Zaire, Foreman's (lack of) corner and strategy

If he relaxed in the ring Muhammad would have relaxed too.

 

they probably thought he was eventually gonna catch Ali with a big shot, they also told him to wait too long on the count, and I haven't looked at the scorecards but Foreman might have been up on points due to having Ali on the ropes so much

This content is protected

 

Foreman told the Los Angeles Times in 2016 that all of them ... him, Sadler, Moore ... thought this would be a cakewalk, that it was a done deal, because they all bought that he was invincible. “Never studied one film, never dissected anything. He was such a good-looking guy, I’m like, ‘I can beat him.’ Never decided what his strength or weakness was."

And when you've screwed around like that, then reality hits you in the face, it's hard to change on the fly.

 

Hi Buddy.
This is a very valid and intriguing post, well done, like you I also wonder as to why the coach, cornerman, trainer, call them what you like, do not advise a fighter to try something different, when it is obvious the current plan is palpably not working, take the recent Joyce/Zhang contest, time and again Joe walked onto thudding straight lefts, maybe he was too immersed in battle to know what to do, but the corner were not in the ring ? same with AJ and Oysk in the first fight , he was not going to outbox a very good boxer obvs, but that did not stop him trying for most of the fight, why didn't the wise guys in his corner tell him to abandon that strategy and brawl, what was there to lose ? .
So yes like you I am left thinking maybe the exulted venerable cornermen are not what they would have us believe, if that is the case dispense with their services, and save yourself a good deal of money.
Stay safe amigo.

 

Sandy wasn't his trainer it was Dick.

By the time they would have figured something was wrong (if they did at all) it would have been too late. At any rate Foreman backing off would have seen Ali outbox him while taking him into deep water anyway.

 

Let's not forget that Rope A Dope was a suic1dul type of strategy. Ali had to have a helluva amount of grit n durability to endure those shots. Foreman definitely could've paced himself n used his jab better too but what happened happened.

 

Foreman (as well as his corner) definitely did not show a smart gameplan and high ring IQ in this fight, while the opponent did.

 

That's up there with Tyson's corner against Douglas.

 

I think if George laid off the gas a couple times, he could have probably won, but Ali was hitting Foreman good as well. I don't think the entire fight was Rope-a-Dope, Ali was tagging him and fighting with him and using strategy especially in the clinch game. Why wasn't Foreman told different? I don't know, it was a pitch battle and a pretty even fight with both men landing. I don't think they had a plan B, and I don't think Foreman was willing to hear a plan B anyway--it was a purely ego thing, which was his undoing. Also Frazier sounded badly damaged on commentary which adds a bit of impressiveness to his 1975 performance.

Ali knew he had to see the mid rounds to be able to get his fight going, so he used gamesmanship to get there. Ali's right hand over the top of Foreman's pawing jab and left hook inside of Foreman's sweeping right were money. Ali had jabs, 1-2s, left hooks on occasion, straight rights off of feints. Those shots would have been there regardless of Foreman's pace. The stoppage was an accumulation of blows as well as Foreman having no gas left and being mentally unprepared to be in such a tough fight. In round 6, both men were tired and mouth-breathing, but Ali was fighting with strategy and was aware he had to gather his resources to win while Foreman was still wailing away wasting his already depleted reserves. After that 6th round, Foreman had lost his steam and Ali was composed and ready to go. Also it looked like between 6 and 7th, George ate something? Weird. Wonder what it was. When the stoppage came, it was basically the first steady and crisp flurry of punches since very early in the fight. George was plodding breathlessly into Ali pawing at his guard and basically Ali just had to set the right trap and land his shot, and he did. The count was really fast, and George looked more tired and shocked than concussed as he rose.

All that being said, Foreman was fighting a good fight and punishing Ali, and if he had more gas in the tank probably would not have been stopped and won a decision. We didn't know Ali was the toughest fighter of all time until this fight. The battle of the jabs was pretty even at points--especially during the rope-a-dope. The body shots were there for Foreman and if he were to fight a style that was not exactly patient, but just not reckless, he easily could have won. When Foreman tightened his right hand up a bit, it landed as well.

 

Wasn’t it the case that Dick Sadler simply fell in love with George’s power and couldn’t even believe he needed to train/advise George to do nothing else other than smash the hell Ali outta there? As for Archie, Dick was chief cornerman and knew his place and only advised when it was his place to. Maybe even old Archie thought George would smash **** out of Ali. Could it be that straight forward. The corner screwed up. No conspiracy theories. They simply underestimated Ali.

 

The irony is Archie said Muhammad would have beat Joe Louis four out of five. Did he really think Ali was so diminished by 1974 or that George was that good?

 

I think this is a bit of a myth. Sure, Foreman got some good ones in, but the one who landed the best clean shots was Ali. Foreman lost the battle in the centre of the ring and on the ropes. The myth is that Ali had to wait for him to get tired to get the better of him, when in fact he got the better of him at every stage. Foreman had moments, especially in the 5th, but Ali would come back and steal the show.

I do agree. though, that Foreman under utllised his jab, which was quite a good one. However, when he tried to he lost the battle of the jabs from memory. Ali's was quicker and more precise. But he still should have stuck to it more.