Chuck Wepner - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Charles "Chuck" Wepner is a former heavyweight

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

from Bayonne, New Jersey

Bayonne, New Jersey

Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...

. As a tough but journeyman boxer he went 15 rounds with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

in a 1975 fight. Wepner is credited as the inspiration for Rocky Balboa. Wepner also appeared in the book Operation Bullpen about the $100 million fake autograph scam. The last chapters of Operation Bullpen focus on the John Olson-Chuck Wepner counterfeit scheme in which Olson forged Muhammad Ali autographs on a variety of Ali merchandise, including photographs of Ali and Wepner. Wepner sold forgeries in partnership with Olson, and in 2002 the FBI arrested them both. Each received probation for their crimes.

Early career

Wepner, nicknamed "The Bayonne Bleeder," debuted as a professional boxer in 1964 and began posting many wins and some losses. He had formerly boxed while a member of the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

, and had worked as a security guard

Security guard

A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...

before turning pro. 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

George Foreman

George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...

(by knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

in three) and Sonny Liston

Sonny Liston

Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxer and ex-convict known for his toughness, punching power, and intimidating appearance who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round...

(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

Jose King Roman

José "King" Roman is a Puerto Rican former boxer who was Puerto Rico's regional heavyweight champion. He is better known as "Joe King Roman."-Pro career:...

by a decision in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

.

However, after losing to Joe Bugner

Joe Bugner

József Kreul "Joe" Bugner is a Hungarian-born British-Australian former top heavyweight boxer. He holds triple nationality, being a citizen of Hungary and a naturalized citizen of both Australia and the United Kingdom where he learned to box and spent his peak years.Born in Szőreg, a southeastern...

by a knockout in three in England, Wepner won nine of his next eleven fights, including victories over Charlie Polite

Charlie Polite

Charlie Polite is an American boxer, born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall.Born in Garnet, SC, raised in Springfield, MA, he was described as an "odd American journeyman."- Boxing career :...

and former WBA Heavyweight champion Ernie Terrell

Ernie Terrell

Ernie Terrell is an American singer, record producer, and former World Boxing Association heavyweight boxing champion. At , he was very tall, by the standards of the day....

Muhammad Ali fight

Then, in 1975, it was announced Wepner would challenge Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

for the world's Heavyweight title. According to a Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

magazine article, "In Stitches", Ali was guaranteed $1.5 million and Wepner signed for $100,000. This was considerably more than Wepner had ever earned and he therefore did not need any coaxing. Wepner spent eight weeks near the Catskill Mountains under the guidance of Al Braverman (manager) and Bill Prezant (trainer and noted cutman

Cutman

A cutman is a person responsible for preventing and treating physical damage to a fighter during the breaks between rounds of a full contact match such as a boxing, kickboxing or a mixed martial arts bout. Cutmen typically handle swelling, nosebleeds and lacerations...

). Prezant prophesied that the fight would be a big surprise. This bout was the first time Wepner had been able to train full time. The fight was held on March 24 at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio

Richfield, Ohio

Richfield is a village in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2000 census. The village and the adjacent Richfield Township are approximately equidistant between the downtown areas of Akron and Cleveland...

south of Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. 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...if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali."

The bout was promoted again by Don King who promised Ali the astonishing sum of $1.5 million. King was now firmly associated with Ali and a player on the heavyweight scene.

In the ninth round Wepner knocked down Ali, though Ali later contended that Wepner had stepped on his foot. Wepner went to his corner and said to his manager, "Hey, I knocked him down." "Yeah," Wepner's manager replied, "but he looks really pissed off now..."

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 nine before calling a technical knockout.
It is rumored that Young actor Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...

watched the fight at home on television and was inspired to write the script for Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

, based on Wepner's gutsy challenge, but Stallone subsequently denied that this was true. Wepner filed a law suit which was eventually settled with Stallone for an undisclosed amount. In 1976, Wepner fought professional wrestler André the Giant

André the Giant

André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...

and lost by countout after Andre threw him out of the ring. It is speculated that the 1982 film Rocky III

Rocky III

Rocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film series. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky's...

was influenced by this fight, as the movie features a match versus wrestler Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan

Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

as "Thunderlips", who throws Rocky out of the ring.

