Boxing: `It was rope-a-dope,' says McCall
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The morning after his bizarre performance against Lennox Lewis, Oliver McCall let the world in on the secret: he was simply emulating Muhammad Ali's tactics during his famous victory over George Foreman in "The rumble in the jungle".
"My strategy was, and I know this sounds kind of absurd, a type of rope- a-dope," McCall said during a press conference in which he spoke virtually non-stop for 45 minutes. "The referee wouldn't go along with my fight plan. The couple of punches I did throw, Lewis was fearing for his life. That belt belongs to me. Mills Lane is a great referee but he didn't understand the scenario. I didn't have that fighting face, but I still thought I'd win."
Lewis was dismissive of McCall's explanation. "McCall is just plain mad," he said. "He says he was hurting me? Anyone who saw the fight would know that is just not worthy of comment. I was worried what I was going to do to him in the ring."
The next stop appears to be Henry Akinwande, but Lewis said: "Bring anyone on. I don't care. Eventually I will unify the titles. I don't really feel left out of the picture: let Tyson and Holyfield have their rematch and beat each other up and I'll take the left-overs."
Even that might prove difficult, however. Don King, who still effectively controls the heavyweight division, was as dismissive of Lewis as at any time in the last few years. "I'm not interested in him," King said. "His camp are great theme writers for the comedy of errors."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments