Scene 1: Miami
Muhammad Ali is in his hotel room watching TV with Bundini Brown
Bundini Brown
President Nixon’s dicks in a toaster
As Watergate’s charading parade
Intensifies his precarious post
With all the caustic clamorings of doubt
The House of Representatives, conven’d,
Investigates potential impeachment
MA
That man’s a sinner, wouldn’t surprise me
To learn he was the brutal mastermind
Behind the murderstorm of Bobby K
Bundini Brown
Copious beneficiary, for sure
The doorbell rings
Bundini Brown
I’ll get it
MA
If it’s the press, I’m elsewhere
Bundini Brown answers the door to Don King
Bundini Brown
It’s some cat call’d Don King, says he knows you
MA
King, what’s he doing here
Bundini Brown
He didn’t say
MA
Let him in, I love to hear him ramble
His mouth’s prolific even more than mine
Enter Don King
Don King
Muhammad Ali, my brother, my boy
MA
Ain’t nobody’s boy, Don King, you know that
But good to see ya, how’s it all going
Don King
I’m dandy as a love celebration
MA
& Don Elbaum, still working together
Don King
I’m afraid there’s been a parting of our ways
But maintaining interest in boxing
I’ve been promoting fights up Ohio
& did you see the Norton-Foreman bout
I was headhunted as its consultant
A token nigger to deal with black faces
MA
I heard there were untold thousands of seats
Unsold across the closed-circuit spectrum
Don King
There was – & the stadium was a third
Empty
MA
& the reason for that is quite simple
Everyone knows Foreman is a phoney
He ain’t the true champion, no, that’s me
Don King
Precisely! & that’s why the world will pay
A lot of money to see you two duel
Bundini Brown
People pounding each other for peanuts
Scarcely a tithe of what their fights are worth
Out of overgorg’d & bloated purses
Let them withdraw five million apiece
Don King
Mine is no dream suspended in amber
Bundini Brown, I got ‘em both that dough
MA
Say what
Don King
Five million for both, lots more
If you add in merchandise & TV
Bundini Brown
He’s full of shit, no way he’s got the dough
MA
Where you getting that kinda cash from, King
Ya gotta be running some big numbers
Round every city in the Midwest
Don King
Ain’t coming from America
MA
Then where
Don King
For that amount of money one must go
Abroad
MA
Hell, for five million dollars
I will fight anywhere on Planet Earth
Bundini Brown
So, where is it
Don King
Zaire
Bundini Brown
Zi-what
Don King
Zaire
Formerly known as the Belgian Congo
MA
Africa, the Congo, they eat people there
Don King
No they do not, they are very advanced
I flew out there only last week, its pure –
A black man flew my plane, & a black man
Leads his country, Mobuto is his name
Wants to showcase his nation to the world
Is willing to pay for the privilege
Of the two finest boxers of the day
Meeting
MA
One finest & one imposter!
Don King
Of course, Mohammad, do apologize
& tho’ the money’s in an even split
Tis you who’ll be the greatest attraction –
The smartest fist the world has ever known
MA
It is the perfect moment to regain
The crown that which was stolen, & in style
Nothing but another Sonny Liston
Bundini Brown
My transcendental, elemental friend
The mantle of all-returning hero
The only mask you’re yet to show the world
Manchild, Con-man, Entertainer, Champ,
Rebel, Poet, Actor, Evangelist,
As if the spirit world of the Sixties
Flows thro’ your bones, inspiring all you do
& say, the magic flagship of an age
& tho’ today might be Seventy-Four
The Sixties seem very alive & well
Nixon’s toppling upon the wobblebox
That Watergate erected, Vietnam
Enters, at last, it’s desp’rate final days
& as that shameful war your throne did trash
When that war ends you shall build it anew
When you say you’re the greatest, I believe
MA
I’m not the greatest – God is the greatest
But if this is the last & final peak
I must ascend to guarantee my fame
I shall take the primary step today
Everybody starts down in the valleys
From where we all must work upwards our way;
Some mountains are higher than others,
Some roads upwinding steeper than the next
There are hardships & setbacks a-plenty,
But never, ever let them prevent you
Even fatigued upon the steepest road,
You must keep on going, striving to reach
The mountain summit, scudding each sharp rock
However unattainable it seems
Nobody should ever convince ourselves
Out of believing in ourselves
Bundini Brown
Damn straight
Don King
It is that kind of talk that will make us
Millions, Mohammad, are you on board
MA
Get George Foreman, I’ll fight George Foreman
Don King
He knows until he beats you in the ring
He won’t be consider’d legitimate
I’ll get him, but I’ll need your signature
On this piece of paper, if you don’t mind
Bundini Brown
Let me peruse that for you Muhammad
This cat’s been in jail
Don King
I have been to jail
Man, it was hell in there, but I survived,
I’m one of the world’s great survivors.
