Thirty-five years ago today, arguably one of the greatest boxing events took place in Africa.

“The Rumble in the Jungle” featured a heavyweight champion in his prime in George Foreman going against one of the greatest boxers in all time in Muhammad Ali.

We aren’t talking about the George Foreman that we have learned to love today. There was nothing likable and friendly about Foreman as a boxer in his early years.

Battling in Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the fight was held in Africa after dictator Mobutu Sese Seko put up the $10 million purse. Seko felt the fight was a gift for the residents in Zaire as a way to honor the black man. It was one of Don King’s first major fights as well, with Seko saving the promoter after he promised each fighter $5 million and came up short.

And despite Ali’s legendary history, he was the heavy underdog going into the fight against Foreman based on George’s success against Joe Frazier and Ken Norton – - both who he knocked out in the second round.

But Ali was Ali for a reason. He had a plan to slow down Foreman in “The Rope-A-Dope.”

By laying up on the ropes and absorbing body shots, Ali was able to tire out Foreman, leading to an eighth round knockout.

The fight led to several great film projects as a result, including the Academy Award winning documentary “When We Were Kings” and “Soul Power,” which profiles the Zaire 74 music festival that accompanied the fight.

In honor of the 35th anniversary, Muhammad Ali Enterprises created three animated shorts celebrating “The Rumble in the Jungle.” Ali.com also has all eight rounds from the 1974 match that you can view on their website.

Leave it Oprah Winfrey to play the role of peace maker between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

It was 12 years in the making but Tyson and Holyfield finally came together to discuss their 1997 fight when Iron Mike took a chunk out of Evander’s ear.

You have to think the folks at ESPN have to be a little ticked they couldn’t set this meeting up a little sooner.

A little too sappy and emotional for my liking but here’s the entire interview from Friday’s show.

Get your Kleenex ready.

Fresh off his Saturday victory over Juan Manuel Marquez, Floyd Mayweather has agreed to pay the IRS 5.6 million in back taxes after they were set to take the money from his fight purse.

Leading up to the fight, Mayweather didn’t address his financial issues, which was rumored as one of the reasons why he decided to come back.

During the post-fight press conference, a reporter had the guts to ask Mayweather about a USA Today story that said Oscar De La Hoya reportedly paid off Mayweather’s IRS debt.

I’m glad he took care of this issue but I hope this doesn’t mean Mayweather will go back into retirement now that he has the IRS off his back.

Playa Hater is live in Las Vegas for the Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

Check back all day on Saturday for updates from Vegas including a surprise announcement from Oscar De La Hoya.

Can we say comeback?

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10:55AM PST - The buzz before the Oscar De La Hoya press conference is the $600,000 Floyd Mayweather will have to cough up after hitting the scales at 146 pounds on Friday.

The contract weight was 144 pounds – - Marquez weighed in at 142 pounds.

It shouldn’t be a big surprise that Mayweather had a problem making weight considering his 21-month layoff from the ring.

11:17AM PST - So much for that Oscar comeback. De La Hoya announced this morning that his promotion company, Golden Boy, has signed Jorge “El Nino de Oro” Linares. “El Nino de Oro” is “Golden Boy” in Spanish. Linares is 27-0 and is the WBA Super Featherweight Champion.

De La Hoya threw in at the end of the presser that he’s never fighting against except for a rematch with Shaquille O’Neal.

Anti-climatic to say the least.

11:57AM PST – Bernard Hopkins, who I have interviewed on multiple occasions for Playa Hater, is literally going to church in the press room with a group of reporters.

Hopkins had some words of advice for Floyd Mayweather and his act on HBO’s 24/7.

In the third episode, as a response to Juan Manuel Marquez drinking his own urine, Mayweather comes out of the bathroom with a bottle of liquid and says “This is that silverback gorilla piss.”

