Muhammad Ali had two very unique moves.

One was the “rope-a-dope” and the other had a name too but I don’t recall it and if I don’t know something, I don’t go running to the internet because, ultimately, I don’t care. 

The second move whose name I can’t recall was where he would hug his opponent. Only, he wouldn’t just hug them, he would take all his weight off his feet and hug them, forcing them to support his 200 plus pounds. Imagine wrapping your arms around someone and lifting your feet off the ground. That’s what Ali did, but he wasn’t obvious about it. His boxing shoes were still lightly on the canvas. Now, obviously, the ref would break up any clenching, but it always took a few seconds. Ali would be reluctant to let go, biding his time, finally letting go right before he would get in trouble.

Over and over and over and over he would do this during a fight. Supporting 200 plus pounds for 5 or 8 seconds may not be a big deal, but doing it over and over again, coupled with all the other exertion, will wear you down to a little gasping nub.

The rope-a-dope was where Ali, who had very long arms, would put his gloves up around his head and his arms along his torso, his elbows clear down past his midsection. He would just lay against the ropes and let his opponent wail on him. It looked like he was getting his ass kicked, but actually his opponent was doing very little damage.

The damage was actually to the opponent, who was wearing himself out even more. Then, in the later rounds, Ali would just THWACK knock him the fuck out: “sting like a bee”.

Additionally, when Ali was dancing and hopping about (“floating like a butterfly”), he was pretty much unhittable. At his peak, the only way to hit Ali was if Ali let you (see rope-a-dope).

He was amazing and a poet and a rebel and absolutely the greatest. I recommend watching some of his fights, if possible for you.

Today, boxing is pretty much dead, what with MMA and pay-per-view and questionable judging, but there was a time. Yes, there was a time…