Muhammad Ali's Greatest Boxer

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Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer to have ever lived. He could even be the greatest sportsman to have ever lived. On October 20, 1974, Muhammad Ali was pitted against undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman whilst Muhammad Ali was just a former heavyweight champion. The match was played at 4:00 am in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
The reason this match was one of the biggest in Muhammad Ali’s prestigious career was because of the big build up to the match. The big build up for the match was due to him being stripped of his heavyweight title and being banned from boxing for 3 ½ years in 1967, for his refusal to enter the U.S. Army. After multiple comeback fights, Muhammad Ali was ready to take on the 100 kg, 25-year old champion that had a perfect 40-0 record. The
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Foreman would eventually tire resulting in Ali having more energy to knock him out. The tactic that Muhammad Ali later named the ‘rope a dope’ strategy was working and after several rounds of this, Foreman began to tire. During the fifth round, Foreman started to look significantly worn out and Ali taunted him by saying “They told me you could punch, George,” and Foreman couldn’t do anything about it as he couldn’t land a single punch.
As the fight entered the eighth round, Foreman’s defence proved ineffective as Ali laid several knockout worthy blows. The fight looked like it would enter another excruciating round until Ali laid 5 consecutive punches which caused Foreman to stumble until he fell to the floor. Foreman was knocked out.
The match showed that Ali could take a punch and highlighted his tactical genius. It also showed that even if you aren’t as strong as someone, it doesn’t mean you can’t out think them. After the match Ali spoke to an interviewer and using his usual swagger said
“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I