That led to this response by Hopkins:

“I’m no silverback gorilla. I don’t play with words. To some, they look at it as good TV. My mom always said ‘Bernard, there are people that laugh with you and there are people that laugh at you.’ My opinion is they’re laughing at you, dawg. That’s not good TV.  I would never call myself a silverback gorilla. I know what white people use that for. A silverback gorilla is a powerful gorilla. You’re a ni**a with money and you’re crazy. A silverback gorilla is a ruler. He’s dominant. When you say this is silverback gorilla piss, dawg, you think that’s culture? It’s not. But the mentality … I’m not beating him up … I’m just saying is to him, he just don’t know. He’s blinded by the luxuries of what makes you a man. Dawg, what I have earned in my career, I have earned hard. But my 17,600 square acres house in Delaware doesn’t make me. That’s not my God. I’m glad to have it, yes. I don’t worship it. I don’t worship my car, my watch, and these clothes. When you get caught up in that type of mentality, it’s very hard to reprogram that back.”

Preach!

1:41PM PST – Triple H from the WWE will lead Floyd Mayweather down to the ring tonight. Mayweather has a great relationship with the WWE and Triple H was the man responsible for training the boxer when he stepped into the ring at Wrestlemania 24 against The Big Show. He shares his thoughts on Mayweather and gives his prediction for the fight tonight:

On how he got involved with Saturday’s fight:

Floyd has been a big supporter of the WWE. He has wrestled events for us at Wrestlemania, he’s hosted the show and I helped train Floyd when he wrestled for us and we became friends. He asked me to come here and walk him to the ring and come to the weigh-in and support him. I’m a big fan of his and I look forward to seeing the best pound-for-pound fighter back on top.

On how Mayweather did as a WWE wrestler:

Floyd was unbelievable. I walked into it having never met Floyd and not knowing him. He was wrestling The Big Show, who is 7-feet, 500 pounds. That’s a daunting task and looking aside from what we do, a 500-pound guy can just lean on you the wrong way and hurt you. Floyd was game for everything and the one thing you can’t question is his dedication and his determination to do something. No matter what I showed him, he was hell bent on learning how to do it right. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed working with him.

On if he thinks Mayweather would wrestle full-time after retiring from boxing:

I don’t know about full-time. Floyd is used to getting paid $20 million for one fight. He would be hard pressed to go on the road for 200 days a year. I think Floyd would love to be a part of what we do in some way. Floyd’s an entertainer. You can say he’s an athlete and he’s a sports guy all you want, but at the end of the day, sports is entertainment. People pay money to be entertained by a game or a sporting event. Floyd knows how to entertain them. That’s why all these people pay money to see his fights.

On his prediction for the fight:

I think Floyd is going to take it. It will be a very good fight and Marquez will press him but at the end of the night, Floyd will come out victorious. I believe TKO.

6:10PM PST - The first PPV fight of the contest is underway between Orlando Cruz and Cornelius Lock for the vacant NABO Featherweight Title. The scene outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena is crazy – - thanks in part to a pool party hosted by Diddy at Wet Republic that was letting out.

6:27PM PST – Cornelius Lock delivered a nasty right uppercut and knocked out Orlando Cruz at 2:08 in the 5th round to win the NABO Featherweight Title.

“It was a good shot from Cornelius and I congratulate him,” said the battered Cruz. “But all it was is a good shot.”

Lock, who improved to 19-5-1, said “I felt good but I felt tight. I felt like he wasn’t on my level. I was catching him with the left and I was thinking I was throwing the hook wrong so I shorten it up a bit. i caught him and I ended it.”

6:32PM PST - Floyd Mayweather’s arrival  to the MGM Grand Garden Arena was show on the monitors inside the arena, sparking a mixed reaction with the late arriving crowd.  Juan Manuel Marquez’s arrival generated a much louder response.

6:39PM PST - In what could be the most excited fight of the night, Michael Katsidis is taking on Vicente Escobedo for the vacant WBO Interim Lightweight Title. If you haven’t seen the Australian Katsidis fight before, you’re in for a treat.

6:51PM PST – Before Round 4 of the Katsidis-Escobedo fight, Triple H along with wife Stephnaie McMahon came out from the back to take in the action before he leads Mayweather to the ring later this evening. Triple H tried to hit the fans at the weigh-in on Friday with the “Are You Ready” routine and the boxing fans didn’t get it. I almost felt bad for him – he felt so out of place.