I’ll always survive because I’ve got the right
Combination of wit, grit…
Bundini Brown
…& bullshit
Don King
Some might call it such, I’ll say eloquence
MA
I love the way you say five million
Five million, that’s quite a livelihood
Y’know, Joe Louis, the whole of his life
Only made Four million, Dempsey three
& here’s me making more with just one fight
Don King
But, man, you’re worth it, even more, I’m sure
The world would break the bank to see you fight
MA
The birds fly, grass grows, I beat people up,
Just how God intended, but my main fight
Is for liberty and equality
If I was meant to go to Africa
To highlight my essential ideals
Let so be it, winning my title back
In the Congo, that there’s a thing
Don King
Who are they whom invented invention?
Snatch ‘believe’ out of unbelievable
Carve ‘possible’ out of impossible
Consider the impact monumental
Of regaining your crown in this era
How the causes of Freedom & Justice
Would levitate Humanity, & you
Its banner-bearer, striding thro the clouds
MA
So why you, what you got that others ain’t
Don King
Well, I never cease to amaze myself
& I’ll say that humbly, I want to fill
The universe with thy fruition’s noise
Make moondust geosynchronous to thee
Boxing is the key, tho’ I don’t promote
The sport, for it is people I promote,
Boxing is but a people catalyst,
The way it mirrors life as a struggle
When we get knock’d down we can get back up
& still defeat the one who knock’d me down
MA
Joe Frazier will be mine after Foreman
Bundini Brown
It’s good, there ain’t nothing dodgy in there
MA
Very well, Mr King, you’ve got my name
Lets go to Africa
Muhammad signs
Don King
& this page too
MA
You had better not be fleecing me King
Don King
No brother,
I am going to make a masterpiece
Give me the chance to realise your dream
& what a way to do it, the impact
Of this single bout shall reverberate
Throughout the world – from a black perspective
Let us inspire all of our downtrodden
Brethren, show that black men, when together,
Can succeed with effective proficience
If all of the best boxers are black men
Let boxing be a black man’s sport, fairly
Captain’d by black men, I shall be the first
Of these noble new leaders, trailblazing
Entrepreneurs, & speaking, gentlemen,
Of such business, I must catch a plane
A pow-pow with George Foreman to attend
Exit Don King
Bundini Brown
Well, well, well… allowing ex-convicts;
Black, poor, out of Cleveland’s hardcore ghetto
To promote your next fight in Africa
You couldn’t make it up
MA
Well, that’s the point
Destinies gilded with extravagance
Are the one’s everybody remembers
I coulda been a buck-tooth’d shoe-shine kid
Brain-slaving on the pavement, but, instead
I’ll be getting paid five million bucks
To show the world my brilliance innate
Five million bucks
Bundini Brown
That sure sounds handsome
Ya gonna be rich
MA
We’re gonna be rich
I’m gonna need an epic entourage
Come, now, lets bimble to the balcony
& bring a pen & paper – & coffee
We’ll need to make a list for Africa
Everybody’s going on a holiday
Exit Ali
Bundini Brown
But brother, Don King, there’s a famous line
Twain’s adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Which pronounces all kings rapscallions
I hope my brother knows what he’s doing
Exit Bundini Brown
Scene 2: Pleasanton, San Francisco
George Foreman is hanging out at his ranch on the outskirts of Livermore, with Don King
Don King
Quite a mighty fine place you have here, George
George Foreman
I think I’ve earn’d it, don’t you, after all
I am now the Heavyweight Champion
Of the World – that takes a lot of hard work
Don King
& a worthy champion you are too,
How does it feel
Don King
George Foreman
Man, almighty rushes
Roar inside your soul, like something ancient
Summon’d from the universe the moment
The last champ aint getting up anymore
Jack Dempsey, Jack Johnson & Joe Louis,
John L. Sullivan, Muhammad Ali
Each one of them’s inside you all at once
You know you’re the champion of the world
& feel it, too, you’ve stepp’d out of the ranks
Of regular guys, to something sublime
Perch’d on the Mountain of Humanity
At its very summit
Don King
Sounds a real blast
George Foreman
Hey, Don, do you wanna see my tiger
Don King
Hah – I am alright, thank you very much
I don’t like to see animals locked up
In cages, it reminds me of my own
Misdemeanors, if you’re catching my drift
George Foreman
Yeah, I heard you spent some time in prison
Don King
Since those dark days inside a stinking cell
I’m a character completely reform’d
& I’ve got a proposition for you
George Foreman
What is it
Don King
Would you like to see Tigers
Not in a cage, but roaming unfetter’d
Don King
Say what?
Don King
You wanna go to Africa
George Foreman
On holiday?
Don King
No, I want you fight
Muhammad Ali, out in Africa
Don King
You want me to box him in Africa
George Foreman
From the slave ship to the championship
From payless days of scourging work to one
Hour or so of boxing that will pay out
Five million dollars to each fighter
George Foreman
Woah brother, ya yanking my jive
Don King
I aint
President Mobuto of the Congo –
They call it Zaire these days – has fronted
The money – it’s real, it is happening
If you were to let it happen, that is
It’s enough green to set you up for years
I tell you as a man wh’s got your back
Under no conditions should you let slip
Such an opportunity thro’ those hands
George Foreman
{balling his right hand in to a fist}
This is my judge
{balling his left hand in to a fist}
This is my referee
So, what’s Ali saying – is he on board
Don King
I have his signature here
George Foreman
Africa!
Five million! they got facilities
Don King
They got everything a big fight might need
Airports, hotels, transport, big stadium
It’s only a few years since the Belgians
Were there – the infrastructure’s all in place
George Foreman
I’d be a loser hoodlum to say no,
Five million for fighting an Ali
Well pass’d his prime – like dough from a baby
Don King
& a lot of dough, by the way, brother
George Foreman
Y’know what, why not – I’m in, bro
I will fight, upon any given date
Twenty Muhammad Alis, Mister King
I’m going to give you an agreement
You got my trust – you got the fight
Don King
My man
My good man, you will never regret this –
For as Martin Luther King took us up
To the mountain top, this King, Don King,
Will make us all investors of the bank
& now that we are off to Africa,
It’s time to get in the proper mood, right
I’ve been thinking, George, this is gonna be
A major celebration of Negroes,
An event bigger than the both of you
So, as the fruits going back to its root,
Maybe we should bring with us all the best
Black musicians back home to Africa
A concert to perform before the fight
George Foreman
Sounds like a neat idea – Africa,
I ain’t ever been, have you
Don King
Just last week
It’s gonna blow your mind, it’s something else
George Foreman
I’m sure it will – hey – let’s go get a drink
Don King
I might not be an old institution
Like the Garden, or big corporation
With lines of credit with a major bank
But what I got is vision, faith & guts
George Foreman
I can see that, I can see you in me
We are gonna get on just fine, brother
Exit George Foreman & Don King
Scene 3
James Brown is playing a gig at the Erie County Fieldhouse, Pennsylvania – he finishes his set with I’m a Greedy Man (part 1)
Scene 4
The dressing room after the gig – James Brown is drying himself off with a towel / enter Don King
Don King
Well, well, James Brown, the Godfather of Soul,
Mr Dynamite, the hardest working
Singer in the business – may I just say
What consummate performance witness’d I
You’re the supreme soul brother number one
James Brown
& who the hell are you
Don King
My name is King,
Don King, we spoke on the phone yesterday
James Brown
Ah – King – come on in – do you want a drink
Don King
No thank you – I don’t drink, I like to keep
My mind as sharp as a French guillotine
James Brown
So, what is this gig that you got in mind
Don King
James, listen brother, this is the real deal
No skittish fancy, nor facetious tale
But Africa, Zaire & a concert
Accompanying the upcoming bout
Twyx Ali & Foreman, the Heavyweight
Championship of the world
James Brown
Africa?
