Muhammad Ali had 44 victories to his name, against two defeats, prior to meeting the undefeated champ known for sledgehammer-like punches, George Foreman. Ali’s only defeats came in an upset loss to Ken Norton, and in a unanimous decision to Joe Frazier — a man that Foreman knocked out in just two rounds. Ali never stopped believing he could beat any of them, and the fight to prove it was set. Don King, the boxing promoter, took the match to Kinshasa, Zaire (formerly Democratic Republic of Congo), where president Mobutu Sese Seko offered each fighter five million dollars to stage the event in his capital.

On this day, October 30, in 1974, Ali and Foreman stepped into the boxing ring in the middle of the night (the match was broadcast live in prime time in U.S.) for what Don King called “The Rumble in the Jungle.”

Nobody except Ali himself gave him much of a chance against the young, more talented, stronger boxer, but Ali had two main strategies against Foreman in his arsenal. The first was trash-talking: for months leading up to the fight Ali derided the champ, and even as the fight commenced and Foreman began his punch assault, Ali kept asking if that was all he had. As well, Ali realized if he could just survive the first few rounds, he could wear out the champ. He used the ropes to catch most of Foreman’s blows on his body and hands, a strategy King later called “rope-a-dope;” with seconds to go in the eighth round, Ali caught the champ with a couple of hard punches and sent him down for the count.