The Muhammad Ali Fight That Inspired Rocky Was Just As Unbelievable

They say that reality is stranger than fiction, especially when it comes to boxing. Ali’s fight against Chuck Wepner wasn’t expected to be anything spectacular, but a display of indomitable spirit and otherworldly toughness culminated in a moment that inspired the pivotal boxing blockbuster, Rocky. Fresh from his “Rumble in the Jungle” knockout over George Foreman, Ali had recaptured his WBA and WBC World Heavyweight titles, and was once again the baddest man on the planet. The powers that be decided that the new, and once again, heavyweight champion needed a break from world class opposition. In other words, Ali, the Apollo Creed of this tale, needed a tune-up.
So, in an unexpected turn, promoters selected part-time pugilist Chuck Wepner as Ali’s next opponent. Just like the character Rocky, Wepner was, by all accounts, an unlikely heavyweight contender. The 35-year-old New Jersey native was a six-foot-five brawler known for his borderline-illegal roughhousing tactics and rock-solid durability. That said, his sturdy chin seemed to be covered with tissue paper, his losses to a young George Foreman and a retiring Sonny Liston both ended because he got cut. But, after stringing together enough wins, he finally cracked the heavyweight top-10, granting him a longshot, but a legitimate shot, at a world title bout.
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#Boxing #rocky #BoxingExplained #BoxingTactics #BoxingTechniques #BoxingBreakdown #ModernMartialArtist #MartialArts #FightBreakdown #FightExplained #BoutExplained #TechniqueBreakdown #vs #MuhammadAli #MikeTyson #MannyPacquiao #howtobox #learnboxing #howtobox #boxingbasics #boxingtactics #boxingskills #boxingtricks #boxingfootwork

[@grantbeardsley278]

Eating head shots from both Sonny Liston and George Foreman and not being KO’d is an incredibly impressive feat by itself.

[@Dunderslag]

I am sorry - but Wepner lost through technical knockout against Foreman after three rounds and against Liston after nine rounds through surrender. Still a good performance.

[@JayJoe626]

He did get stopped by Foreman and Sonny. This video is misleading with it

[@Dracon7601]

@@JayJoe626 He does say he lost by cuts in those

[@kakashihatake6176]

​@@JayJoe626 he said that he never been dropped, and not that he never been tkoed

[@kakashihatake6176]

​@@Dunderslagstill did not went down tho

[@HJRC_]

He blocked every punch with his face. A true master of the rocky defense.

[@amadodabeast]

Gotta give him props though. He stood his ground as much as possible.

[@manuwilson4695]

@@amadodabeast ...yeah, with no real skill whatsoever.

[@amadodabeast]

@@manuwilson4695 skill or no skill, he had heart.

[@manuwilson4695]

@@amadodabeast Using dirty tactics like blatant multiple rabbit punches APPROVED BY THE FEF!!!...is definitely NOT heart'🤷‍♂

[@amadodabeast]

@@manuwilson4695 but taking punches to the face and still coming forward is. Why are you trying to deny this man’s props?

[@justinbailey5268]

"He doesn't know it's a damn show, he thinks it's a damn fight!!" Great video man!

[@gregd806]

This guy Lost to Ali, Foreman, AND Liston? That isn't the makings of someone who is a scrub, He got to challenge 3 of the Greatest... Dang.

[@nigerianprincewithaids]

He was a man who couldve well been a champion but just so happened to fight in the most competitive time in boxing with the greatest boxers ever,the fact he even made a mark in such a talented era in the sport is a feat in itself

[@megsmith596]

You make a valid point.

[@melnakai2475]

And out of the three fights with the legends he was only knocked down once... I wanna see the other two fight now... Ali actually looked gassed by the end as well...

I've seen tons of people use "who's" when "whose" would be correct. I've never seen it the other way around. Not trying to be a grammar nazi here, just never seen that.

[@WebShaman01]

Yeah, with his face! C'mon, he got the worst beatings one can imagine! Not hardly something to be proud of.

[@Triggy6825]

"I saw you beat that man like I ain't ever seen a man get beat before...and the man kept coming after you.."

[@WebShaman01]

Until...he didn't. He ended up on the floor, none the better for just taking punch after punch after punch. He not only got beat, he got beaten.

[@Liam_Barlowe]

Chuck Wepner who fought both Sonny Liston and George Foreman said, *“Sonny made George look like Mr. Friendly!”* Chuck also said, *"Getting hit by Sonny was like getting hit by a baseball bat."* Chuck wasn’t exaggerating, as he walked out of that fight with a broken nose, a broken cheek bone and 72 stitches!

[@charlierobles316]

How could you walk out of a fight with stitches don't you get those after you walk out?

[@thediaz07]

​@@charlierobles316 what.... read what you wrote.