Last fight

Wepner's last fight was on May 2, 1978 for the New Jersey State Heavyweight Championship against a new rising prospect, Scott Frank, noted for a useful heavy left hook. Wepner lost the fight in a 12 round decision, but again proved durable, Ring magazine noted. He announced his retirement after the fight.

From approximately 2000 to 2010, Wepner worked for Majestic Wines and Spirits in Carlstadt, NJ.

A film about Wepner career is set to be released in 2012, and ESPN aired a documentary titled "The Real Rocky" on October 25, 2011.

Professional boxing record

Scott Frank
|PTS
|12
|
|align=left|

Tom Healy
|KO
|5
|
|align=left|

Johnny Blaine
|KO
|3
|
|align=left|

Horst Geisler
|TKO
|10
|
|align=left|

Mike Schutte
|PTS
|10
|
|align=left|

Duane Bobick

Duane Bobick was a boxer from the United States, who became world amateur heavyweight champion in 1971, and also won the gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games...

|TKO
|6
|
|align=left|

Tommy Sheehan
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|

Johnny Dolan
|KO
|3
|
|align=left|

Johnny Evans
|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

|TKO
|15
|
|align=left|

Terry Hinke
|TKO
|11
|
|align=left|

Charley Polite
|KO
|4
|
|align=left|

Randy Neumann

Randy Neumann, born and raised in Cliffside Park, New Jersey in 1948, is a former professional boxer who has been a referee for the New York State Athletic Commission since 1982...

|TKO
|6
|
|align=left|

Billy Williams
|PTS
|10
|
|align=left|

Ernie Terrell

Ernie Terrell is an American singer, record producer, and former World Boxing Association heavyweight boxing champion. At , he was very tall, by the standards of the day....

|PTS
|12
|
|align=left|

Billy Marquart
|PTS
|12
|
|align=left|

John Clohessy
|PTS
|10
|
|align=left|

Randy Neumann

Randy Neumann, born and raised in Cliffside Park, New Jersey in 1948, is a former professional boxer who has been a referee for the New York State Athletic Commission since 1982...

|PTS
|12
|
|align=left|

Randy Neumann

Randy Neumann, born and raised in Cliffside Park, New Jersey in 1948, is a former professional boxer who has been a referee for the New York State Athletic Commission since 1982...

|PTS
|12
|
|align=left|

Mike Boswell
|TKO
|10
|
|align=left|

Jesse Crown
|KO
|4
|
|align=left|

Jerry Judge
|TKO
|5
|
|align=left|

Joe Bugner

|RTD
|3
|
|align=left|

Sonny Liston

|TKO
|10
|
|align=left|

Manuel Ramos
|UD
|10
|
|align=left|

Pedro Agosto
|PTS
|10
|
|align=left|

George Foreman

George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...

|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|

Jose Roman
|PTS
|10
|
|align=left|

Mike Bruce
|PTS
|8
|
|align=left|

Roberto Davila
|MD
|10
|
|align=left|

Jerry Tomasetti
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|

Mert Brownfield
|PTS
|10
|
|align=left|

Forest Ward
|TKO
|7
|
|align=left|

Mike Bruce
|PTS
|8
|
|align=left|

Eddie Vick
|SD
|10
|
|align=left|

Clay Thomas
|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|

Charlie Harris
|TKO
|6
|
|align=left|

Jerry Tomasetti
|TKO
|5
|
|align=left|

Don McAteer
|TKO
|5
|
|align=left|

Dave Centi
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Johnny Deutsch
|KO
|6
|
|align=left|

Cleo Daniels
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Jerry Tomasetti
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Buster Mathis

Buster Mathis was a boxer who had a very successful career as an amateur heavyweight boxer. He qualified for a spot in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. However, he was injured and was unable to compete there. Instead of him, the fighter Mathis beat in the Olympic Trials went to the Olympics...

|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|

Bob Stallings
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Everett Copeland
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Ray Patterson
|SD
|6
|
|align=left|

Jerry Tomasetti
|PTS
|4
|
|align=left|

Everett Copeland
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Rudy Pavesi
|PTS
|4
|
|align=left|

|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|1–0
|align=left|George Cooper
|KO
|3
|
|align=left|

|align=left|
|-align=center

External links

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