7:00PM PST - Katsidis is making me looking bad after I said this fight would have fireworks. Feel free to shout out “You lie” if you wish.

7:14PM PST – Katsidis is rolling along in this fight with Escobedo as we enter the 10th round. Not many people were expecting this to go to the distance – - I don’t know what Howard Lederman’s unofficial scorecard is but my guess is it’s lopsided in Katsidis favor.

7:29PM PST – Katsidis wins by split decision and is the new WBO Interim Lightweight champion. The judges ringside had it the following: 116-112, Escobedo (Clearly, he’s blind), 115-113 Katsidis, 118-110 Katsidis.

“I’m ecstatic, said Katsidis, who improved to 26-2. “I’m back. It’s an amazing thing for a fighter to get off the ground and win a title again. I’m a fighter that gives it his all and I needed to give it my all to win. If I can get off the ground and win a title, anyone can.”

7:34PM PST – The second most popular fighter on the evening, Rocky Juarez, is making his way to the ring. The first match between Juarez and Chris John was a classic. John enters the match an undefeated 42-0. Sidenote, I got the evil eye from security about taking photos from press row – - so much for that.

7:53PM PST – John is having little trouble with Juarez so far through four rounds. He’s 42-0 for a reason and he’s showing why.

8:08PM PST – Diddy just arrived to take his seat ringside. This guy … I bet if you were to ask him a boxing question, he wouldn’t know the first thing about the sport. Mayweather brings out the stars, that’s for sure.

8:24PM PST – We are in the 12th and final round of John-Juarez, which means Mayweather-Marquez is right around the corner. Juarez ended the fight with a great final minute – - was it enough to win him the fight?

8:28PM PST – The chorus of boos should tell you that Juarez lost the fight, 114-113, 119-109, 117-111. John remains undefeated at 43-0 and retains his WBA Featherweight Title. “It was a very tough fight and in the last round I was hurt,” said John. “I kept on fighting for my idol Arturo Gatti and that’s what kept me going.”

8:38PM PST - Tyrese sang the National Anthem. ‘Nuff said.

8:41PM PST – Marquez is making his way to the ring behind a huge response from the crowd. This is your class match between a face and a heel. Take a guess on who the heel is.

8:46PM PST – Mayweather came to the ring with no music. No flare. No drama. Just a 6-foot-5, 250 pound wrestler behind him.

8:51PM PST – Outside of a flurry of punches by Marquez, a slow start to Round 1. Both fighters were playing it timid the first two minutes of the round but Marquez had enough to win the round.

8:56PM PST – Mayweather delivered a nasty left hook to Marquez, knocking him down to the mat. He managed to escape Round 2 but I’m not sure how much longer this fight will go if he’s walking into punches like that.

9:00PM PST – Solid round for both fighters but Mayweather landed enough punches to win the round. Marquez appears to finally be waking up and countering with Floyd.

9:04PM PST - Mayweather got hit with Marquez’s best punch of the night and just smiled. That might sum up the direction of this fight so far. On to Round 5.

9:09PM PST – Good Round 5. Both fighters landed some decent shots and Marquez has some blood coming from his nose. I give the round to Mayweather – barely.

9:12PM PST - I take back my prediction about this fight going the distance. Mayweather is out for blood.

9:17PM PST - Marquez showed signs of life when he had Mayweather on the ropes but Floyd is just too quick for the Mexican fighter. For every Marquez punch, Floyd has two to counter.

9:21PM PST - Mayweather finished the rounds on the ropes again, giving Marquez the momentum to close out Round 8. This might be his strategy but if he’s not careful, he might find himself in a hole he can’t get out of .

9:25PM PST - Mayweather had a nasty combination to close out Round 9. Marquez has heart, that’s for sure. he’s going to need a KO to have any chance of winning at this point.

9:29PM PST – Floyd turned into “Money,” his cocky alter ego at the end of Round 10 with a little showboating after the bell. The two fighters got tangled up as the bell rang. Nothing dirty – just boxing.

