Rope-a-Dope
I received a hilarious video this morning from my friend and longtime trainer, Simon.
Boxing and Thai-boxing are ridiculously superstitious sports—mostly because the stakes are so high. While I swear up and down that I don’t believe in luck in the slightest, I’ve always put my left glove on before my right—for the inane reason that nearly twenty years ago, someone told me that to do otherwise is bad luck.
It’s also said to be bad luck to go under the ropes when entering a boxing ring. Most people simply create a gap for themselves (or for someone entering before or after them) and step right through. Showier fighters will plant one or both hands on the top rope and swing their legs over, hurdling the uppermost rope in a sort of cartwheel. This last technique is a bit risky, and I’ve seen it backfire on a few occasions, much to the amusement of the crowd.
That said, in the countless boxing and Thai-boxing matches I’ve seen in person, I’ve never seen a ring entrance and exit close to this one. Be sure to watch until the end.
Sometimes even amateurs have been in the game far too long.
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