The rope a dope was “on the spot”?

The reason the ropes required all that attention is because they were designed for a nineteen foot ring.. Of course there is going to be slack.

 

??? I know Ali didn’t agree to a 16 foot ring.

My quoting of Clayton pertained to the size of the ring alone.

What other sources (besides Clayton) confirmed the ring size to be exactly 16 foot ring?

We can blame whoever, but it was a **** up, exactly as I said.

I already knew that the ring size and ropes were mismatched, therefore and obviously, resulting in slack ropes which Dundee made less slack than they originally were by tightening them as much as he possibly could - I think I already made all this pretty clear.

 

ChatGPT and Genini which are both AI confirmed it was a 16 foot ring. The original sourcing should be relatively easy to find.

 

Me reading this post, thinking to myself "it cannot get better" and it got

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Corbett would’ve done the same, but better and would’ve finished George more quickly.

 

Haha. Thanks…I think.

 

I don't know what size the ring was in Zaire, but the size of the ring shouldn't affect the tightness of the ropes. If the ring was 16', you would need more than 64' of rope so you can tape the rope together and have enough rope left after you duct tape it that it will be strong enough that it won't come loose (you'd probably want at least 67-68' of rope). If there was too much rope it could have been cut.

If the ring is put together using a level to check that the posts are plumb, and a tape measure to check that the ring is square (same length diagonally from corner to corner) the turnbuckles and ropes should work out. If the turnbuckles are loosened the same and the rope is taped off at about the length needed, get 4 people (you can do it with fewer but it's harder), one in each corner, and tighten the turnbuckles together. The turnbuckles should tighten the same in each corner and if done right, the ropes will be tight without the corner posts being pulled inward. If the ropes were too loose in Zaire, it was because of whoever assembled the ring, not because of the ring size.

 

Normally your sentiment would go without saying but sadly, during this mini dark age, it very much needed to be said - even at the risk of persecution by those who can’t handle the truth.

Fear not, another Age of Enlightenment will cycle back through - probably around the same time when the boxing thong comes back into vogue.

 

Interesting. Thanks.

 

When I was a kid I used to put together the ring and seats when wrestling came to the armory. I wanted to be a wrestler, a boxer, or a bodybuilder. Maybe in another life.

 

Zach Clayton later said the ring was 16 feet, “was the smallest he ever worked in. Like a postage stamp”.
For some unknown reason a 16 foot ring was sent to Zaire when an 18 footer was contracted. The ropes were for an 18 foot ring hence their looseness.

The canvas was also very well padded making laterally movement a quickly exhausting task.

So Ali decided to use the ropes after round one because of the above plus Foreman was driving Ali to the ropes via cutting the ring.

 

The "Rope a Dope" technique goes way back be fore Ali.