A great moment in sport that must not be forgotten

Sometimes, sporting events take a sudden twist that will make you think that you are imagining things that only happen in a movie hall rather than at a real live sports encounter. A case in point is when Muhammad Ali roped his duck – George Foreman - in October 1974. Many people that witnessed this amazing sporting event could hardly believe their eyes when Ali decked the redoubtable Foreman out of nowhere.

How Muhammad Ali could suddenly explode in round eight of his bout against George Foreman is a moment in history that will be never be forgotten. Just when Ali seemed to be on the brink of defeat he came up with an explosive right that had the commentator (Harry Carpenter) shouting just so that he could be heard.

Imagine listening to words such as “Suddenly Ali looks very tired indeed” shortly followed by an exclamation that went something like “Oh! He’s got him with a right hand!” ………. And, then “I don’t think Foreman’s going to get up”. Finally, you hear that Muhammad Ali, at the ripe old age of thirty-two, has won back the World Heavyweight Boxing Title.

If it were not for good sports commentators, important sporting events would end up being forgotten and, worse still, the moment would not excite people or fire up their imaginations. The poignancy of such moments must not be lost and it certainly takes an astute commentator to understand the situation and relay it to the viewers.