Tell me more, Ali & Foreman on board
Don King
Sign’d, seal’d & all set to be deliver’d
To the source
James Brown
Tell me, how you get the gig
Don King
Well, James, I wasn’t getting invited
To any board meetings, had to kick down
That door, padlock’d by White Man’s privilege,
& now its open, let the blacks flood thro’
Like my man, Lloyd Price, who’s been helping me
Create festival to complement
The greatest sporting event that the world
Has ever seen or will, & you shall be
It’s first electrical accoutrement
Sharing the stage the most dynamic
African, American performers
I want the whole experience to be
A celebration of human blackness
& there aint nobody greater than you
Most successful soul singer of the age
By young blacks idolis’d & respected
You’ve gotta be the flagship of the show
James Brown
Will we be respectfully rewarded
Don King
Of course, a Liberian investment group
Has fronted up the money in advance
James Brown
Sniffing the proffered titbits to decide
I shall want a hundred grand in advance
Before I even step upon the plane
What other cats you got involv’d
Don King
We got
BB King, the Spinners, Masekela,
The Pointer Sisters, that’s just for starters
With Leon Gast filming the document
James Brown
That’s quite a cast, & I’ll be the headline
Don King
Of course, like I said, you’re the Soul Brother
Number One, so you’ll call the shots baby
James Brown
Well, King, let’s jam, I’m in
Don King
I hoped as much –
If you’d play a gig on Ryker’s Island
& talk to the kids there of drug abuse,
& the needlessness of ebriety
You’d surely come to Africa, I thought
James Brown
The uniquest of adventures awaits
I’m there brother
{enter a woman with lines of cocaine}
Now, if you’ll excuse me,
I need to unwind, now, after my show
Don King
Sure thing, & may I just say, one more time,
Mix’d up in the honey of the moment
What a most splendiferous performance,
Something quite celestial – the women
Love you when you’re out there, as if transform’d
By the bacchanalian aliens
James Brown
It’s real – I look good, I smell good, I feel…
Good, I sing good & girl, I make love good,
Ain’t that right baby
Don King
Well, I’ll be in touch
James Brown
It’s going to be a fantastic job
Don King
Yeah, we gonna do a lot of good things
Have fun you guys
James Brown
Wait a minute
Don King
Yeah
James Brown
This concert – has it got a name
Don King
No!
Not yet, but the fight got one
James brown
What is it
Don King
The Rumble in The Jungle
James Brown
Wow, that’s neat
Don King
Go easy brother
James Brown
Now, where were we, girl?
Exit Don King – James Brown & the woman snort some cocaine
James Brown
I love America – I love Africa,
I love everyone – & especially
I love those lips, baby, come here, kiss me
Scene 5
Deer Lake – Angelo Dundee is stood with a stopwatch – massive boulders line the roads with names of champions on them – Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Jersey Joe Walcott, Jack Johnson – enter MA jogging – he stops & Angelo Dundee hits the stop button
Angelo Dundee
Seven minutes, thirty-seven seconds
MA
Tell you what, Angelo, Agony Hill
Don’t get any easier, matters not
How many times I jog her vicious slopes
Angelo Dundee
The only way to reach supreme fitness
Is to love this dire ascent thro’ every pain
Now, when you’ve caught your breath pick up this axe
& chop that tree down there, let’s pack that punch
With muscles & endurance
MA
Endurance?
