Did Ali think of the rope a dope on the spot?

I don't believe that.
My personal opinion is that he knew that he was getting older and couldn't move like he used to. I suspect that he knew that the Foreman people took the fight because they knew he couldn't move any more. But when Ali looked at George Foreman he didn't see the monster, unbeatable behemoth that George Foreman of 1974 has become on boxing forums. He saw a big strong guy with shaky stamina, very few rounds of experience and a low boxing IQ.
So he went to the ropes and laid there, which is exactly what Foreman was hoping that he would do. And the young, strong, not too smart guy charged forward believing that he couldn't lose....until he got knocked out in a afight that he was losing.
I belive that Ali figured out in advance, and Dundee was probably in on it, a way to lay on the ropes, expend little energy and potshot Foreman while George wasted his effort.

 

Yeah Ali trained for the fight the same way as he fought. He would take punishment on the ropes from sparring partners. Dundee was interviewed about it and said he couldn't really talk Ali out of sparring like that and Ali told him that he was sparring like that so he could harden himself up and take the punches on fight night.

 

Ali got the rope-a-dope strategy from Levi Forte, who had fought Foreman before and took him 10 rounds.

“Levi had been a boxer who trained and sparred against Muhammad Ali, the ‘greatest of all time.’

Forte came up with the rope-a-dope tactic after having faced George Foreman himself and going the distance.

The tactic involves covering up, leaning back against the ropes and allow the opponent to become exhausted during the first part of the fight and then unloading on the opponent in the later rounds.

Forte first met Ali when he was a bellman at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.”
https://miami.cbslocal.com/2018/12/...of-boxer-who-came-up-with-rope-a-dope-tactic/


“At the end of the 1969 fight against Foreman, when the decision was not yet announced, Foreman muttered to Forte “I’m never fighting you again”. And he didn’t. But Levi Forte later gave some advice to Mohammad Ali before The Rumble in the Jungle: “He doesn’t have stamina, keep him punching and he’ll get tired”. Ali replied, “Heh, I’ll keep on the rope… and he’ll be the dope”.

Forte attended the Rumble in the Jungle and at one point during the fight, Ali looked at him and said “Now?”. Levi nodded and Ali kicked it in and knocked Foreman out.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/michae...vi-forte-the-boxer-george-foreman-feared/amp/

 

I have watched the fight several times and have the opinion that Foreman was faster and stronger than Ali expected and he couldn't move fast enough to outspeed Foreman so he took it on the ropes as best he could. I also don't Ali thought he could move fast enough at his size and age to not run out of steam and get caught. That doesn't mean Ali didn't train to defend hence the claims of him being a rope bender with unusually loose ropes but IMO if he had the speed and energy of the 60's he would have used all that to avoid punishment. I don't care what anyone says when Ali saw what Foreman did to Frazier and Norton he was afraid he would lose in similar fashion. It worked out but not as planned but as hoped

 

Is there any footage of Foreman v Forte? Im interested in seeing how the bout looked.

 

I’ve seen pre fight interviews where he commented on the fact that George wasn’t used to fighting in the later rounds and that this was how he’d beat him. Ali knew he had to wear George down.

 

Here is a photo of the fight.
https://imgur.com/TyX0zWv

Here is a tweet of Big George himself talking about the fight.
https://imgur.com/sJiJMvm

 

This was covered in "When We were Kings".
Yes Dundee could not stop Ali from training like Sportswriter George Plimpton said was a "man looking out a window at a floor above him".
Foreman was not stronger than Ali expected-he saw his devastating punches upon the biggest heavy bag around, although tried not to look-but faster.
And the ring was both soft & small.

When he saw he would tire, taking 2 steps to George's one when he could cut off the ring, he pulled the trigger on the rope a dope.
But very few men could ever both roll with/mitigate blows enough, & withstand what hit him anyway.

The Forte story is new to me, very good!

 

Foreman loves a good story doesn't he as does boxing. Forte lasted the distance but didn't win a single round against George. I've seen one page claim he lost by split decision, another claim he lost by 1 point and that Foreman feared him and other such fantasy LOL. Foreman was in his 12th pro fight.

Foreman fought Ali half a decade and 28 fights later. Lucky he had Levi's advice tho.

 

There are so many myths around The Rumble that it’s hard to know what to believe.
There’s one that Ali basically just lay on the ropes all night then suddenly sprang into action to ko the exhausted George when in fact Ali had been laying it on George all night.
Then Angelo Dundee is quoted as saying he thought Ali was a dope to be on the ropes and can be heard shouting “get off the ropes” during the fight.

 

I believe it was an accident.


Ali tried to move in the first, but as mentioned because of the soft canvas and not being twenty three anymore it did not work. So he laid on the ropes out of danger (well not so much danger!) why trying to think up another strategy.


Dundee was screaming at him to get off the ropes.


At the post fight interview, it was Frost who coined Rope-a-dope, Ali played along.


As I suggest, all just an accident, but that is to take nothing away from Ali for the pulling the strategy off. It was something perhaps only he could do, and added a rather big block of evidence as to why he is not just one of the greatest boxers, but one of the greatest sportsman we have known.

 

Ali was the master of improvisation - changing tactics on a sixpence.

 

Pretty much what you say, and that he realised that Foreman was really good at cutting off the ring. So he tried out a tactic that he toyed with at least since the Liston fight, but rarely whipped out in practice (for a short while in the first Chuvalo fight).