When We Were Kings (In Association With The Double Jab Boxing Club)

In 1974 Muhamad Ali fought George Foreman for the heavyweight championship of the world. Ali’s career had been derailed by his opposition to the Vietnam War and his refusal to be conscripted. This led led to him losing his boxing licence and titles and being threatened with prison. When he was finally allowed to return, the boxing world had not stood still and fearsome younger fighters such as George Foreman had taken his crown.

When the two of them met in Zaire in 1974 it was not just an epic contest between young and old fighters, it was a cultural event. The symbolism of two African American boxers competing in West Africa channelled deep emotions relating to the civil rights movement, the assassination of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, black nationalism, decolonisation and the legacy of slavery. And in the midst of all this, Ali still had to try and ‘whup’ George, a fighter younger and stronger than him. Could he do it? Leon Gast took 22 years to put this film together and find the finance to distribute it. It is probably the greatest sports documentary ever made, or as Ali would say “The Greatest of All Time”! Join us at Double Jab Boxing Club at the Moonshot Centre in Fordham Park where its young fighters will give us a free boxing demo, then we will walk together to Goldsmiths Cinema to watch the film in comfort!