In an unfixed fight, could Ali have successfully rope-a-doped a prime Liston? Would Liston have punched himself out like Foreman did, with Ali laying on the ropes? Would Liston have been able to hurt him enough to win? Again, we're assuming this fight is not rigged.
I would not recomend that he tried it. I would suggest that the rope a dope tactic is of no value against a fighter that does not suffer from stamina issues.
I'm still amazed that it worked against Foreman. Granted, Foreman had very little stamina, but he hit like a steroid mule. Wide swings or not, Ali took more punishment to the gut than I would have thought anyone could survive. I think it was a risky strategy against Foreman, but there is no arguing with success.
No, not in '64...... Ali hadn't developed that skill as of yet... In '64, Ali was still young and full of **** and vinegar with great legs, etc... Ali began working on the rope-a-dope bit once he slowed down a tad and found his legs wouldn't move all fight long as they did when he was south of age 25...... MR.BILLbbb
Liston had more boxing finesse than Foreman and more stamina...Foreman was a wide swinging amateur with serious power...I think it would be a mistake with Liston
Absolutely Not. Sonny was 'well schooled' in that manner. He would have paced himself, as Sonny (in his prime) was 'A Steady Eddie'.
in a not rigged fight Ali could not have rope-a-doped Foreman . Fact d fight was rigged . In n unfixed fight I guess Ali could not rope-a-dope Liston either .
How do you think the fight was fixed? Foreman claimed his water was doped by his trainer. Is that what you're talking about?
Don't know about that although Foreman did not seem sharp during d fight really . What I do know about 4 sure is that Angelo Dundee himself or with d help of others put ropes that were meant 4 a bigger ring and hence were loose in d ring d way it was . Those ropes helped him @ all of d below : 1) avoiding punches by being able 2 stretch backwards without having 2 overcome fully toned ropes . 2) absorbing punches better since loose ropes absorb more energy than tight ropes 3) remaining upright when hurt after all 4) getting leverage on counters but i think that this is d least important 1 although [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCNBObnj5QI[/ame] then d heat was another crucial/critical element in favor of Ali since Foreman was d 1 Xpending more energy . Combine it all 2gether with d publicly known fact that Ali trained 2 employ d rope-a-dope tactic which is just another sign of how deliberate (fixt) it all was . Foreman vs Ali never happened (under reasonable conditions) and another fact is that there was no rematch under any conditions (must have been n immediate 1) , not that whatever such a rematch's outcome was , it is already proven that Dundee , Ali & others cheated BIG TIME because they knew that Ali could not withstand Foreman's assault .
Here's an article that suggests the fight was fixed. It talks about the oversize ring, the loose ropes and the doped water, among other things. Not sure I believe it, but here it is: Muhammad Ali Vs George Foreman: Was The Rumble in the Jungle Fixed? http://ringsidereport.com/?p=15944