The Real Rocky

Espn Films as part of their fall schedule aired an episode entitled The Real Rocky. Telling the story of Chuck Wepner a seventies era fighter known as a bleeder. Wepner was never a great fighter. What he was was an average fighter with a huge heart and the ability to take a great deal of punishment without quitting.

Wepner is remembered for a fight with Mohammad Ali in 1975 ? in which he went 14 rounds. Ali seemed to toy with Wepner early in the fight until in the mid rounds Wepner knocked him down. Later video seems to show that perhaps it was more of a slip than a knockdown, perhaps Chuck stepped on his foot, but it was ruled a knockdown. It woke Ali up and he for the next few rounds viciously beat the hell out of Wepner. Still Wepner would not go down. Finally Wepner was knocked out at the beginning of the 15th but not without earning a measure of respect from Ali and a huge level of respect from the boxing faithful anxious to cheer an everyman.

A couple of years later the movie Rocky appeared. Several times in print Sylvester Stallone made reference to being inspired by Chuck Wepner. Later in his career Wepner fought Andre the Giant. Later in the Rocky series Balboa fights an ex wrestler played by Hulk Hogan.

Certainly based on Stallone's statements and on the scripts of his movies it would seem that some sort of a debt was due to Wepner. When Stallone would not honor this and stated that he took no inspiration or thought from Wepner's career or actions Wepner sued. Eventually the two settled out of court for what inevitably was a sizable amount.

This was a well written informative and I enjoyed it. In the end Stallone paying out some form of settlement to Wepner was only right.