12 Photos That Defined Mohammad Ali’s Love For Africa

Written by Kevin Mwanza

Jun 07, 2016

The iconic U.S. heavyweight boxer died on June 3 at the age of 74, and we’re remembering Mohammad Ali’s love for Africa.

Ali was one of the most celebrated sporting figures in the 20^th century and had a connection with Africa that was deep, meaningful, long term and way ahead of its time for an African American of his generation.

His involvement in the civil rights movement campaigns of the 1960s made him a favorite among Africans who strongly identified with his causes and struggles.

But nothing cemented Ali’s popularity on the continent like his Rumble in the Jungle fight in Kinshasa with the then undefeated George Foreman in 1974. Ali came out of the fight not only as the heavyweight champion, but as Africa’s champion.

Here are 12 photos that defined Ali’s relation with leaders and people of Africa:

Sources: The Fight City, Slate, Quartz Africa

Ali Bomaye: the challenger rousing the faithful in Zaire (Image: thefightcity.com)

Mohammad Ali’s love for Africa was returned

Mohammad Ali working up the crowd in Kinshasa, Zaire (current Democratic of Congo) before the fight against fellow American George Foreman.

Young fans run alongside Muhammad Ali as he travels in a car in Zaire before his fight against George Foreman in October 1974.

“Ali, Boom bye yae!”

Muhammad Ali in Zaire, Africa before his Rumble In The Jungle with George Foreman.

Mohammad Ali with Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah

Mohammad Ali with Kenya’s second President Daniel Moi and members of his cabinet

In this Aug. 20, 1997 file photo, former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali kisses a Liberian orphan while residents cheer Ali’s arrival at an orphanage for Liberian refugees in San Pedro, Ivory Coast. Ali and his entourage came on a goodwill visit to donate food, wheelchairs, and medicine after receiving a letter asking for help from the mission’s organizer Sister M. Sponsa Beltran. Ali turns 70 on Jan. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

South Africa’s first black President (the late) Nelson Mandela and Mohammad Ali

Mohammad Ali in a Zaire Stadium in 1974.

Mohammad Ali with Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni (centre)

World heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali wearing traditional Ghanaian costume as he rides near the Pyramids of Gizeh, near Cairo in 1964.

American WBA Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali on the the throne of his namesake, Mohammed Ali Pasha, at Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo, Egypt, June 9, 1964.

Muhammad Ali greets cheering fans Accra, Ghana, in 1964.