Chuck Wepner
Chuck Wepner (born
February 26,
1939) is a former
heavyweight boxer, of
Bayonne, New Jersey.
Wepner, nicknamed "The Bayonne Bleeder" debuted as a professional boxer in
1964, and began posting many wins and some losses.He was the New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion and popular fighter in the Northeast's Club Boxing circuit. But after losing fights to
George Foreman (by
knockout in three) and
Sonny Liston (by knockout in ten) many boxing fans thought that his days as a contender were numbered. After the fight with Liston, Wepner needed over 120 sutures in his face. He also lost a fight to
Jose King Roman by a decision in
Puerto Rico.
However, after losing to
Joe Bugner by a knockout in three in
England, Wepner won nine of his next eleven fights, including victories over
Charlie Polite and former WBA Heavyweight champion
Ernie Terrell.
Then, in
1975, it was announced Wepner would challenge
Muhammad Ali for the world's Heavyweight title. Wepner had previously been forced to work as a liquor salesman and
security guard to make ends meet. Wepner had also been a
United States Marine before his fight with Ali. This bout was the first time he had been able to train full time for a bout. Most fans took the fight as a joke, and Ali was heavily favoured to retain the belt in the fight, held on
March 24 at
Cleveland. Before the fight, a reporter asked Wepner if he thought he could survive (15 rounds) with the champion, to which Wepner allegedly answered "I've been a survivor my whole life...if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali".
Against all expectations, Wepner managed to knock down Ali when he reached his ribs with a right hand in the ninth round and sent the champion to the canvas. Some would say the knock down was questionable, and that Ali was tripped. Still, Wepner was thoroughly beaten up by Ali, and was in trouble during the fight, finally losing in the 15th round by technical knockout.
In California, struggling actor Sylvester Stallone watched the broadcast of the Ali-Wepner bout. After watching the fight, Stallone became inspired to write the script for a
Hollywood movie entitled
Rocky, which became a
blockbuster, spawning five
sequels.
Wepner used his newly found celebrity to venture in
professional wrestling, and he went to
Japan to participate in the undercard where he met wrestler
Antonio Inoki. During the Inoki-Ali "boxer vs. wrestler" match on June 2, 1976, Wepner fought
Andre the Giant on the undercard, losing in less than a minute.
Wepner kept boxing until
1978, when he lost to
Scott Frank by a decision in twelve and then retired.
In
1986, he was arrested for cocaine possession and went to jail for three years. On July 4th, 1986 Wepner was involved in a traffic dispute at the Bayonne Diner. During the
1990s, he was inducted into the
New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, and he has led a relatively quiet life since, candid about his period of drug addiction and working as a motivational speaker.
In
2003, Wepner filed a lawsuit against Stallone for money supposedly owed to him for the
Rocky movies. He has claimed that Stallone has used Wepner's name numerous times without permission when he talks about the inspiration for
Rocky Balboa. Two of his other claims have already been thrown out by U.S. District Court judges. Sylvester Stallone and Wepner settled the latest out of court for an undisclosed amount [
1].
Wepner had a record of 31 wins (17 of which were knockouts), 14 losses, and 2 draws.
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Muhammad Ali vs Chuck Wepner Boxing Review
