Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner

Wepner was 35 years old at this time. His professional record comprised thirty wins, nine losses, and two draws. He had earned the moniker "The Bayonne Bleeder" because he would readily get cut during boxing fights, and because he was from Bayonne, New Jersey. Prior to the Ali fight, Wepner had fought with Sonny Liston in Liston's final boxing match; after the bout Wepner had required 120 stitches.[5]

The fight was expected to be an easy win for Ali who did minimal training for it. Asked why he had not trained harder for this fight, Ali had commented:

An old man was once asked by a young man, 'How is it that you look so good and stay in such fine condition at your advanced age?' The old man replied, 'It is the preserved energy of my youth which is now maintaining my life.' That is why my career spanned twenty years. I didn't burn myself out training for guys like Al Lewis, Jürgen Blin, and Chuck Wepner.[2]

"Don King induced a Cleveland tycoon named Carl Lombardo to underwrite the show for $1.3‐million. Video Techniques put in $200,000 and that just about took care of the nut. Video Techniques had snatched the champion out of Top Rank's clutches but now had a mismatch in a cornfield; a million‐dollar turkey in a 5 and 10 cent store."[6]

Ali and Wepner did some television interviews together to promote the fight. They were on 'The Mike Douglas Show' when Ali leaned towards Wepner during a break and said:

Hey Chuck. Do me a favor. When they come back on stage, call me an effing nigger...[W]e'll make it look like a grudge match and sell tickets.[7]

Upon Wepner's refusal to grant him the favor he sought, Ali started shouting as soon as the show's host reappeared on the set: "Do you know what he called me? Do you know what he called me?"[7] Wepner then covered Ali's mouth with his hand." Ali was a promoter. He was a great promoter and they were trying to hype up the fight," Wepner explained.[8]

Besides his courage and stamina, Wepner had a huge repertoire of "fouls and dirty tricks", some of which were used in this fight.[2][12] Prior to the fight Wepner told his manager "Ali is the king of boxin'", whereupon the manager responded with "Yeah, yeah, Chuck, but in the ring you're the king of dirty fighting. You're both royalty."[2]

Ali would later complain that Wepner had thrown "rabbit punches"—punches on the back of the head—on him, and had expressed his displeasure that Tony Perez, the referee, allowed the usage of this tactic.[12] Ali retaliated by throwing 6 punches to the back of Wepner's head in the first round. Ali also claimed that the referee incorrectly designated his fall in the ninth round an official knockdown. According to Ali, Wepner had stepped on his foot, and then pushed him causing him to lose his balance and fall. Film and photographic records prove Ali's claim, although Wepner claims it was a genuine knockdown.[2][12][13]

After knocking down Ali, Wepner went to his corner and told his manager: "Start the car up, Al, we're going to the bank, we're millionaires!", whereupon the manager told Wepner: "You better turn around--your guy's getting up and he looks pissed off."[2]

Ali punished Wepner for the rest of the fight culminating with a final flurry of punches in the last round which knocked out Wepner.[2]

Ali later commented that Wepner "was dirty and fought like a woman."[2] However, Wepner's effort was sufficiently inspiring for Sylvester Stallone to base the character of Rocky on Wepner, and of Apollo Creed on Ali.[2]

• Chuck, a 2016 biographical film inspired by Wepner's life and his fight with Ali