Question: Rope-A-Dope Strategy

[Jonathon Green]

I have always been under the impression that this came from the 1974 'Rumble
in the Jungle', Muhammed Ali's fight vs. George Foreman in Zaire. Ali
covered up and lay against the ropes; Foreman, reckoned one of the most
ferocious heavyweight hitters ever, essentially punched himself out and Ali,
after soaking up rounds of punishment, was eventually able to take advantage
of his opponent's exhaustion. Ali called this his "rope-a-dope" technique.
Whether he was the coiner, or merely user of the phrase I don't know. But I
can't recall ever having heard it _before_ the fight.

Jonathon Green