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Before the fight, a reporter asked Wepner if he thought he could survive in the ring with the champion, to which Wepner allegedly answered, "I've been a survivor my whole life In the ninth round Wepner scored a knockdown, which Ali said occurred because Wepner was stepping on his foot.
Wepner went to his corner and said to his manager, "Al, start the car. We're going to the bank. He's getting up and he looks pissed off. In the remaining rounds, Ali decisively outboxed Wepner and opened up cuts above both Wepner's eyes and broke his nose. Wepner was far behind on the scorecards when Ali knocked him down with 19 seconds left in the 15th round.
The referee counted to seven before calling a technical knockout. It was this fight that inspired Sylvester Stallone to write the script for Rocky. Like Wepner, Rocky lasts 15 rounds, but unlike Wepner, he actually " goes the distance ".
Wepner's last fight was on May 2, for the New Jersey State Heavyweight Championship against a new rising prospect, Scott Frank, noted for a useful heavy left hook. He announced his retirement after the fight.
After his retirement from boxing, Wepner began abusing drugs. In , Sylvester Stallone wanted to cast Wepner as a sparring partner in Rocky II , but he failed the audition due to his drug problems. In November , Wepner was arrested on drug charges when he was found with four ounces of cocaine in an undercover police investigation.
In he was sentenced to 10 years in prison under a plea-bargain agreement. As of Wepner had been working for 10 years with his second wife Linda in the liquor store management field for Majestic Wines and Spirits in Carlstadt, New Jersey , and was an expert in consumer liquors, wines and spirits. Wepner occasionally makes ringside appearances at boxing cards in his home state of New Jersey, signing autographs and posing for photos with boxing fans. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Muhammad Ali and Henry Cooper fought two boxing matches with each other. Their first match . He's a real fighter." . Ferdie Pacheco (personal physician and cornerman) · Joe E. Martin (first trainer) · Archie The Greatest: My Own Story ( autobiography); The Fight (); Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times ( Charles Wepner (born February 26, ) is an American former professional boxer who fought as a heavyweight. As a world ranked contender he fell just seconds short of a full fifteen rounds with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a title fight. to the film Rocky, and other life events were chronicled in the film.
Chuck Wepner Wepner left and former light heavyweight champion Mike Rossman in This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. November Learn how and when to remove this template message. Biography portal United States Marine Corps portal.
Archived from the original on He said he has gotten nothing" Archived June 24, , at the Wayback Machine. Five things you should know about the real 'Rocky' Chuck Wepner". Retrieved 29 January The New York Times.
Wepner, the boxer who inspired the character of Rocky Balboa, is preparing for a legal fight over his life story. The Real Rocky Motion picture. Retrieved November 16, Rocky the Musical Retrieved from " https: Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from November All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September Articles with unsourced statements from December Commons category link from Wikidata BoxRec template with ID same as Wikidata. Views Read Edit View history.
In other projects Wikimedia Commons. This page was last edited on 12 December , at By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. When asked about his biggest career achievements, Ali was clear — beating Sonny Liston for the world title. I was no longer scared, but, rather excited the moment that I realised this.
Tim revealed why, despite being a gentle giant outside the ring, Ali would trash talk his opponent before, during and after a fight. Following his diagnosis Ali was instrumental in raising awareness of the disease and in he founded the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Centre in Phoenix, Arizona, close to where he lived to provide comprehensive care for those living with the condition.
Bill Clinton, actor Billy Crystal and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel will all give eulogies at the event which will start at 2pm. There will also be live coverage at mirror. Muhammad Ali was told he would only have 10 years to live when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Image: Rex Get daily news updates directly to your inbox Subscribe See our privacy notice More newsletters. Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice. Video Loading Video Unavailable. Click to play Tap to play. The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now. Read More Muhammad Ali. Subscribe to our Daily news newsletter Enter email Subscribe.
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