Editing Chuck Wepner (section)

=== Muhammad Ali fight ===
In 1975, it was announced that Wepner would challenge [[Muhammad Ali]] for the world heavyweight title. According to the ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' (February 9, 1975, Page 4-C), Carl Lombardo invested $1.3 million to finance the Wepner-Ali heavyweight title bout. According to a ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' article, "In Stitches", Ali was guaranteed $1.5 million and Wepner signed for $100,000. This was considerably more than Wepner had ever earned; thus, he "needed no coaxing." Wepner spent eight weeks training in the Catskill Mountains under the guidance of [[Al Braverman]] (trainer and noted [[cutman]]) and Bill Prezant (manager). 

Prezant prophesied that the match would be a big surprise. This bout was the first time Wepner had been able to train full-time; since 1970 his typical day had consisted of road work in the morning, followed by his job selling liquor during the day. Then he was able to spend his nights working out and sparring in Bayonne boxing clubs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,917248,00.html |title=In Stitches |date=April 7, 1975 |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331010154/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,917248,00.html |archive-date=March 31, 2021}}</ref> The match was held on March 24 at the [[Richfield Coliseum]] in [[Richfield, Ohio]], south of [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]]. Before the match, 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."{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

In the ninth round, Wepner scored a knockdown, which Ali said occurred because Wepner was stepping on his foot. Published photographs showed Wepner stepping on Ali's foot at the time of the knockdown. Wepner went to his corner and said to his manager Al Braverman,  "Al, start the car. We're going to the bank. We are millionaires." To this, Wepner's manager replied: "You better turn around. He's getting up and he looks pissed off."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E20UvJsBykg  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/E20UvJsBykg| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Real-Life "Rocky" Boxer Chuck Wepner Talks w/ Jim Clash |publisher=YouTube |access-date=November 20, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In the remaining rounds, Ali decisively outboxed Wepner and opened up cuts above both of 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2d8jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7CgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6876,2371884&dq=chuck+wepner+muhammad+ali&hl=en |title=Welcome to nginx |website=news.google.com |access-date=January 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716131832/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2d8jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7CgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6876,2371884&dq=chuck+wepner+muhammad+ali&hl=en |archive-date=July 16, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

After the Ali-Wepner bout, [[Sylvester Stallone]] wrote the script for ''[[Rocky]]'', which was released in theatres in 1976. Like Wepner, (Rocky) Balboa lasts 15 rounds, but unlike Wepner, he actually "[[The distance (boxing)|goes the distance]]".<ref name="usa">{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Bryan |title=2 4 'Chuck': Five things you should know about the real 'Rocky' Chuck Wepner |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/05/02/who-is-real-rocky-chuck-wepner/101158422/ |access-date=January 29, 2018 |work=USA Today |date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> For years after ''Rocky'' was released, Stallone denied that Wepner provided inspiration for the movie, though he eventually admitted it.<ref name="ESPN Wepner Recognized">{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/page/IamChuckWepner/chuck-wepner-recognized-rocky-fame |title=Chuck Wepner finally recognized for 'Rocky' fame |date=October 25, 2011 |publisher=Espn.go.com |access-date=November 20, 2012}}</ref><ref name="The Real Rocky2">{{cite video |people=Feuerzeig, Jeff (Director) |date=October 25, 2011 |title=The Real Rocky |medium=Motion picture |publisher=ESPN Films}}</ref>