Chuck Wepner

Chuck Wepner
Chuck Wepner and Mike Rossman (2012)
Data
Birth Name	Charles Wepner
Weight class	Heavyweight
nationality	US-american
birthday	February 26, 1939
place of birth	New Jersey
size	1.97 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	51
Victories	35
Knockout victories	17th
Defeats	14th
draw	2

Charles "Chuck" Wepner (born February 26, 1939 in Bayonne , New Jersey ) is a former American heavyweight boxer .

According to Wepner's fight against Muhammad Ali on March 24, 1975, Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for Rocky . This aspect of his life was again in 2016 filmed .

Professional career

Wepner began his professional boxing career in 1964. He was considered the average boxer with deficits in punching power, speed and boxing technique, but earned a certain respect for his distinctive fighting spirit and above-average taker skills. Several of his premature defeats were caused by his vulnerability to lacerations, earning him the nickname The Bayonne Bleeder .

During the build-up phase, he already lost to nameless opponents, but also to well-known boxers like Buster Mathis . He was in August 1969 opponent of George Foreman in his fourth professional fight. Despite his much greater experience of 24 fights, he was clearly outclassed by the 20-year-old foreman and lost in the third round due to technical knockout.

In 1970 he defeated Manuel Ramos for the first time, a better-known opponent. In the same year there was an encounter with ex-world champion Sonny Liston . It was Liston's last fight. Liston had been able to make all his fights victorious since his last defeat by Muhammad Ali and only lost against the hard hitting Leotis Martin , who was high in the world rankings. Although Liston had already passed his zenith as a boxer, he still dominated Wepner clearly and won prematurely, as he was taken out of the fight again because of various lacerations. Against Joe Bugner , Wepner lost again after cuts , against the unknown Jerry Judge by knockout.

In 1973 the most dubious fight of his career came when he was awarded a flattering victory on points against Ernie Terrell . There are no television recordings of this fight, the journalists attributed the result less to the events of the ring than to the influence of his manager Al Braverman.

Braverman friend Don King introduced Wepner to Muhammad Ali as a world championship challenger at the age of 36 . Ali won the fight on March 24, 1975 by knockout in the 15th round after he surprisingly went down in the 9th round and was counted to 8. A later analysis of film and photo documents revealed that Wepner had stepped on Ali on the foot and brought Ali down.

In 1976 Wepner lost to Duane Bobick and in June a show boxing match against the 2.13 m tall and over 200 kg heavy wrestler André the Giant . In 1978 he finally ended his career.

Next life

Sylvester Stallone had seen Wepner's fight against Ali and soon after wrote the script for the film Rocky . In 2003, Wepner sued Stallone for filming his story. Stallone and Wepner reached an out-of-court settlement of an unknown amount.

In 2011, the documentary The Real Rocky was directed by Jeff Feuersehen . The film Chuck - The True Rocky , which portrays Wepner's story in a fictionalized manner, also comes from the author of Feuer Tel.

Wepner has worked for the liquor retailer Majestic Wines and Spirits in Carlstadt , New Jersey, since the early 2000s .

Web links

• Chuck Wepner in the BoxRec database
• Chuck Wepner portrayed by journalist Peter Hossli, 2007

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chuck Wepner finally recognized for 'Rocky' fame . espn.go.com, accessed December 3, 2012.
2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from March 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Giant Matman Tosses Wepner Out of Ring .
3. ↑ ^{a b} 35 years after facing Muhammad Ali, 'Bayonne Bleeder' Chuck Wepner still pulls no punches ( memento October 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) newjerseynewsroom.com, accessed December 3, 2012.
4. ↑ The Real Rocky . imdb.com, accessed December 3, 2012.