Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman

The Rumble in the Jungle was arguably the most famous fight in boxing history. Muhammad Ali looked to reclaim his Heavyweight title against a man who was almost considered invincible and had been destroying his past opponents – so much so that some people even believed Ali’s life was at risk in the ring against the thunderous punching power of Big George.

In the past I have made a video on how Foreman would very smartly control his opponents. Foreman would use his hands expertly to push you, nudge you, grab you and block your punches and he was masterful in the ways he would do this. You can see the video here – George Foreman Control.

So in this video I wanted to see the ways Muhammad Ali used to combat the inevitable challenge of dealing with Foreman trying to gain control through his hands.

The first method we see is something Ali was very good at and that is the feint. Ali would use the feint to illicit a response from Foreman. As Foreman looked to use his hands for control, Ali would use the feint to draw the hands from Foreman, when Foreman reached out with his hands, Ali had found an avenue now to get around or inside the outstretched hands of Foreman. It wasn’t just hand feinting Ali used to draw the hands from Foreman but we also see Ali using the head feint to draw Foreman into leading with the hands and yet again Ali will pick the opening created with straight shots, both the jab and the cross.

The head pull was something Muhammad Ali liked to use and he did so again often in this fight. When Foreman got his hands out for control, Ali would fight back with his own hands to try and block Foreman taking control and then once Foreman was close enough, Ali would pull Foreman’s head down, this had the effect of disrupting Foreman and forcing the clinch where Foreman’s work wasn’t as effective and a break would soon be called.

Now many opponents were defensive when Foreman was looking to take control with his hands but Ali went on the offensive. Ali would use the straight punches to pick Foreman off because with his hands being outstretched, Ali knew Foreman could also be vulnerable at this time and the best way was to use the straight shots down the middle. Here is the video below showing how Muhammad Ali took control of George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle.