Rumble in the Jungle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfCecc24YT0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wEHAUYSI6Q

 

In FOTC he went to the ropes after 5 rounds, and, yeah, by then he had started to tire after basically trying to take Joe out.

In Manilla he never stayed consistently on the ropes. He stayed there for periods, but started moving after a while. Manilla was in some ways an even smarter perfomance by him than Zaire. He paced himself very well in that one (something Futch stated, as well), if he hadn't he would have lost.

 

We have other geniuses in ring generalship like Robinson, Leonard and Whitaker etc, but for me he was something special. "The Rumble" is probably the one thing that sets him apart. 70% genius, 30% insanity. Like all the really great schemes.

A thread about the great ring generals could be warranted. Ring generalship tends to be overshadowed by physical and technical ability.

 

Offering your body to one of the hardest punchers of al time is NOT a smart move win or lose.
Ali did it and he won the fight,but he paid a price,his kidneys never worked 100% after this fight Pacheco said they let blood and particles of matter through without filtering .
I watched the fight on closed circuit in Leicester Sq London.
Won £25 on it and had a memorable evening, but any one who thinks Ali had a walk in the park, needs to watch those early rounds again.

 

It was smart if you can take a punch like Ali does... But Ali absorbed some sickening shots to the body and the head due to his habit of laying on the ropes that night.

I do think that the Thrilla in Manila was a great performance by Ali (and Frazier also). He showed a lot more in that fight than he did against Foreman in my opinion.

I'm not sure if it was his rope-a-dope that won him the fight as much as it was his consistent jabs and rights to Frazier's one good eye which swell up to absurb proportions.

 

You old man.

 

Yeah, he payed a price reagining his title, no doubt. The headshost weren't that bad in Zaire (he rolled with most of them), but, as McVey said, his kidneys were done more or less.

I wouldn't call it "rope-a-dope" in this fight, really. He took breathers against the ropes, but he was smart and leaning into Frazier and thereby minimizing the space between them and Frazier's chance to do damage. He needed those breathers to come back effectively with his lead rights and flurries. In FOTC he went all out during the first five and spent himself. He learned from that, as a great fighter should.

 

Look at 6:00 for example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwCJI7i4bpE

Not really the ideal way to rest yourself.

 

He's fighting back. What's wrong with that? He's hardly rope-a-doping in any case. He's dead tired by this point and forced against the ropes by an absolute beast. Quite different from when he chooses to go to the ropes when still fresh, as he did against Foreman.