9:36PM PST – The fight went the distance. Marquez has heart but there’s no way he wins this fight.

9:38PM PST – He’s baaaaaack. 118-109, 120-107, 119-108. Mayweather wins easily.

9:49PM PST – The post-fight antics between Mayweather and Shane Mosley were better than the fight. Only problem is the folks on press row really couldn’t hear what was being said in the ring. Seems like HBO is trying to generate some hype for a future PPV.

In the third and final part of BET.com’s interview with Floyd Mayweather, the undefeated boxer explains his maturity during his two-year layoff and the relationship with his father, Floyd Sr. Mayweather takes on Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, Sept. 19 live on pay-per-view.

Playa Hater will be reporting live from Las Vegas starting on Friday leading up to the Mayweather-Marquez fight.

On if HBO’s 24/7 has helped with his image:

Yes, I have expressed that and I think that’s why you saw a part of that in the first episode. I think you will see more of that in the episodes to come. We are just trying to be positive and give back and do the right thing.

On how his music career is going:

Everything is coming along great. I have a lot of things in the fire right now and we are working on a number of things. We are looking to take it to the next level.

On who his musical influences are:

Don’t have one.

On his relationship with his father:

Everything is great. It’s always a good thing anytime you can come to work and you can see your mother and father there. That’s a wonderful thing. What child wouldn’t want their parents around if they were successful? My dad is at the gym everyday working with me and supporting me. It means a great deal to me and I’m glad to have my father in my life. It’s truly a blessing.

On having a target on his back as an athlete:

As one of the top athletes in the world, I do feel as though I am a target. You look around and people a lot of time mix confidence with cockiness. I’m just  a normal guy that likes to go out and have fun entertaining people and doing my job. A lot of times people misunderstand that. As long as God loves me, my kids love me, my family loves me … that’s all that really matters. They talked about Jesus Christ and how he died for all of us. I’m older now and I’m more mature. I try to focus on the positive.

On his maturity:

During my time off, I got the chance to really, really get to know myself. I haven’t had a break and I have been boxing since 1987 and this is the first time I had a chance to take some time off. The real Floyd is the guy who likes to spend quality time with his family, his friends and just enjoy life.

On his match competing against UFC 103, also on pay-per-view:

I don’t worry about what they do. They have their audience and they have a different type of audience. They do what they do and we do what we do. I’m the biggest and the best in our sport. I’m the face of boxing. I’m the pay-per-view attraction and I think when it comes to a pay-per-view audience, the fans will have an option to watch me and Marquez fight.

Catching Up With … Floyd Mayweather: Part II

Catching Up With … Floyd Mayweather: Part I

PHOTO CREDIT: Gene Blevins – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

Part two of our interview with Floyd Mayweather discusses what the boxer did during his nearly two year layoff from the ring and why he feels he gets a bad reputation from the media. Mayweather takes on Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, Sept. 19 live on pay-per-view.

I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my kids. These are the years that are most important to me and most precious to my kids. These are their developmental years and it’s very important as a father that I spend quality time with my kids. During my time off, that’s what I was able to do. I got a chance to know myself a lot better.

On if his kids gave their approval on his return to boxing:

(Laughs) Of course. I’m daddy to the kids so no matter what I do my kids always support me.

On staying focused on the fight and not caught up in the distractions outside the ring:

The press tends to blow things out of proportion. There aren’t any distractions. My focus is on my fight. I had nothing to do with the alleged incident and my focus is solely on Marquez on the 19th.

On how hosting WWE Raw compared to his appearance at Wrestlemania 24:

It was an unbelievable experience. I’m thankful Leonard put it together for me and I had another great opportunity to have a platform to go out there and showcase my talent. We have a great relationship with the WWE that we hope to continue for many, many years. It was great working with Vince and Shane and I’m just glad to be a part of their family.

