Unpopular Opinion: Foreman would have KO'ed Ali if he kept the pace he did in the 1st round

Yes, Foreman could have made this a better fight if he somehow picked his shots a little better (jab too).
But was he able to win it? I don´t think so.

 

Re ring size. All I know is that Ali wanted 20 feet and Foreman 19 feet. I hadn’t read if they agreed one way or another but @ThatOne said the latter was agreed upon so I’ll take that as correct.

At any rate, they ended up with a 16 foot ring (as per ref Zack Clayton’s reckoning - he said it was the smallest ring he ever saw).

The ropes delivered for the fight were for a 19 foot ring - so before the fight Dundee tightened the turnbuckles as much as possible to pull up the slack - but as can be seen - the ropes were still very loose.

Dundee said Foreman’s team made a move to adjust/tighten the ropes during the fight but he screamed them away.

I think Ali’s weight of 216 1/2 lb suggested he wasn’t looking to be as mobile as he was for Norton and Frazier (about 212 lb apiece) and that he was at least placing equal importance on strength and punching power - particularly against an unprecedented brute like Foreman.

 

The ring was a surprise. Zack Clayton said he couldn't believe Ali agreed to fight Foreman in a phone booth.

 

Yeah, I've often wondered if there wasn't some thinking behind those four extra pounds. Of course weigh-in weights can be a bit deceiving when you don't have to make weight. It could be that he just had a big meal with a couple of drinks of water or juice right before the weigh-in.

 

Yeah, that was my point, neither asked for 16 foot - as far as I’ve read, Ali didn’t agree on that. Sounds like a screw up since they got ropes for a 19 foot ring which was the likely agreed upon size if any.

 

Yeah, I just think Ali looked that much bigger in appearance - bulked up a bit - his strength and punching power were among the more pronounced features of the fight - Foreman wasn’t gassed by round 4 but Ali had already staggered him by that stage. What we didn’t know fully back then was that George had a great chin so Ali’s hitting power in the fight might’ve been under appreciated.

 

He looked bigger in that fight than he did in his previous bouts against Norton and Foreman.

 

Yeah, he was probably a bit bigger. He said in his autobiography that he trained to withstand Foreman’s heavy punches without letting his arms drop.

He'd always train like that of course, but probably put extra emphasis on it before this fight.

 

Ali realized after the first round he couldn't keep that up for an entire fight. I read where after Ali blistered George with some straight right hands Ali said" that didn't hardly affect him at all" . That's when Ali knew he had to change tactics and drain George. It was the performance of an experienced seasoned fighter with a great ring I.Q. and the character and courage to make it happen.

 

Ali landed lead rights that imo won him the first round. The sweat was flying off of Foreman's head and he looked bad.

Or maybe I watched a different fight. Ali was petulant and in control to my eyes‍ (shrugging).

He would have stopped him sooner had ever round been like the 1st imo.

 

What fight have people been watching in regard to round 1?? I always felt round 1 was when Ali set the tone for the rest of the fight. At rounds end, Ali knew what he had to do to win that fight and most of it happen during round 1.

 

I was under the impression that Ali realised Foreman was gonna be harder to escape from, so in came the rope a dope.

 

Round one ended with Ali putting an off balance Foreman in a headlock.