Ali, Foreman weigh in — no fireworks

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33676, 28 October 1974, Page 24

Ali, Foreman weigh in — no fireworks

(New Zealand Press Assocrition—Copynyht) KINSHASA. The world heavy-weight champion. (Jeorge Foreman, dispelled all rumours that he was out of shape and overweight for his title fight with Muhammad Ali by weighing in at 15st 101 b yesterday.

It was only slightly more than he weighed when he destroyed Joe Frazier for the championship 21 months ago, United Press International reported. . Ali, on the other hand, had . boasted he would enter thej [ring against Foreman the: ■lightest he had been in 101 : years. Instead, he scaled 15st| [6lb, eight pounds more than he claimed he weighed last week. “Deliberately” done Ali was 15st 011 b when he' won the title from Sonny i Liston in 1964, but he seemed I; [in perfect physical shape J yesterday, saying that he had I fallowed himself the few extra i [pounds because he thought i the contest might go the tull [l5 rounds. I “I’m not worried about my | weight. I’m in great shape,” he added. Foreman, after shedding a brilliantly-coloured African robe to display a trim, [awesomely-muscled body, [said: “I’m ready to fight.” Asked about the condition of the cut over his right eye| he suffered in training last; month, which forced the fight’s postponement, Fore-1 man said that it was com- ■ pletely healed. Quiet and proud Reuter reported that Foreman won sympathy from ( many in the 6000 crowd for|. his quiet dignity and proud [j bearing as he waited patiently ( to be weighed. Then he lifted his arms above his head to! acknowledge applause. I. Ali, who had been weighedj first, stood about two yards}, from the champion in a heav-I. ing mass of people in the', ring, scowling and making \ threatening gestures towards : Foreman. But there was no repeat ! performance of the frenzied ' 'act staged by Ali at the 1 weigh-in 10 years ago for his 1 fight with Sonny Liston. In that bout, like this one, ' Ali was the underdog and he ' has been seeking to portray * [Foreman as being in the * same mould as Liston. Yesterday, however, Ali ” was relatively subdued and ' made no attempt to push his * way through the crowd to get ; closer to Foreman. ( Foreman showed one flash

of anger at the crowd pressing around him. snapping. "Get back, get back." Then, he stepped from the ring with another wave to the crowd and ran a lap of honour on the cinder track of the 100.000-capacity KinIshasa soccer stadium, where The fight takes place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday (New Zealand time). “Loss” on points : Ali, too. made a run around the track, encouraging the [crowd into chanting "Ali Bomaye” (which means “Ali j kill” in the Zaire language of [ Lingala). But he was merely following the lead of the champion, and had apparently failed in what had been expected to be an all-out effort on his part to score points psychologically on Foreman.