So there are not one but two mysteries about the "Rumble in the Jungle" fight; "a glass of water" and "did Foreman stay in Zaire the whole time". MAYBE it would be better if we all became conspiracy theorists, rather than connoisseurs of boxing and boxing history. Whoever gets angry or doesn't like this kind of comment is fine, but that's the real Дејан Икрашевић.
The original fight date of Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman was Sept 24 1974 in Zaire. You are correct, Foreman suffered a cut eyebrow in sparring but instead of acclimatizing to the weather in Zaire, he chose to do an impression of his idol Sonny Liston, scowling for the cameras. Ali on the other hand chose to get used to the weather and train for the fight. Foreman had ample time during his recuperation to acclimatize.
Welcome back! Unfortunately your old nemesis is back as well, but it might be a perverse logic there.
I think most of all Ali wanted to sell tickets. He was at it on Chuvalo also, calling him the washer woman (I also think Chuvalo actually came dressed up as a washer woman at one point, which is a cool way to handle it). He probably also liked the laughs and attention a lot.
George Chuvalo did appear as a Washerwoman prior to his challenge against champion Muhammad Ali scheduled for March 29 1966.