The first time Muhammad Ali served up the sport of boxing with a massive helping of crow by defeating heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in 1964, George Foreman was a 15-year-old troublemaker and high school dropout.

In the 10 years that followed, Ali was stripped of the heavyweight title, lost to Joe Frazier and Ken Norton and fought his way back to an opportunity to become boxing’s second fighter to regain its most prestigious championship. In that same time, Foreman got his life together, won an Olympic gold medal, became a regular sparring partner for Liston and ravaged Frazier to win the title himself.

Ali and Foreman actually met in 1972, well before “The Rumble in the Jungle” took place 51 years ago Thursday, as promoter Don King was attempting to cut his teeth in the sport. Ali faced five different fighters in separate exhibitions during a charity show in Cleveland, and Foreman, then a ranked contender, shook hands with Ali. The event went down in history as King’s first event as a promoter.

Back then, members of boxing media accused Foreman’s handler, Dick Sadler, of guiding the young fighter far too slowly. They changed their tune before the first showdown with Frazier, who was a heavy favorite, which is what made Foreman’s fast and brutal victory so shocking. Viciously destroying his first two challengers, José Román and Norton, only made Foreman appear more supernatural and indestructible.

By contrast, Ali squeaked by Frazier and Norton and flailed away at the hapless Rudi Lubbers for 12 rounds, and he looked like he’d lost a half-step. On paper, it was the first Liston fight all over again, which should have raised more eyebrows. Instead, oddsmakers made Foreman a 4-1 favorite to clobber the ex-champion.

People have softened on the idea of regaining the heavyweight title these days. Back even in the 1970s, it wasn’t something most fighters were expected to ever do. In the modern era, only Floyd Patterson managed the trick, and going back to the 1700s only a handful of bare knuckle champions did it. By 1974, the odds were also that Ali was permanently an ex-champion.

“I’m supposed to be through,” Ali told the Big Book of Boxing’s Stanley Weston, who later went on to lead The Ring. “Fightin’ 18 years. Golden Gloves. Olympics. World champion. But I’m not [through]. I want the world to know that I’m gonna start dancin’ again.”

Ali was often at his best when he combined being a fighter with being a master of misdirection. He rattled Sonny Liston with his antics and made everyone believe he was a lunatic, and his words and training suggested he would once again find his legs against Foreman, as he had in his rematch with Norton.

Foreman during this era wasn’t quite as surly and pensive as history generally remembers him. He joked in interviews and made reporters laugh, but he could give thoughtful answers and speak candidly about his past. Any of that complexity was drowned out by Ali, which was at least partially on purpose, and the various eccentric people involved in making the event happen.

Don King persuaded both Ali and Foreman to agree to fight as long as a then-astronomical $5 million purse could be produced, which forced King to seek outside funding from an international coalition of producers and investors. King then cut a deal with Zaire’s embattled president, Mobutu Sese Seko, to host the fight in Kinshasa, where Ali and Foreman spent the majority of the summer of 1974.

Foreman reportedly holed up at his hotel, training and spending time with his team, which included former light heavyweight champ Archie Moore. Ali, on the other hand, mixed training with reaching out to locals, who swarmed the former champion and turned impromptu meet-and-greets into veritable parades.

The fight was postponed from September to late October when Foreman suffered a cut in training, though it’s not clear whether the postponement had any direct effect on the outcome or who it may have aided. Besides, a star-studded three-day music festival at the Stade du 20 Mai just prior to the fight alleviated any frustration the postponement may have caused. Artists like B.B. King and James Brown performed, and Ali-Foreman was to be the event’s crescendo.

Through the first several rounds of the fight, three things took a beating: Ali’s body and Foreman’s ears. According to referee Zack Clayton, Ali repeatedly talked to Foreman in close, repeating things like, “Hey, fella. What’s your name? Know who I am? Where you from? I’m gonna beat you tonight.”

The crowd went wild, famously chanting “Ali bomaye!” anytime he landed anything on Foreman. But while Foreman crowded Ali against the ropes and unleashed bombs, Ali surprised him a few times a round by landing combinations off the ropes. Former NFL star Jim Brown, commentating for the U.S. broadcast, quickly noted that Ali’s punches were doing more damage than many thought.

Ali briefly stunned Foreman in round 4, and Ali’s jab was still an all-time weapon. Foreman clearly hated it and swatted at it when he could. But Ali began going back to the ropes on his own more and more, and the ropes visibly loosened as rounds went by. Foreman’s looping shots were dangerous, but he could only land one for every few that he missed by a mile and marks on his face told the tale of what was really happening in there.

Angelo Dundee, Ali’s famous trainer, shouted “Careful!” from the corner as Foreman loaded up on body shots in rounds 5 and 6. Ali’s offense was jabs and quick right hands, and he threw them only sporadically in round 7 between pushing Foreman’s head away and tying him up. Foreman’s attempts at grabbing and punching were booed by the crowd and he sat fatigued in his corner after the bell.

Foreman walked into several hard punches at the start of the 8th round. Ali went to the corner and stayed there for a while, easily avoiding the incoming, before walking to the opposite corner and doing the same. Foreman pawed at Ali and hit nothing.

Ali carefully judged his distance as Foreman lumbered back and forth, then he suddenly lashed out with a right hand in the last 20 seconds of the round and Foreman fell into the ropes. Ali took advantage of the moment and connected with a quick series of punches ending with a pinpoint right hand that sent Foreman reeling to the canvas.

The champion looked stunned and confused as much as he looked hurt, and he couldn’t quite get to his feet before the count ran out on him. The stadium in Kinshasa then descended into chaos and the ring was jammed with fans and press. Foreman walked from the ring surrounded by police and security, but nobody seemed to care. Everyone just wanted to be near the new champion.

When Ali finally got back to the dressing room, he directly addressed the cameras and scolded anyone who doubted him. “I told you all that I was the greatest of all time when I beat Sonny Liston,” he said, pointing his finger at the camera. “I told you today I’m still the greatest of all time.”

For years heavyweight ex-champions and countless fans dismissed Ali as a fighter who came along at the right time and benefitted from controversy. Ali has been “The Greatest” for so long now that it’s difficult to imagine a time when anyone doubted him like that. By defeating Foreman, Ali proved he was more than what any of those doubters said.

The loss sent Foreman into some dark places. He quite literally couldn’t get away from Ali, who taunted him from time to time in the press and even served as a commentator at a few of his comeback events. Foreman became obsessed with the idea of an Ali rematch until he simply retired. Years later, Foreman would stage his own comeback and claim greatness.

The biggest fights in boxing cram years of setup, facts and memories into mere minutes of fighting. That can even affect how fights are remembered. Jack Dempsey vs Luis Ángel Firpo happened more than 100 years ago, yet it’s still considered one of the most savage heavyweight title fights despite lasting four minutes.

From the opening bell to the end of the knockout count, Ali-Foreman lasted exactly 31 minutes. That was 1970s heavyweight boxing, the tale of the heavyweight title and mounds of social happenings in the U.S. in a half-hour. But it was enough for Ali to rewrite history and kick off the last portion of his storied career.