It was nine months ahead of George Foreman’s defense of his heavyweight title against Ken Norton in the year 1974 at the Poliedro de Caracas. After dodging Colin Hart and a group of British reporters for some time, Foreman’s agent Bill Caplan finally buzzed: “Fine, be at the pool in his hotel at 2pm.” Hart a chain-smoker back then, inevitably reached with a cigarette hanging on his lips leading Foreman to call out, “Hey you, put that out.” Hart, quickly replied with a grin, “Say please.” And it was just the beginning of the tension between the two.

Foreman started telling him about how he beat Jose Roman, the 196.5 lb challenger in two minutes six months back. Harty, as Hart was known among his peers, again chimed in, “Don’t tell me you’re proud of knocking out poor old Jose Roman.” Foreman had enough of it. “A hand the size of shovel came at me,” but Caplan’s timely intervention avoided the calamity! Foreman eventually defeated Norton to square off against Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974, in what would go down in boxing history as the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. And Harty would again do something that no one else could have done.

“I had a gut-feeling Big George lacked stamina, which is why in SunSport I picked Ali to beat him in nine rounds,” Hart had written in his column last year in The Sun to mark the 50th anniversary of the fight. When Ali destroyed Foreman with his five-punch combination in the eighth round, Harty was punching in the air with joy, something which he himself would describe as “shamefully unprofessional” later on. “I knew George well enough to realize he never fully got over being humiliated by Ali, despite ending up friends with his rival,” he had further added. Indeed, Hart had grown that close to Foreman despite their not-so-pretty initial encounter. And Caplan had a role to play in that.

Years after that hyped fight, Hart crossed paths with Foreman again in Texas when Caplan arranged a lunch for the two. As he was waiting for Foreman, a familiar voice yelled, “Hey you, put that out!” but this time with an ear-to-ear smile. This iconic sentence reached its full circle in 1995, when Foreman presented Hart a copy of his new book, ‘By George’ which was lighted up with a hand-written note: “To Colin, Put that cigarette out! From the champ, George Foreman.” After suffering a first bout of throat cancer, Hart had reportedly said, “I should have listened to him at the time.” 

How astonishing it is that just a day after Foreman left, Hall of Fame boxing writer Colin Hart joined him on the heavenly ringside to lend his legendary voice to craft more such memorable stories. 89-year-old Hart, who was fighting pancreatic cancer for a long time, finally bowed out to the disease on March 22, according to Sports Journalists’ Association’s Norman Griller, who was a former colleague of Hart. The Foreman connection is surely the most celebrated part of his career, yet is only a small share of his larger-than-life journalistic stint.

Colin Hart had a career full of knockout success

Born on April 6, 1935, in West Ham, East London, it was Hart’s grandmother who introduced him to the sweet science when she took him to his first professional boxing match at the age of 10. This seems to have sparked a lifelong obsession within Hart—as he would go on to dip his toes in the sport as a boxer. However, he would later humorously admit that he wasn’t cut out for that life because of frequent nosebleeds.

This would steer Colin Hart towards a career chronicling the sport instead. His career as a journalist would start years later in 1958 at the Daily Herald, when he was working as a news reporter. He later transitioned to the sports desk in 1962 and focused on boxing from 1964. Five years later, he joined The Sun as a boxing correspondent when the newspaper relaunched as a tabloid.

He held this title for 31 glorious years before officially retiring in 2000 but continued contributing to the tabloid through columns until just weeks before his death. Over the nearly six decades of his career, Hart covered some of the most monumental events in the sport. He worked on the ‘Fight of the Century’ between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden, which was his first American assignment. He was also known for his commentary on many of Sky’s boxing broadcasts, as well as his coverage of athletics at eight Olympic Games, including the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Summer Games.

His other major coverage includes the ‘Thrilla in Manila,’ as well as countless other historic fights featuring greats like Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, and modern stars like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. His work took him across the globe—from Las Vegas to Kinshasa, something a boxing journalist dreams of.

Beyond all the action in the ring, Colin Hart was a widely recognized personality, who became the first British journalist to win the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism from the Boxing Writers Association of America. A short two years later, he accomplished a rare feat for a journalist from Britain when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Beyond all this, Hart had his own quirks that set him apart, for instance, he never carried a mobile phone in an increasingly digital world. 

All that being said, Hart left the world as the last living British journalist to have covered the Rumble in the Jungle. Last year, in his column, he wrote, “I wouldn’t be surprised when the 100th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle comes around that boxing fans will be just as eager to find out what went on at the sport’s most surreal and historic episode.” Sadly, Hart’s Voice will be sorely missed when that day arrives. And boxing world came out heavily to mourn that void.

Derek Chisora and Legendary announcer among the first to say farewell

With the countless memories and connections Colin Hart left behind, it didn’t take long for people to share their parting words for the journalist. Legendary ring announcer, Michael Buffer recollected his encounter with Hart just a few weeks ago. “Colin and I just spoke a few weeks ago in London at a press conference and relived the first time we met back in February 1988 in Stafford’s Bingley Hall and the Tate vs Sibson middleweight title fight. Such an honor to know this legendary sports writer for 37 years! A gentleman and iconic boxing writer. R.I.P. With Admiration and Respect to Colin Hart,” Buffer wrote. 

When Ring Magazine shared its tribute to the legendary journalist, Derek Chisora too expressed his condolences in a tribute. “It was a pleasure meeting you my friend .R.I.P 😢,” noted the Zimbabwean-British boxing star.

Meanwhile, this user praised Hart’s work over the decades: “What a man, Encyclopedia of Boxing knew it all absolutely loved listening to him talk about boxing.  He must [have] had an amazing life and watched some amazing fights sad day for boxing.” It is true. After covering the sport for over 40 years, there is little he would have been unaware of regarding its history.

Another user recollected their encounter with Hart. “So sorry to hear of the sad passing of legend Colin Hart. Met him in Liverpool many years ago at a boxing tournament. What a lovely gentleman condolences to his family xxx RIP Colin xxx,” the user stated. The next user lamented about the week boxing has had. “No way Big George and Colin Hart. What a sad week in boxing. RIP,” the user wrote.

Someone else was watching a documentary recently where Hart was discussing the ‘Rumble in the Jungle,’ and was shocked to hear about both Foreman and Hart’s passing. “Documentary on a few weeks ago where he was talking about the Rumble in the Jungle. Now himself and Foreman have passed within 24 hrs of each other,” the user noted.

It has indeed been a devastating week for boxing and its fans everywhere. The sport will never see the likes of George Foreman and Colin Hart and will miss the hole they have left behind. Everyone from EssentiallySports extends its condolences to their families and loved ones. Do you have any parting words for Foreman and Hart?