Could Foreman ever defeat Ali.

Strategy beats Ali,,,,,not brawn.

Big George could have won the 1974 bout with Ali, if employed a 'fight-plan'.

One, not fight in the heat of Zaire.
Two, not in a place where Ali could utilize his 'mental war-fare'.

 

the rope a dope was a success on that night as it had foreman wailing away at ali with punches coming from all angles possible ali used the rope a dope to defuse foremans brute arsenal which led to big georges arm start to tire and fatigue ali sensed this and when he saw the opportunity he came out of the rope a dope and threw the combination that would eventually kayo foreman:yep:think

 

Huge oversimplification of the fight.

 

have you seen the fight have you rewinded the main rounds were the rope a dope was at its finest have you seen the way the rope a dope was incorporated into the match which led to foreman being confused when the rope a dope was in motion the rope a dope was a big factor in that fight and it helped ali beat foreman who got lured into the rope a dope and was not able to find a way to get out of the rope a dope:yep:think

 

The 'rope-a-dope' was not a pre-fight strategy.
It was found within the fight.

Way too much credit goes to that so-called stratgey.
Big George made it so-easy for Ali.
What the hell else could Ali do for 5 Rounds.

Argentinian Gregorio Peralta did that move, 4 years earlier on George, and almost pulled it off.

 

:rofl


Are you getting money everytime you say rope a dope or something?

 

If he didn't come out like a maniac, Ali would have just been hitting him with straight punches everytime he threw his wide looping shots, sticking and moving when on the outside, outwrestling him on the inside as he did do, and accumulated a big lead. George wouldn't have tired so eaily but what is the viable strategy for victory given his skillset?

Given the way he matches up with Ali, trying to overwhelm him was his best option.

 

Big George had a potent left jab.

Ali wasn't knocking anybody out (ie; Joe Bugner and Rudi Lubbers).
Just flat-out 'bad stratgey' and no plan for 'ring generalship' form George's Camp.

The 'jab' was the key. Ali, no way in hell he could have danced for 15 Rounds.

 

Good post.

But I don't think it was Zaire that worried Holmes. He had sparred for many years with Ali, enough to know first hand how wily he was. How he could suddenly come alive on the ropes and hurt his man, and also how strong he was in the clinches. He probably wasn't sure just how much was left and played it a bit cautiously out of ingrained respect of the abilities Ali had used to have. He said for example that he was surprised that Ali was so weak in the clinches. That he had used to be much stronger.

 

Quite a few people have mentioned the Zaire heat,over the years,as one of the reasons as to why Ali beat George. Well,there WERE two fighters in the ring that night. Muhammad was just too good,and too sharp for George in 1974.

 

George used the 'fight-plan' that had worked so well for him in all his previous fights. Who can blame him for that?

So you think the heat in Zaire would have an adverse effect on someone from Texas, USA but would be OK for someone from Kentucky, USA. Foreman was from Texas and Ali was from Kentucky.

Tell me a place where Ali would not have been able to use 'his mental war-fare'.

 

I can recall Joe Bugner saying that the 33 year old Ali would n't be able to stand the heat in Malaysia,prior to their second fight. Aftet the bout,Joe said that he was n't as used to hot conditions as Muhammad was

 

The Arctic Circle,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,dress warm:smooch

 

As Maxim said after the fight with Robinson: "I had no airconditioner in my corner either."

As for Foreman, there's one thing to make up a strategy, another to carry it out. George was just too poor setting up his punches to beat as skilled a fighter as Ali with as much left as he had. He didn't have a straight right, for chrissakes.

Against Ali a one-two with a left hook on top (either to the head or to the body) is a good way to go. But Foreman was so poor technically that he couldn't even put together a decent one-two, never mind the left hook on top...

 

True. George was completely sold on his sense, and possesion, of supreme brute force. In his mind he had one simple maxim "I demolished Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. Norton and Frazier beat Ali,and gave him close fights in the rematches. Therefore I'll be able to beat Ali just as easily as I did the other two..."