I think Ali would still have won but not by knockout. The reason why he beat george was that he out smarted him and george got tired.............YOUR THOUGHS!
Ali was ahead on points at the time of the stoppage. That Ali only lied on the ropes and let Foreman punch himself out is myth. Watch the fight, it didn´t happen as often as you may think.
Ali's legs weren't the same at age 32 as they were earlier, and Foreman was good at cutting off the ring. I think Ali could've mixed in movement along with his fighting off the ropes and still won, but who knows? Ali was outfighting Foreman all night long, IMO.
Ali was the master of improvisation, and it was never more apparent than in Zaire. It was never the plan to counter off the ropes and the idea seemed to be sheer madness. Foremans all around skill , especially cutting off the ring , shocked everyone. Ali's corner people shreiked for him to get off the ropes, knowing George had slaughtered Frazier and Norton , Ali's toughest opponents up to now. Due to these circumstances, this was the way Ali was going to win. George gave him no choice. Ali's durability and versatility, combined with his ability to frustrate eventually spelled Foremans doom. George played into Ali's hands , and was more mentally ko'd than physically. Foreman certainly shook off bigger bombs than the one Ali dropped him with , but George had given up. Only Ali would have been able to dissfuse a monster like Foreman , another reason which makes the case for Ali being the greatest.
Some how the ring rope got loosened before teh fight. Anglo Dundee at work..... so Ali could rope the dope. Geroge I thought you hit harder than that, and the ropes took up some, he was able to lean further back than normal ropes would have allowed. And no if he'd stayed off the rope, he'd had to eat too many punches. In that George was the same size @ reach, and Ali was still going straight back, he'd eaten enough power jabs to have lost a decison or been KO'ed.
True. If he was losing rounds and behind on points before george got tired, the rope a dope theory woulda made more sense
True. Foreman's punches were rarely landed cleanly, while Ali's counters almost always were. He landed more and at a higher percentage in damn near every round.
