The Greatest Punch NEVER Thrown! | Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman

In Boxing, fighters are taught to finish their opponents. This means to keep punching until your opponent is on the floor, and to make sure they stay there. This has given fight fans some brutal knockouts in the past decades. But the legendary Muhammad Ali has always went against the conventional boxing norm. From fighting with his hands down, doing the rope a dope, or Ali shuffle, he always did things his way.

In 1974 Ali fought George Foreman in the “rumble in the jungle” and he was coming in as the underdog. Foreman just came off knocking out Joe Frazier and Ken Norton and was the most feared man on earth. Many people thought Ali was lucky to survive this fight, let alone win. Just like when Ali fought Liston, he was being counted out, but this is what he thrives in. Ali implemented the rope a dope style where he allowed Foreman to push him against the ropes and throw punches, knowing he would tire out. The plan worked to perfection as by the 8th round, Foreman could barely stand up, he was exhausted.

Ali was in full control, and when he saw his opportunity, landed a viscous right that sent Foreman falling. As He was falling, Ali had the chance to punch Foreman one more time to seal the deal and make sure he stays down. Ali got ready to throw the punch but stopped. This was because beyond boxing, he did not want to hurt Foreman more than he had to, his compassion did not allow him to go any further. Therefore, he just watched as Foreman hit the canvas. This was known as the greatest punch NEVER thrown, as it would have been a highlight reel for decades to come. Foreman did not beat the count and Ali was declared the winner.

#muhammadali #georgeforeman

[SorryImSam]

Incredible voice over work. Instant subscribe

[Shootskas]

In an alternate universe, Foreman beat the count and came back to knockout Ali. This channel made a video talking about Ali's failure to finish Foreman when he had the chance.

[connorduke]

Yeah, it is also not really within the spirit of boxing to take a free hit against an unconscious man who is already falling. The funny thing was, if Ali had agreed to a rematch, Foreman would likely not have fallen for the same trick twice and beaten him by using his energy more sparingly. So it was one of the greatest boxing matches of all time in which most likely the overall superior fighter at the time, lost, die to rope-a-dope and arguably the ropes being made extra flexible for the bout to allow the strategy to work. Because normally getting caught on the ropes - particularly against a power hitter - is suicide.