On why he doesn’t get more press attention for the positive things he does outside the ring:

I just think that’s how society is. They just tend to focus on the negative instead of the positive. Negativity sells I guess. You see a press release that comes out that says Mayweather’s house gets searched weapons, bulletproof vests and something else. They fail to tell you the guns were registered to my security and were legal weapons. They paint the picture that the weapons were my weapons. They weren’t my weapons. They talk about the bulletproof vests … I use that as a form of entertainment. The vests that they were talking about were giving to me by the police. Tell it like it is. If we being to focus on the more positive things like how I go out and feed the homeless and how I donated $250,000 to Grand Rapids so the kids could come and fight in the nationals. If I didn’t do that, they wouldn’t have had an opportunity to come out and pursue their dreams. These are the kind of things they don’t talk about.

Access Granted: Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Part I

Must see television tonight is HBO’s “Mayweather/Marquez 24/7″ at 10:15 PM ET/PT.

My name is Floyd, my name is Money, Mayweather.

No offense to Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoy, Manny Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez but 24/7 was made for Floyd Mayweather.

Hence why he’s the face of 24/7, Mr. HBO himself.

He’s the most charismatic boxer in the sport and Mayweather is not afraid to be himself.

And frankly, he really doesn’t care what you think about him.

Anyone else watching tonight?

Boxing lost another great champion Saturday night when Vernon Forrest was shot and killed in Atlanta during an attempted robbery.

The 38-year-old Forrest was shot multiple times after chasing two men who attempted to steal his Jaguar from an Atlanta gas station.

A former two-time welterweight and two-time junior middleweight champion, Forrest was 41-3 with 29KOs as a professional boxer.

Outside of the ring, Forrest was involved with Destiny’s Child, a group home that provided support for mentally challenged adults.

R.I.P. Vernon.

“This is the love of my life, boxing is my passion, boxing is what I was born to do. When I can’t do it anymore, when I can’t compete at the highest level, it’s not fair. It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to the fans, it’s not fair to nobody.”

- Boxer Oscar De La Hoya at his retirement press conference in Los Angeles.

That ass whooping you took from Manny Pacquiao wasn’t fair for my wallet, Oscar.

$64.95 to see you get whooped up on was pretty priceless though.

I still can’t figure out the statue in front of Staples Center…

Boxing gets back into full swing this weekend as Paul Williams takes on Winky Wright this Saturday live on HBO at 10:00PM EST/7:00PST.

BET.com spoke to both fighters about this weekend’s middleweight showdown at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

Next up in Access Granted is Paul Williams (36-1), who has been labeled as the most feared opponent in boxing. The talented middleweight is not shy and takes a shot or two at his opponent before stepping into the ring Saturday night.

On how training is going:

Training is going great.  It’s been the best training camp in the past 10 years.  It’s comfortable because I get to eat whatever I want and I am still trying to put on the weight.  I feel strong.

On being labeled as one of boxing’s most avoided boxers:

At first I had reservations about being labeled “the most feared fighter” in boxing.  But when I continued to have trouble making fights – I came to realize that it is an accurate statement.

On what challenges Winky Wright will present in the ring:

I am not looking past Winky. But I don’t see any challenges in the ring.  When you are in the ring with an opponent who has nearly 40 fights on his record you know that you’ve seen everything he has in his arsenal.  There is nothing I have not seen.  I don’t understand those who put him on a pedestal.

On being able to expose the fact Winky Wright hasn’t fought in 21-months:

Well, I don’t believe in ring rust.  That is just another label people like to give fighters. If you look at the past greats … Sugar Ray beat Marvin Hagler after not being in the ring for 3 1/2 years and Ali beat Quarry also after being out of the ring for 3 1/2 years. So I don’t feed into that label…

On James Kirkland calling him out:

I responded to him….  He should get his title back and come meet me in the ring.  He’s nobody and has always been.

On Antonio Margarito getting caught with illegally wrapping his hands (Kirkland defeated Margarito in 2007):

First of all  I didn’t believe it when I heard it.  It was just until recent that I now do believe it.  He didn’t have any need for it with his skill level and talent. I was looking forward to the rematch against him but now that is out. When I fought him none of his punches really stood out to me…  They all seemed the same.  Hard.