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My autobiography coming out later this year has a theme that a REAL life Rocky ( me)defies the odds and knocks out wall street. I explained recently that Rocky was based on Ali and Wepner and I was ringside at the ALI wepner fight. Of course i was met with skepticism and called an out and out liar by more than one person. However thankfully this clip around the 7:38 mark clearly shows me and Joe Lanese Jr sitting in the 5th row between ali and wepner. I have an autograph that night from Redd Foxx who was sitting near me before he was announcing and said “dummy” for me .lol

Joe JR dad told us both he would give us 1000 each if Wepner won. My first big score almost happened as i saw Ali down. But of course he slipped. Not only did Wepner not come close to winning but he took a tremendous beating and went right to an Akron Hospital

he ALI-WEPNER FIGHT on 24 Mar. 1975 was the first major boxing match in Cleveland since the SCHMELING-STRIBLING FIGHT of 1931. The uneven contest matched the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, Mohammed Ali (formerly Cassius Clay), against Chuck Wepner, a liquor salesman from Bayonne, NJ. Because Wepner was not among the World Boxing Council’s top 10 contenders, the contest was not sanctioned as a title match, but it was promoted as if it were by the flamboyant local promoter, Don King. The fight, held at the Richfield Coliseum, was preceded by a televised bout between George Foreman and Oscar Bonavena; both spectacles were seen at the Coliseum and 98 locations in Greater Cleveland via closed circuit TV, and broadcast throughout the world. Regardless of the outcome, Ali was guaranteed $1.5 million and Wepner $100,000; ticket prices ranged from $10-$75, and 4,200 were quickly sold.

When Ali arrived in Cleveland 10 days prior to the fight, he was out of condition, but he jogged through the Metroparks and focused attention on his religion by underwriting a mosque in the Lee-Harvard area. Before 14,000 fans, Ali employed his game plan for 9 rounds until Wepner stepped on his toe, causing him to fall. Ali turned on his opponent, scoring a technical knockout in round 15, as the referee ended the fight when Wepner obviously was too weak to continue. Wepner was sent to an Akron hospital, while Ali basked in victory.

“What I saw was pretty extraordinary. I saw a man they call `the Bayonne Bleeder’ who didn’t have a chance at all against the greatest fighting machine supposedly that ever lived.”

stallone said that on the rocky dvd

But, despite all this public admiration, Chuck Wepner still wasnt happy. He claimed that Sylvester Stallone had gone back on a promise to pay him for being Rocky’s inspiration, but Stallone in turn claimed that Wepner had already made enough money from making appearances as ‘the real Rocky.’

In 2006 Lawyers for Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Wepner filed notice that the lawsuit had been settled for undisclosed terms.

wow its been almost 40 years and i actually was dressed nice that night . Go figure