Gene Kilroy was ringside during, and inside the ring right after, the epic “Rumble in the Jungle” matching Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Kilroy quickly wondered why Ali didn’t take a last shot at Foreman as Big George tumbled to the canvas.
“I said to Ali, ‘When he went into that spin, when he was on the way down, why didn’t you hit him again?’” said Kilroy, Ali’s manager at the time of the fight and a Las Vegas resident. “He said, ‘He had enough.’”
Foreman died Friday at age 76. The former boxer’s family has not provided details about his death.
An exhausted, punched-out Foreman was KO’d by Ali in the eighth round of that fight, his most famous bout.
To recount, former Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko desperately wanted to stage Foreman-Ali in his country to boost tourism. But Kilroy said Foreman initially wanted no part of a bout with Ali.
“President Mobutu sent Don King to Seattle to talk to George Foreman. George didn’t want to fight the guy,” Kilroy said during a phone chat Saturday. “He said, ‘If I beat him, I get no credit.’ But when Don King told him he’d make $5 million, George said, ‘Let’s do it!’”
Foreman needed to beat Ken Norton in a heavyweight title defense in Caracas, Venezuela prior to the Ali fight. Foreman obliged by annihilating Norton in two rounds.
“If Foreman loses to Norton, the contract is done,” Kilroy recalled, and attended Foreman-Norton alongside Ali. “They’re interviewing Ali after the fight. He wasn’t supposed to say anything about the contracts being signed for the fight in Zaire. But you can’t stop Ali when you put a microphone in his face and he says, ‘All these sports writers who wrote bad about me, when they get you in the Congo, they’re going to put you in a pot and cook you!’”
A rep for President Mobuto was quickly on the phone with Kilroy, trying to shut Ali up.
“He said, ‘We’re trying to promote tourism! Not Kill it!’” Kilroy said. “We don’t cook people in pots!”
Foreman suffered a cut during training camp that delayed the bout for a month. He stayed in Kinshasa for training, rather than returning to the states.
“They wanted to leave the country, but I told President Mobutu’s right-hand man, ‘Take their passports,’” Kilroy said. “So they took the passports, even though they could have flown to London to the American Embassy to get passports. I mentioned this later to George and he said, ‘What? They didn’t take our passports.’ And I said, ‘Most definitely.’”
Foreman made the mistake of taking Ali lightly. “To me, it was like a charity fight,” he once told the BBC. “I’d heard Ali was desperately broke, so I thought I’d do him a favor.” Foreman said he was going to “go out and kill him,” but softening the message to, “OK, I’ll just beat him down to the ground.”
But Kilroy said Ali took the advice of legendary trainer Cus D’Amato (who trained Floyd Patterson and Mike Tyson), who said, “Foreman is a bully. You must throw the first punch.”
“Foreman came out, his fists were clenched, and Ali hit him so hard in the jaw his gloves opened up,” Kilroy said. Ali had counted on Foreman getting “gassed,” to use his phrase, “And there ain’t no gas stations around here.”
But Foreman used the fight as a learning lesson, among many boxers who benefited from swapping shots with The Greatest.
“Everybody who fought Ali became a rich man, a famous man, and fought the biggest fight of their life because of Ali,” Kilroy said, “and that included George Foreman.”
Comedy is king
From big punches to punch lines, top-line comics are lining up to play Las Vegas theaters. This weekend’s robust roster includes Bert Kreischer at Resorts World Theatre, Chelsea Handler at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, Nate Bargatze at Encore Theater at Wynn, David Spade and Nikki Glaser at The Venetian Theatre, and Ray Romano at David Copperfield Theater at MGM Grand. This lineup is apart from the comedy clubs, running their usual schedules.
Palazzo Theater is the latest prominent venue to add headlining comedy, with Jonathan Van Ness in town April 19. Oh, and see Luenell, late Sundays and Mondays, at Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club; and Brad Garrett at his club, where he is in frequent rotation (schedule-wise) at MGM Grand.
Tease this …
The Space founder, Golden Knights emcee and Top Rank Boxing in-ring announcer Mark Shunock made this announcement on Saturday on the socials, “Thank you, @TRBoxing, for an incredible 7 years. So many unforgettable moments in and out of the ring. Thank you for the friendships and the memories.”
Shunock by nature goes big. Watch for something high-flying from him, and soon.
Your VegasVille Moment
Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom checked out my X feed from Friday’s mind-blowing Dead & Company show at Sphere and said, “I need to get to work on my re-election campaign, but first I think I’ll go see @deadandcompny @SphereVegas.” Priorities. Segerblom issued a Key to the Las Vegas Strip to U2, so if any Dead & Co. reps want one, hit him up.
Cool Hang Alert
“Cash After Dark — The Johnny Cash Tribute Show” is churning out Cash classics in residency at Vegas Stand Up & Rock at OYO Hotel & Casino. Bet it on the man in black, anytime. Show runs 7 pm. Sundays through Thursdays. Go to ticketkite.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
