Rope a dope is when you let the boxer you are fighting get you against the ropes and protect your head then they waste all their energy trying to hurt you after that you easily knock them down because they are tired. Muhammad Ali started that saying. Cheers and happy weekend!
This post was edited by Nanoose at December 1, 2019 12:00 AM MST
Yep then Foreman had to start doing something he was better at - pitching the George Foreman grill on TV. I got to see that fight on pay TV at a bar it was way fun. Cheers and happy weekend!
When I was a kid I worked at Madison Square Garden tidying up the storage room. One day Muhammad Ali had nothing better to do so he asked me if he could help tidy up and I said sure Muhammad Ali your the greatest. Well we were cleaning we noticed some old dusty ring ropes and Muhammad Ali pointed out that they were made from hemp and I said - imagine that rope a dope. Then Muhammad Ali looked at me and said - hey kid I like that can I use it and I said - sure Muhammad Ali your the greatest. After he won his match that night Muhammad Ali was talking to Howard Cosell and Howard Cosell said - it looked pretty bad for you in the 3rd round when he had you against the ropes and Muhammad Ali said - Howard I was just roping the dope he wasted his energy trying to hurt me but every body knows you can't hurt me because I'm the greatest. Then he turned around and gave me a wink. Actually none of that ever happened but I guy can dream. Cheers and happy weekend!
This post was edited by Nanoose at November 30, 2019 4:08 PM MST
As silly as this sounds------ I actually sat on a house roof with a boxing coach who boxed Ali to a draw as an amateur. It was my cousin's house and he was helping to put down new shingles for my cousin.
In boxing, it was a strategy used by Muhammad Ali in his fight with George Foreman - lean back, cover up and let your opponent tire himself out. Foreman was aggressive and an extremely powerful puncher, but slow and a little clumsy. Like Tyson, he specialised in quick knockouts but was vulnerable if the fight went deep.
Nanoose 