You think it’s going to be a long fight
Angelo Dundee
I honestly don’t know what to expect
In his last eight spectacular battles
Nobody gone more than two rounds with George
MA
But has Foreman fought me, they’ve all been chumps –
Don Waldham, well, he was a nobody,
As were Fred Askew, Sylvester Dulaire –
I cannot even pronounce that guy’s name –
John Carroll, Cookie Wallace, nobodies –
Excepting Frazier, he’s fought nobody
& Frazier was outta shape, as I was
In the Garden – remember, even then,
I shoulda still won that fight
Angelo Dundee
Hopefully
This time you will be in your perfect shape
MA
Pristeen, even, this my moment of truth
In just resentment of mine injur’d youth
I never wanted anything so bad
To take title back in Africa
I’ll got to gve myself the greatest chance
Angelo Dundee
Well, let’s keep on working, working, working
I mean, y’aint no spring chicken anymore,
Thirty-one is getting on
MA
Might be so
But I’m still as handsome as Nireus
Angelo Dundee
You aint on TeeVee now, Muhammad, look,
Among the groves you are the straightest plant
In thoughtful understanding, contemplate
Realities – when facing George Foreman,
Who stitches granite in sledgehammer fists
There are no places you’ll eliminate
Time’s fated waste – but, just as Ferdie says,
You’ve got your weight right down & are recharg’d
Inside your mind – I firmly understand
Uncheck’d flourish thy capabilities
In such a state, but even so, help me
Draw the gauge upon how you’ll George defeat
MA
{chopping tree down}
Foreman’s a chump – he is the Heavyweight
Champion of the World because I am
Proud to claim conscientious objection
They say George Foreman is the meanest,
Baddest boxer on this entire planet
They say he’s younger, they say toe-to-toe
He’s tougher, they say he’s stronger, they say
Lots of things but Foreman stands no chance
The title I had sworn adoration
Hath been imbruted by a common thug
He lacks stamina, flexibility,
Balance & defense, some lizard-eater,
I’ll girt his strumpet muscles with a siege
Of scientific boxing, plans devise
Comparing strengths & weaknesses long watch’d
From lot of tapes, I’ll understand each punch
& replicate their impact in training
I’ll find me some of the hardest punchers
Around, I’ll let them pommel on my skull
Then strike my liver, kidney, spleen, lungs, heart,
I need build up perfect resistance
Enabling me to absorb Foreman’s worst,
Then everything must tumble to the floor
When gravity & time must do its wor
Angelo Dundee
Are you sure, those punches sound & dangerous
MA
I can take a punch, you know that, I’m sure
I won’t get any problems with my brain
But fortitude gain’d with such honesty
Will make me a far effective boxer
Than ever I have been, unbeatable
& fast, I’m still fast, watch my feet, Dundee
See me step so quick ya’ll think I’m glidin’
Angelo Dundee
Why don’t we work on your abdominals
Forge them granite in calisthenic heat
Get down on your back & start pedaling
As if you were riding a bicycle…
Now give me fifty sit-ups
MA
Well alright
Now we’re talking
Angelo Dundee
No talking Muhammad
Let health rise from the resin of thy words
Count only like hot hammers to a blade,
Each sit-up turning flesh to solid steel
MA begins sit-ups
Enter Bundini Brown with Ralf his & young son Jimmy, who is wearing a woolen cap
Bundini Brown
Mohammad, Mohammad
MA
Yeah
Bundini Brown
I got someone who wants to meet you
MA
Yeah
Well, hello there, what’s your name, boy
Jimmy
I’m Jimmy – it’s amazing to meet you
MA
Why you wearing a sweater & cap on a hot day
Ralf
He’s got leukemia
MA
Oh
Jimmy
My hair’s all fallen out from the chemo
Ralf
Can we take a picture
MA
Sure… come here boy – listen, I’m gonna beat
George Foreman & you’re gonna beat cancer
Let us make a pinky promise on that
Jimmy
I promise, but Mohammad
MA
Yes, Jimmy
Jimmy
If I do meet God, I’m gonna tell him
You’re my friend
MA
Me & God are good friends
Ralf
Smile
The photo is taken
MA
You wanna tour of the gymnasium
Jimmy
Yes, please
Hey Angelo, we just cut short
Training today – you fellas want some lunch
Ralf
Sure
MA
Get Lana to fix some tasty food
Up for my guests – so, how does pizza sound
Jimmy
I love pizza
MA
Well that’s that settl’d, then
My man, Bundini Brown will see to it
Ain’t that right Bundini
Bundini Brown
Sure, Muhammad
Exit Bundini Brown
MA
Hey fellas, dya wanna see some horses
Ralf
There’s not so many horses in Philly
