SHORT BUT SWEET

George Foreman won too easily in his rise to the top. His power overwhelmed his opponents and he never developed the needed skills to take on Ali. A little like Mike Tyson in a later era he became convinced of his own invincibilty. I think he (and almost everyone else) thought he would have no trouble beating Ali. I would guess you could have won a bundle betting on Ali in that fight.

Before this fight occured, Ali had only recently been given permission by the boxing commission (or whatever the hell they're called) to be eligible to fight again (after refusing to be drafted in the Vietnamese war), and George Foreman was an up-and-coming heavyweight who was destroying everyone he crossed paths with. At this time he had already demolished Joe Frazier (he knocked Frazier down some six or seven times within two rounds or so for the outright heavyweight title) and a plethora of other foes. Purportedly, Foreman was the hardest puncher in the history of boxing (a lot of experts and other boxers claim that he still is), had power in both fists, and although not much of a "boxer," per se, could knock pretty much anyone out with a single punch. The fight took place in Zaire and the crowd was very, very heavily in favor of the people's champion -Ali- as opposed to the unlikeable upstart -George Foreman. What made the fight a lot less dramatic and exciting than it could have been is that throughout the fight Ali resorts to his famed "rope-a-dope" strategy (being stationary in one corner of the ring, with his fists in front of his face, and allowing Foreman to punch away at him at will). Foreman wailed away at Ali, for a number of rounds, scoring very little in the way of points and expending a lot of energy in the process. By the beginning of the tenth round (tenth round if I remember, NOT 15th as the synopsis claims at the top [though I haven't seen the fight in many years, since I was a teenager and owned it on VHS]), Foreman is very tired and Ali takes advantage: Ali is in a corner still using his rope-a-dope tactic and while Foreman is very carelessly wailing away (at this time his strength has clearly been drained and he is throwing punches lacking any power or motive), Ali spots an opening, throws a flurry of punches and connects several times to Foreman's face -sending him to the canvas. Foreman just barely doesn't beat the 10-count on time and Ali scores a staggering upset, regaining the title in an extremely exciting finish to an otherwise somewhat unexciting fight. Not quite one of the best boxing matches ever, but it's vintage Ali and Foreman and very historical and worth owning on DVD or VHS for that alone.

Best fight of all time

it was an amazing fight which the underdog came out on top dispite everything

The oldman takeing down the young gun got to love the gretest ever to box.

This fight was significant if only for for the fact that it showed how intelligent a fighter Muhammad Ali was over a young George Foreman. Essentially, Foreman was thought to be unstoppable (like a young Mike Tyson was, pre-Buster Douglas). But Ali showed the world the rope-a-dope. And if the rope-a-dope wasn't aesthetically pleasing, it got the job done as Foreman wore himself out. Ali, at the end, solidified his greatness in the sport by proving to everyone that brains always beats brawn. But as for the fight itself, it wasn't all that great. Nevertheless, it is significant.

No doubt a significant fight due to the fact that Ali had lost his first fight to Frazier and Foreman had absolutelty blew Smokin' Joe out of the ring prior to "The Rumble in the Jungle," but the Rope-a-Dope is not the most entertaining thing to watch. It is mind-boggling to watch Ali take such a pounding to the body, but there are many other fights I would rather spend my money on for a copy.

