Boxing dreams live on in Congo’s grassroots clubs 50 years after the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’

GOMA, Congo — A punch crunches into the side of Daniella Muleketsi’s face. She grimaces at the sting of it and the crowd holds its breath in fear for their homegrown boxing hope.

It is the 20-year-old Muleketsi’s first professional fight and it’s in her hometown of Goma in eastern Congo. It’s a mark that will be on her record forever — a triumphant debut or a bitter loss.

This tournament was held over the weekend by the Nyama Boxing Club to remember perhaps the greatest fight ever. Muhammad Ali came to the central African country and beat then-undefeated George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” on Oct. 30, 1974, to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion again.

That fight a half-century ago made Ali a legend. It also offered a glimpse of Congo, then called Zaire and in the grip of the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

As Congo marks the 50th anniversary of the Rumble on Wednesday, boxing dreams live on not only in the capital, Kinshasa — where the Ali-Foreman fight happened — but also in the grassroots promotions like Nyama’s out in Goma, a city in the heart of a region that has seen decades of conflict, displacement and crisis.

While that shadow of suffering and hardship hangs over nearly everything that happens in Goma now, the boxing tournament drew a surprisingly large and enthusiastic crowd to the open-air arena in the Volcans neighborhood.

In the ring, Congo’s Muleketsi shook off the blow that rocked her backwards and rallied against her more experienced opponent, “Scary” Charity Mukami of Kenya. Mukami is a 12-fight veteran and a one-time contender for world titles. Muleketsi ground her way to a win on points and a victorious professional debut.

The referee held up her right arm as she reveled in the applause and cheers. She gripped a blue, red and yellow Congolese flag in her other hand.

“My goal is to one day be a world champion. I won’t stop working until I get there,” said Muleketsi, who stands 5-foot-3, weighs 74 kilograms (163 pounds) and began boxing at age 16 under the tutelage of her uncle, a regional boxing official.

She wasn’t born when Ali beat Foreman but she has, like so many Congolese, heard tales of the Rumble in the Jungle.

“The fight of the century between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman inspires every professional boxer,” she said. “I want my name to be registered in boxing in my country and throughout the world.”

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa