Boxing and martial arts have a rich history in Africa - from traditional boxing and wrestling to Muhammad Ali’s famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ match against George Foreman in Kinshasa – even Mandela was a boxer. Here’s a short overview of Africa’s boxing in the past and today.
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00:00 When you ask people around the world what they associate with boxing in Africa, many
00:05 think of the infamous "Rumble in the Jungle", the final boxing match between George Foreman
00:11 and Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa in 1974.
00:14 The so-called "fight of the century" in front of 100,000 people was on the one hand
00:19 a great task dodge by the US boxing promoter Don King and a clever publicity stunt by dictator
00:26 Mobutu Sese Seko.
00:28 Boxing already had a rich history in Africa even without US influence and still plays
00:33 a major role.
00:35 In 2023, a total of 206 boxers, 142 men and 64 women, from 26 African countries fought
00:43 in Cameroon's Yaoundé for the African Elite Men's and Women's Boxing Championship.
00:49 But no combat sport is growing faster than mixed martial arts.
00:54 Fighters with African roots have dominated several weight classes in the Ultimate Fighting
00:58 Championship in recent years.
01:00 This includes Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou, who recently switched
01:07 from MMA to boxing and now trains with legends like Mike Tyson.
01:13 But did you know that besides these international fighting styles, there are a variety of traditional
01:18 martial arts on the continent, like Lambe in Senegal and the Gambia, or Ngolo, a traditional
01:25 Bantu martial art that is the origin of the Brazilian combat sport capoeira.
01:31 What other traditional African martial arts do you know?
01:34 Write your answers in the comments below.
01:36 (upbeat music)