my jab!

"Poo! Poo! Poo!"

he would go and so forth.

We heard this over and over

and Foreman heard it too.

'Foreman was working now on

what's called cutting off the ring.

'This essentially just means

'cornering your opponent

against the ropes or in a corner.

'It's an art, a balletic art,

you have to have very good footwork.

'Foreman's footwork,

he was a big man,

'but his footwork was better

than anyone had expected.

'He worked with very fast fighters,

'smaller than himself,

who certainly could dance

'and he worked on cornering them.

'And the combination

of watching the heavy bag

'and watching Foreman

cut off the ring

'made most fight writers,

myself included,

'pessimistic about Ali's chances.'

The guy threw up his elbows

to protect himself from Foreman

and Foreman walked into his elbow.

That's how he got cut in the eye?

What else can happen?

I saw the man's cut

and this man cannot fight.

This man cannot fight

for a world championship...

- You're not a doctor.

- I don't give a damn. I know what...

The Zaireans kicked us out

and they did not want us around,

and they want the fight to go on,

that's all there is to it.

He won't fight with that eye,

he's not dumb.

He's not that dumb?

That's all you want is a fight.

Excuse me, gentlemen.

I respectfully ask are the fighters

remaining here because they want to

or has the government

requested they remain?

Mr Sadler told me

to convey to the press

that it is just an accident.

They will be contacting

the promoters of the fight

and it is possible

that we may have to delay the fight

and he will let the press know

as soon as possible.

Did they have to stitch Foreman?

They had to stitch him.

Holy sh*t, man.

So how long is the delay?

It'll take a day to get

any intelligence, this just happened.

Then we can make a decision.

How does George feel?

Like anybody, he's only human.

How would any individual feel?

Does he want it postponed?

Who? Why should he?

- Should he go ahead with it?

- Why should he make any decision?

Who knows what another man thinks?

How could I truthfully tell you

what you would think?

A man may have mixed emotions,

I couldn't speak for George,

I can only speak for Dick Sadler,

not for somebody else.

I'm not that intelligent,

I don't have that knowledge, that

ability to speak another man's mind.

He never discussed it to me,

and a person's mind

change from time to time.

- The decision is yours...

- It is mine to make

and I haven't made any...

I don't have any decisions to make.

Let's get this show

on the road.

This meeting is called to order.

Here, here.

The delay won't have

any effect on the fight at all.

There hasn't been...

there will not be a delay.

The fight will be rescheduled

but when it happens it'll be

actually intended for that time.

Fate intended it for another time.

There is no delay.

How does

Ali feel about it?

If there ever has been

any disappointments in sports,

setbacks or rainy days

that stopped a ball game, anything,

this is the worst of all time.

'Muhammad went through

a bad couple of hours

'and wanted to move the whole fight

back to the United States,

'then he said "Bring Joe Frazier

over and I'll fight him again

'"and instead of each of us

getting $5 million,

'"I'll take $3 million

and Joe can take $1 million."

'Then he realised

nothing could be done about it

'except stay in Zaire an extra

six weeks and make the best of it.'

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