Roy Forman: They were then the world’s heavyweight heroes as president of the United States. George is now former president of the United States. Not everyone, from your lover to your brothers and sisters, do not look at you the same way, now you have ‘EX’ in front of your name.
It took eight to 10 years to overcome the destruction. He had earned $5 million, so he was buying this and buying something – another house, another car, the girl, took the girl, trying to show all the people still heroes. But he wasn’t a hero, he was now a straightery.
George Forman: I just didn’t believe he had lost the world title. This was supposed to be an easy game for boxing, but that was the most shameful moment in my life. He was from pride to mercy. This is the destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destructive and destruction and destruction and destruction and destruction and destruction Destructive and destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive, destructive and destructive are destroyed.
I’m ashamed to be alone with girls in a room. I thought: They know I’m not the man I was supposed to be. You think you’ll be away for $5 million and everything will be fine. But you can’t buy your pride. The only thing you want is to be the world champion again.
I’ve looked at the battle several times and sometimes I think: ‘I will win this time!’ Or I might wake up and think: ‘If I had done this only or that,’ But I just won the battle in my dreams.
Jerry Eisenburg: About an hour after the fighting, we spent such a rainy rain. Then, suddenly, the sun rose – one of the great African sun – and we all jumped on a bus and returned to the military where all journalists stay there.
Three of us went to Ali and saw that he was looking outside the river. Just watching. For once, three sports writers had good minds and brains not to open their cursed mouths. We allow him to drink.
Finally, he overturned, he went to us, raised his arms in the air and said, ‘You friend never know how much this means for me. At that moment, he was really king of the world.