The Rumble in the Jungle has been described as “arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century”.

The imminent meeting of Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, and the inexorable awfulness of the build-up, may have scaled new heights of nonsense but Sin City and the fight game have always been perfectly in step when it comes to the art of show business and bluster and the business of making money.

Sister Sledge lost one of their members earlier in the year, but the beat goes on for the disco-era heroines who play in Ireland this week, writes Ed Power

Muhammad Ali stood alone on many fronts, but Joe Frazier, George Foreman and a few others still stood toe-to-toe with him in the ring. Jack Nicklaus contended with Arnold Palmer on the front end of his career and Tom Watson on the back end.

Thousands of people of all races and creeds gathered for a Muslim funeral service in Muhammad Ali’s hometown in Kentucky to pay their respects to a man who fought in the ring and sought peace outside it.

Your letters, your views.

“Oh man,” said the late great Muhammad Ali when he found George Foreman fading fast in the eighth round of their thrilling Rumble in the Jungle encounter, “This is the wrong place for you to get tired.”

The fight itself certainly didn’t set the world on fire, but Muhammad Ali’s bout in Croke Park in 1972 was a sideshow for many who were simply in awe at having the man himself on their doorstep.

One of the most fascinating aspects of sport is the psychological factor.

It wasn’t until that last fight in Brooklyn that Andy Lee realised just how true some words of that neighbourhood’s most famous and notorious son really were.

THE letterbox clanks. As is always the case, I gallop downstairs to see what the post brings. This, I think, is a feature of the self-employed. The lack of a buzzing office atmosphere means that the postman’s arrival is a big deal. What will today bring? Maybe I’ve finally won the million euro in the Prize Bonds?

Boxing: Bernard Hopkins has warned you might not see his like again ahead of his light-heavyweight unification match against Sergey Kovalev tomorrow night-

Muhammad Ali’s personal doctor has revealed he cannot be sure that boxing contributed to the former heavyweight world champion’s Parkinson’s Disease.

Muhammad Ali’s personal doctor has revealed he cannot be sure that boxing contributed to the former heavyweight world champion’s Parkinson’s Disease.

Fifteen years ago, I found myself faced with a difficult decision. Back then, I worked in the real world. But I had a notion of becoming a journalist. In order to make the leap, I had to quit a job, take a loan from the bank, and return to full-time education.

Former Dublin footballer John O’Leary has called on Monaghan to throw down the gauntlet to Jim Gavin’s side, claiming the "rope-a-dope tactics" typically employed against the All-Ireland champions are a waste of time.

IT doesn’t lend itself to healthy eating, this World Cup.

ALBERT REYNOLDS said they tripped you up, while One Direction reckoned “it’s you they add up to”. I’m talking about the little things.

TO keep you on-trend this Christmas, I’m here to warn you against rushing out to buy a tablet computer for someone you love, because they might prefer a baking tin.

Wednesday morning in a café in Portlaoise and Gordon Matthews, general manager for Rugby League Ireland, is responding to a query as to why people in this country should pay heed to the code’s World Cup which starts tomorrow and sees Ireland taking on Fiji, England and Australia in the obligatory group of death.

If Arsenal really are pulling the Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope trick, then they are doing a damn fine job of lulling the opposition into a false sense of security.

When fatgate broke — Jerry Kiernan’s personal operation transformation for upholstered Gaelic football players — I could not be drawn into the barney.

Sugrue persuaded Ali to come to Dublin, and when the boxer landed, he arrived in a very different country to the Ireland we live in today.

SATURDAY

Sometimes it snows in April, a man once sang, and this past week, Ronan Rafferty has got to know just how true that is.

Legendary American trainer Angelo Dundee has died at the age of 90, according to reports.

THIS afternoon, in Louisville, Kentucky, the bell will ring for a week-long birthday party in Muhammad Ali’s honour.

I HEARD the great American sports writer Jerry Izenberg blow the dust of some great tales this week on Newstalk’s Off the Ball programme.

Boxing was today mourning the passing of one its finest heavyweights after Joe Frazier lost his battle with liver cancer.

Muhammad Ali today paid tribute to his great rival Joe Frazier, saying: “The world has lost a great champion.”

Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier is receiving hospice care for liver cancer.

Our new columnist Dick Clerkin saw his inter-county season end ignominiously on Saturday in a qualifier defeat by Offaly. The journey home was like being buried alive.

IT GOES without saying this is not how I had planned this column to read today.

LEGENDARY boxing commentator Bob Sheridan will be guest speaker at an event marking the first anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s visit to Ennis.

MIKE “The Rebel” Perez has not fought for more than a year but he will be doing some catching up at the UL Arena in Limerick on Saturday when fights twice on the undercard to the Andy Lee-Mamadou Thiam Yanjing Fight Night headliner.

THERE can have been few more memorable moments in golf – or indeed sport in general – in recent years than the last few holes of last year’s Open at Turnberry when Tom Watson came within inches of the most astonishing comeback in the game.

There was a time well within living memory that such a contest would have dominated discussions for weeks beforehand – and afterwards.

Amy Winehouse is dating the son of legendary boxer and grilling machine inventor George Foreman.

MUHAMMAD ALI met up with his Irish kinfolk yesterday when Ennis, home town of his great grandfather, Abe Grady welcomed back one of its own.

THE great Muhammad Ali clinched his latest title when he was declared the first honorary freeman of Ennis.

THE debate raged on in Turnberry bars and in national phone-ins long after Tom Watson had fled the scene of his flirtation with history.