MA
Well, we got some here, let’s go, hey Jimmy
Jimmy
Yeah
MA
Do you like boxing
Jimmy
Yeah, I love it
The fights are so exciting to watch them
MA
But only my fights, right
Jimmy
Yes, Mohammad
Exeunt
Scene 6
Pleasanton – George Foreman is working on his bag with his Archie Moore, the punches knocking Archie backwards – he is being watched by the general public – enter Dick Sandler with Francois holding a radio recorder
Dick Sadler
Hey George
George Foreman
Yeah
Dick Sadler
This here is the journalist from Zaire
I was telling you about, Francois, right
Francois
Yes
George Foreman
Hello
Francois
Monsieur Foreman, a pleasure
We will be recording this interview
Is that alright with you
George Foreman
Sure, anything,
So… what will this be going out on boys
Francois
On France’s national radio first
I’ll also be writing an article
George Foreman
Ask away
Francois
{turning on the radio recorder}
L’entretien commence…
Tell us, George Foreman, do you look forward
To visiting Kinshasha in Zaire
George Foreman
I’m very happy to be on my way
Into Zaire – & I am pretty sure
I’ll be comfortable in Africa
My being uncomfortable out there
Will be like a French man not enjoying
The Paris Lido Show – or the singing
Of Maurice chevey-aise – how’s it pronounc’d
Francois
Chevaley
George Foreman
That’s right – so I am happy
To heave my flesh & bones to Africa
Where I think I’m gonna have a good fight
With Mohammad Ali – there’ll be a fight
From the first bell up to the ending bell
I predict you’ll be seeing a great fight
Francois
The fight has been schedul’d for September
Twenty-fourth – how ready are you for it
George Foreman
I’m feeling great – & I think I’m nearing
The best ever physical condition
I’ve possibly been in – I would have been
Able to fight a couple weeks ago
I feel
Francois
Do you think Ali is worried
About fighting you
George Foreman
Well, sure, I guess so,
The tangl’d knots that trouble boxer’s minds
My fists tie firm, but they will not worry
Of loss – they’ll worry about getting hurt
Francois
We have heard Ali thinks you are too slow
To fight him – what do you think about it
George Foreman
I think that’s positive thinking for him
Francois
You are not concerned that Ali might be
Faster than you
George Foreman
It is all a matter
Of what you call fast – I can hit a man
On the jaw fast enough – I also think
At this stage, that fighters like Joe Frazier
& Muhammad Ali & all these guys
Can only do what I might let them do
& I don’t intend to let them do much
Francois
How do you feel about fighting at three
In the morning
George Foreman
When I was growing up
In Houston, I would fight
A lot of actions in the dead pre-dawn
Francois
George – in the ring, Ali is a talker
Will you be talking back
George Foreman
I never get
A chance to utter words much in the ring
By the time I get to know a fellow
It’s all over
Francois
With Mohammad Ali
His boxing style means he’ll be avoiding
Your punches, so, how will you handle that
George Foreman
Well, he won’t be running thro the jungle
I’ll catch up with his person soon enough
Francois
Have your thoughts on boxing chang’d from the time
You were going in against Joe Frazier
Are you feeling more confident these days
George Foreman
I’ve realis’d I am a champion
& champion because I practice hard
& harder than the other guys around
& pretty confident I’ll do the things
I can & wanna do
Francois
What do you think
About the way that Ali treats his fights
Outspoken, outlandish, & outrageous
George Foreman
He’s been talking since he started boxing
Frazier knock’d his legs so far in the air
I thought that he was going to take off
Then he bounc’d right up & started talking
From that I know that there won’t be no way
I will be able to halt his talking
‘Til wholesome flesh & willing nerve go numb
He’ll keep on talking – but I do not think
He will be talking long when he fights me
I think I’ll waste him in two or three rounds
Francois
Thank you very much
George Foreman
You’re more than welcome
Francois
Good luck in Africa
George Foreman
I’ll see y’all there,
I can’t wait to be honest, now if you
Do not mind, I’ll get back to my training
Francois
Of course… l’entretien se termine
Thank you again
George Foreman
No problem
Francois
Au revoir
Dick Sandler
If you follow me I will lead you out
Exit Dick Sandler & Francois – George Foreman returns to pounding the bag
The Conchordia Folio 