In the 'Princess and the Pea' fairy tale, a true-born princess is able to feel a single pea underneath her, even if it's buried under no fewer than 20 mattresses. But Wilder's ears must be on a whole different level of sensitivity, kind of 'super princess plus', if he's able to take a deep cut from a fingernail that's inside a clenched fist inside a 10oz glove.
* The loosened ropes - Foreman said the ropes were loosened so Ali could lay way back on the ropes and Foreman, standing in front of him, couldn't hit him. (Dundee admitted to having the ropes loosened before the fight). * The bribe to Zack Clayton (Dundee admitted paying it and Clayton admitted taking it - although both said it was to "protect Ali"). * The referee's quick count (Foreman claimed Clayton counted fast and he was up before 10, nobody reported that it had occured, and the fight films weren't televised to a wide audience until March 1975 by ABC, just before the Ali-Wepner fight, and then they weren't shown again for nearly 20 years until NBC showed them, so this was all but dismissed for decades. Before the 90s, you couldn't really watch the fight except for clips in the movie The Greatest - which didn't show the count). * Having his passport taken away so he couldn't leave the country when he cut his eye (at that point, Foreman wanted out but he couldn't leave - that wasn't widely reported until later). * The drugged water - Foreman claimed his trainer drugged his water (said it tasted like medicine) and said Dick Sadler was working for Ali. The drugged water was never claimed, but Sadler turned up working for Ali when Ali announced his first title defense a couple months later, which surprised everyone who saw him there, including Foreman, which is when George "put two and two together" (according to him).
Wilder had surgery on his torn bicep after the Fury rematch. Do I need to remind you most fighters actually quit during the fight when they suffer a torn bicep. That has happened to him in two fights and he required surgery to repair his biceps twice. But he didn't quit in either fight.
Thank you Dubblechin, but I do not find this convincing although George believed it. Foreman was devastated & I am skeptical he was just not able to accept his defeat. I understand that the ropes were the wrong ones, made for a larger ring. Ali's corner was yelling for him to get off the ropes. Although Ali practiced the rope-a-dope in sparring, they thought it was suicide. I would like to see evidence that Dundee said he loosened them. Foreman said it was a quick count? Ali was gonna finish him off the next round, Foreman was exhausted & lacked Ali's recuperative powers. Ibelieve you on the passport thing, the Government was shady, but that does not show the fight was fixed, but that they wanted to publicize their nation & profit from this mega-event. I really do not believe there is any indication that Saddler was so Evil that he would drug his own fighter. This is based upon pure speculation on Foreman's part. When like Wilder (or Trump), his Ego could not face his dramatic defeat. Maybe we should have a thread about this.
