Could Ali rope a dope Tyson.

Rope a dope would not work on Tyson.

prime Tyson is not nearly as reckless as Foreman is is a much sharper FASTER and better skilled puncher then Foreman.

 

Moving and straight punching ali would do as he did against liston. not a standing but a moving target. actually what buster did well against tyson. bruno was too slow on his feet to make it work. spinks had lost b4 the opening bell. tyson even admits this in his new doc that most had lost against him b4 the fight had started.

 

He wouldn't have to.

 

The rope a dope would be the wrong technique against Tyson. Ali would be better off using his height and reach and speed to discourage Mike and tying him up with those long arms when Mike got in close. Ali had a sharp right hand lead which he could put to good use as well. I think he would work on Mike's fragile self confidence (Not to be confused with courage) and psychologically beat Mike before stopping him late or capturing a majority decision. The rope a dope could be disastrous.

 

The rope a dope is a horrible strategy that only works against a fighter who has weak stamina and doesn't pace himself. He couldn't pull it off against anyone else, in fact, it made him get behind on the scorecards in the 11th against Ron Lyle.. Virtually any other fighter would've picked him apart on the ropes.

 

Exactly. People say the "rope-a-dope" is historically attributed to the Foreman fight, but Ali tried that with Frazier in the middle rounds of the FOTC. It obviously didn't work because Frazier didn't punch himself out like Foreman and still applied plenty of pressure in the late rounds.

The "rope-a-dope" could work against Tyson, if Ali discourages him early in the fight. I could see Tyson flailing away at Ali's body for a few rounds while Ali covers up, especially if Tyson tries the bully tactics. Stamina would be the main issue in this fight, because Tyson has never been 15 rounds.

 

Ron Lyle didn't fall for the rope a dope. He let Ali stay on the ropes and lose points. I don't like the strategy but Ali used it as something new and i think Foreman woulda demolished any other fighter who stayed on the ropes in their fight but ali wasn't any other fighter. FOTC - he never planned no rope a dope - that was tiredness and lack of fights over the past 4 years that made him REST on the ropes. By the time of Foreman he was using rope a dope as a possible tactic and probably worked a lot on it in training.

 

OOPs! I meant to say Tucker not Bruno. But the question was could Ali use the rope a dope. & I say yes, because all these fighters used this tactic to survive. Although Tyson dominated these bouts, he allowed these fighters to survive. Where with a little more aggression, Tyson would propably have stopped them. Although Ali could use this tactic to survive, it probably would not be the best strategy for victory.

 

Very good point! Imagine Ali taunting Tyson, with Tyson always wanting to be the intimidator. Covering up and then talking to Tyson? It would blow Tyson's mind!

 

Can I ask why?

 

Because unlike Foreman, Tyson throws compact, accurate punches and does not tire himself out in 8 rounds against an opponent who isn't doing ****.

 

Ali roping a dope against Tyson would certainly make for an interesting fight. I agree with the consensus that it isnt the best approach, but could it work? The rope a dope worked best in the foreman fight.

It wasnt really a straight lay on the ropes and absorb punishment. The first few rounds had Ali landing lead rights to show how slow foreman was and to do damage. It is hard to imagine him getting away with the lead rights against Tyson who was extremely fast in both attack and defence. The rope a dope means that Ali would stand stationery, lean back and cover up, but then strike on the counter. I have to say, it is difficult to imagine this working against a very fast Tyson. I see Ali moving backwards to the ropes and modifying the rope a dope so that he is constantly clinching and shutting down Tyson. I also think that with Tyson, if you allow him the clean shots, he will land a snappy punch at some stage that KOs Ali. It would definitely be a bad tactic (as anything but a last resort) and i think that Tyson would score a KO if Ali used this tactic.

 

Ali encouraged his opponents to punch themselves out on several occassions. He did this against Chuvalo, Frazier, Lyle and Spinks, but the only one it was succesful against was Foreman. With his telegraphed, wide punches and one-dimensional approach he was just the perfect foil for it. And let's not forget that the hot, humid conditions of that night had a lot to do with it as well.

I see no reason why it would work against Tyson.

 

Like Chris Pontius says, Tyson was a methodical puncher whopaced himself and made his shots count.

He was also a finisher with few peers in the history of the heavyweight division.

Now Ali probably could beat Tyson but not using that strategy.

 

He'd be better off doing what he did in the first Frazier fight: move around carefully and deliberately, throwing shots as Tyson came in, then holding on. Ali couldn't evade a whole combination from Tyson, but if he slips the first punch or two and holds, then Tyson is in serious trouble, since Tyson suffered from narcolepsy the moment someone grabbed him.

This tactic wouldn't be foolproof (Tyson's left-hook would be a constant danger) and it would be messy, but it would be enough to beat Tyson, who wasn't as relentless as Frazier, didn't have the same stamina and worked even less on the inside.