Reaction to Muhammad Ali's death from locals at the DR Congo stadium where the 'Rumble in the Jungle' took place

Locals who witnessed The Rumble in the Jungle boxing event at the Tata Raphael stadium in Kinshasa in what was then Zaire in 1974 spoke of their shock on Saturday (4th June) at hearing of Muhammad Ali's death and they recounted their memories of the fight.

The fight pitted the then undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Ali, a former heavyweight champion.

Augustin Lisoye was an official on duty at the DR Congo stadium on the night of the fight and he spoke of how Ali's passing deeply saddened him:

" This morning I learned that Muhammad died. It greatly affected me because I met him when he came to fight with Foreman. It was in '74. It really hit me hard when I learned that he had died. "

Lisoye also recalled the noise reverberating around the stadium that night back.

Never was this more gloriously evident than at 4.23am on the morning of Oct 30, 1974, when he landed the straight right-hand punch that knocked out Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. In the words of the novelist Thomas Hauser, it was a moment that "inspired more global joy than any athletic achievement in history".