I've watched this great fight at least 20 times and I still can't figure out what some of people are looking at when they see it. The synopsis that has Ali laying on the ropes and weathering nearly eight rounds of punishment before Big George dropped from sheer exhaustion is strictly science fiction. The truth be known, Ali won every round of this fight save for the 5th when he coasted before resuming control and finishing off the indestructable monster that stalked him that night in Zaire. It was Ali's strategy throughout to lure Foreman into his trap by laying on the ropes and avoiding the big man's punches by leaning away and taking grazing shots off his arms and producing swings and misses that destroyed nothing but the airspace they traveled in. In return, Ali peppered Foreman with crisp jabs and combinations that had the big man's head and neck snapping back with regularity. As he did in many of his fights, Ali would open each round with an early flurry of activity, coast and defend through the middle, and steal the round by pressing the offense for the last minute. He kept this up from the opening bell til coasting in the 6th by which time Foreman was sleepwalking. Ali finished with a flash after stunning the champ with a lightening fast combination that spun him around before he fell helplessly to the canvas. It was the greatest victory for the greatest fighter of all time. Liston was huge, but this one was even bigger. Nearly twenty years later Big George regained the title after being ducked by Mike Tyson for three or four years proving beyond refute which era contained the greatest class of heavyweights.

The documentary of this fight,When We Were Kings is one of the best ever;the fight itself may be one of the most overrated ever.Not too long after this fight, Leon Spinks,with a handful of professional fights and a much bigger longshot decisioned Ali and Jimmy Young who decisioned Foreman with a more conventional performance(without rope-a-doping),basically shut Ali out for fifteen rounds and was robbed.

A great fight and a great comeback by Muhammed Ali in winning the fight. But I can't help but think that Foreman lost from sheer tiredness, as opposed to Ali's puches. And I'm a firm believer that Ali did not strategicly lay against the ropes, but rather he was given no choice because of the way Foreman was overpowering him. After the fight he called his strategy Rope a Dope. To his credit Ali took everything that Foreman gave him and seized the moment when it presented itself. A lesser man would have crumbled.

Ali demonstrated his pugilistic prowess and taught Foreman a lesson he'd not soon forget.Very memorable!

Great for the drama and lived up to the billing. But no necessary the greatest fight. George Foreman fought a dumb fight and got taught a lesson by the craftiest heavyweight pugilist to ever walk the earth.

this fight showed several things. forman's lack of technique, ali's toughness and ring smarts, and ali showed that he still had plenty of substance to knock out a great fighter. ali's rope-a-dope is smart and simple/stupid at the same time. its simple because all ali does is just lean on the ropes and take the punches and wait until forman tires. its smart because it takes a lot for this technique to be successful: durability, heart, patience, and luck. ali had all of these and beat forman fair and square. this was ali's biggest KO and forman's biggest downfall.

Of all the highlights of Ali's career, this was absolutely the pinnacle. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY gave Ali a chance. What he did was nothing short of amazing. This was the fight that separated Ali from all the other elite heavyweights, the one that put him over the top, and without question, defined him as the Greatest.

Ali (middle aged, more brain than braun) proves once again why he is The Greatest of All Time. My favorite fight if all time. Ali sends one of the greatest boxers of all time into a premature retirement, as well as sets the blueprint for his further dimise. George Foreman looks like a helicopter spinning around and down to the ground, not unlike a scene from Blackhawk Down. Ali's greatest performance hands down. See kinkykinks comment for further clarification. Bkhislop, you know nothing of boxing, I bet you didn't even box with your friends growing up. You couldn't slip Geo. Foreman's punches now. If you saw the fight you would see that Ali absorbed not slipped the punches!

i totally agree with blackjack35 . it just showed the magic what was ali!! he was destined to be champion again and nothing on earth was gonna change that. bkhislop needs glasses !!

the greatest upset in history!

This fight is till my happiest moment in all of sports..becuase I was huge Ali fan who thought he didn't have a chance in hell against a 25 year old Foreman..the only time he ever stepped into a ring where I din't expect him to win (not counting the Holmes fight..he should have never been in there)..My happiest sports moment ever!

This fight exposed Foreman as a powerful but submoronic fighter. I mean, those punches he was winging I could have slipped. Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed his decapitation of Joe Frazier (awesome, destructive power at its best).

Simply the best fight ever in my book. Ali had such a great strategy going into this fight. He let Foreman punch himself out until he got tired, then Ali when straight for the head and knocked him right out. Such a great fight, it deserves to be #1!!!!