Using the ropes to allow you to lean back further than you could without the ropes supporting you, unless I'm very much mistaken...... *** Waits for slipthejab to correct me ****
The other boxing move I have observed which I think is very effective is when the boxer say ducks/swings to the left (orthodox stance) and throws a swinging overhand right. It strikes me that by instinct the eyes follow the boxer to (the defender's) right thereby almost "blinding" the defender from seeing the overhand right. I've seen Tyson amongst others use this a lot. It seems similar to the technique you are discussing with Mayweather, but the hook/overhand is delivered with the other hand.
lol... a correction is in order... Rope a dope is letting yourself get worked onto the ropes to let the opponent think that he's got you where he wants you... being on the ropes is bad if you get put there... but if you put yourself there as part of a game plan it can be a sweet spot. Not many can do it... but many dream of it. A good boxer with competent footwork knows that it's only a fraction of difference between being on the ropes getting punished and having your opponent on the ropes with you punishing him. With the rope a dope strategy...you spin off the ropes and put your opponent right where you were. It's not all that hard to learn... but not very easy to employ in an actual bout - it takes skillz, courage and timing. You will see it in the telltale movements of it when amatuer boxers turn each other. There is actually a great example of this of all places... on a Muay Thai seminar video that was shot in the UK with Master Sken... he's got a fair number of British ABA and Pro boxers that show up for one of his seminars and these boys have it down pat. That turning movement they have hardwired is exactly what you want to complete a nice rope a dope set up. It's watching poetry in motion when a fighter can turn another fighter like that. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP5v86-0NcI"]Rope-A-Dope - YouTube[/ame]
Apologies...... Seemed to be what Ali was doing against Foreman to take his head out of striking range. Fooling the opponent eh? Is this where the "dope" part of it comes from? Or it means "doing dad dancing at weddings" according to that clip you posted.....
The rope a dope worked so well due to the fact that,by his own admission, Angelo Dundee loosened the ropes WAY up the night before the fight when no one was around.Ali was knocked out by Foreman while up against the ropes, and was brought back by Foreman hitting him.Ali's admission.Ali did not have an enjoyable time up against those ropes.Now imagine what might have happened if those ropes had not been so loose.Would he still have been able to weather the storm?Perhaps,as Ali could take severe punishment-(see the Shavers fight)-, but perhaps not.George would still have to have taken him out in the first 6 rounds,tho'. Robinson is considered by most historians to be the best ever.Possibly followed by Charley Burley.After that, I might vote for Archie Moore.
IIRC it was a term Ali coined after using the tactic in the Rumble in the Jungle. Basicaly leaning into the ropes for support to try to stay out of range, trying to get your opponent knackered....there's also the psychological aspect of making your opponent think you're tired, making them vulnerable for an eventual counterattack. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think many fighters have used it very successfully since, getting fenced in at tight range isn't exactly an out-and-out winning tactic. Also, although Ali coined the phrase after that particular fight, the rope-a-dope I think is now a term used for other stratgies involving duping your opponent. Also, wasn't there a big hoo-ha surounding the Rumble about Ali's corner getting the ropes slackened before the fight to allow for better use of the rope-a-dope?
wOOt!!! Quality post. Nice bit of boxing history there El Medico! Yeah an Archie Moore ranks right up there in the pantheon of all time boxing greats!!
Yeah that's what I thought it meant too, but apparently there's a lot more to it than that according to slibthejab.... ya learn something new everyday.
elektro... that's just it... the whole even letting yourself get moved onto the ropes in the first place is a ploy to let your opponent thinks your dead on your feet. The spinning out of it and then pinning your opponent there is the pay off.
Classic slip and hit. Mayweathers check hook was a beaut (and slightly different to a slip hit) as he rolled into his hook and outside his opponent, the sense of timing, distance and agility required for that were phenomenal. Apparently that sort of maneouver is taught at pretty extensively at amateur level, although I can still see it geting a big revival after the Hatton/Mayweather fight.
Nice clips on the "check hook". I like Zambidis man.. what a fighter! but.. neither showed the footwork of spinning off the line that Mayweather showed I thought. He kinda stepped around Hatton and into him with the hook, thrown from a side on position. a real thing of beauty t'was. It may have been helped that Hatton was getting a bit untidy by then though..
Yeh Zambo is the king puncher! he’s only 5foot nothing and he hits like a heavyweight! But Matweathers check hook was sweet! he kind of moved his right foot and sweeped it round to the left and threw the hook as he got out of line. Great timing, accuracy and power! it was made to look even more cool the way Ricky was sent head first into the corner! Yeh, i watched the repeat of the fight on Sky last night, the first three rounds were really good looking back. Both fighters caught each other with some solid shots, and at the end of round 1 Floyd looked a little worried. But, i have to say, in the second round the ref was abysmal!! i forgot just how bad he was in that round!! he was breaking them up before they even locked arms at one point. He called a time out TWICE!! and warned both fighters that he would deduct a point from both of them!! stupidity!! Also Floyd actually smacks ricky in the back if the head in round two. The Mayweather camp were on at the ref before the fight, telling him to watch ricky, that they dont want him wrestling Floyd. You could hear them when the cameras were in the Mayweather dressing room before the fight. The ref fell for it hook line and sinker! But that was a great boxing tactic right there used by thew Mayweather camp! But it was a big event, the ref is human, and whatever...Floyd would still have won, with skills like the check hook its no wonder! Hatton had totally lost it by the 10th, and he just went flying in hands down with a wild hook, and you cant do that against the best.
One other thing, the Donaire vs. Darchinyan clip? Perfect example of what short power should be like, of course this clip shows it under a different system. That was one of the most technically perfect, efficient punches I've seen. Brilliant.
No worries bro... documentaries like that are hard to come by. They don't have all the glitz and the glam and certainly not the budget of most of the stuff that is passed off with media fanfare. So yeah when you do come across them they are true gems. Absolute gems. I've got this one on DVD order right now... I want to be able to lay on the sofa and soak it all in at a nice leisurely pace.