[@Desh681]

⁠@@thediaz07makes sense in a literal way: you get patched up in the locker room or med room, not in the ring. But more important to me is how on earth Wepner managed to stay standing against Liston and Foreman, both of which can _deform punching bags_

[@MashuSlyferiux]

@@thediaz07 he's right and you're wrong, YOU read at what he wrote

[@WhiskeyMyersour]

Mike Tyson once famously said Sonny Liston made me look like a boy scout 😂😂

[@BentArrowni]

Such a warrior heart, Chuck might not be a legend in the records but he wrote his own legend through work and effort. What else can a man ask for?

[@bilbortboxing1313]

And he is still being remembered for it on the internet today.

[@manuwilson4695]

You forgot to add; "and illegal rabbit punches"

[@manuwilson4695]

@@bilbortboxing1313 ...yeah, for his blatant ref approved rabbit punches.👎

[@Pocket_Jake]

@@manuwilson4695 wahhh wah wah wahhh

[@manuwilson4695]

@@Pocket_Jake facts are facts. 🖕

[@ThisSteveGuy]

Chuck Wepner is a friend of my family, he's one of the friendliest and funniest people you could ever meet, and I'm thrilled to see you covered this match as fairly as you did for such a large and intelligent audience. While I appreciate the Rocky franchise as a fan of good cinema, I'm disappointed with how Stallone distanced his film and his character from their obvious inspiration. So it's really great to see people witnessing the story the way it actually happened, from someone so well-versed in the fighting arts, in such an exciting and well-crafted video. EDIT: Oh and don't sleep on the 2016 film Chuck, starring Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts.

[@hosvet_animation]

Tell him that Ref might've saved his life, but only because God didn't put any quit in him.

[@TheBankofJosh]

Is Chuck still able to communicate? I haven't seen an interview from him in years

[@MicahNstuff]

@@TheBankofJosh I believe he is still coherent, probably due to the fact he didn’t train/spar full time, and a lot of his fights were stopped early.

[@ThomasMitchum-z9z]

What's the name of the movie about Chuck at the end of your comment. I would like to get that movie on dvd.😐

[@ThisSteveGuy]

@@ThomasMitchum-z9z It's just called Chuck.

[@cliptomaniac2562]

I call myself a fight fan but had no idea about this fight. The way you told the story had me at totally engaged. I have been a fan for years. Just showing my appreciation.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Thank you! The fight is definitely under rated, I've been wanting to make the video for years so had some time to think about how to do it. Glad you enjoyed!

[@unwashedhands2087]

No matter how fast you are, the bots are always faster

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

At least they give the early viewers something nice to look at lmao But seriously I've talked with KZbin about it and they told me it's on me, so I just clear them out on each and every video. Ridiculous!

[@tusk1142]

​@@TheModernMartialArtist wouldn't be so bad if they had unique profile pictures

[@jamalwalker04]

Foreal I've seen the same woman's ass 8 times already ​@@tusk1142

[@geargeekpdx3566]

@@TheModernMartialArtist KZbin could stop it but they don't because it would eliminate a massive slice of their traffic numbers and be an admission that they were knowingly complicit about enabling the same stuff Facebook has been under scrutiny for allowing in the political realm et al.

[@ilovebeinagirl]

@@geargeekpdx3566 I bet you're exactly right, kind of how Amazon allows pirates to sell other people's books without their consent or profit.but they just "can't figure out how to get it to stop" 🙄

[@elimunguia347]

Rest in peace Muhammad Ali and Carl Weathers 🥊

[@hosvet_animation]

I swear Carl Weathers was a fucking immortal who finally got caught. Dude didn't fucking age.

[@hosvet_animation]

@SanityTV_Last_Sane_Man_Alive Do not reply to this comment anyone who happens upon it. If you only see this after, delete your comment. Not worth your time to waste it here.

[@JonyRotten]

I remember Ali I agree with the Carl Weathers part.

[@samtanka1]

Ali respected his heart. Dude was slow but kept throwing punches till the end.

[@SeamusAndrewMurphy]

Wepner was literally a human heavy bag. He was a terrible righter, but how can anyone match his ability to take sheer punishment and keep standing?

[@jorgenrexolson6451]

Homer Simpson style.

[@MicahNstuff]

@@SeamusAndrewMurphy I’d say a bad boxer, not a bad fighter. This guy could beat anybody’s ass.

[@Smokinjoewhite]

@@MicahNstuff Exactly, terrible boxer, great fighter. He would never give up.

[@CoD3x4life]

@@SeamusAndrewMurphystill probably top 3 toughest boxers ever

[@ArtBellJr]

There is a Documentary called The real Rocky about This very same Fight. And all about Chuck Wepner, he even fought a bear and Andre the Giant.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Yeah he became a bit of a celebrity because of the fight and was able to leverage that, which he definitely deserved after all the effort he put in here lol

[@kumajin3621]

Ŕocky 5 might have been better if he fought a bear mid way through.

[@GavinFox-uk9sn]

@@TheModernMartialArtist Did you know that Wepner fought the same MMA fighter Ali did.

[@ArtBellJr]

@@GavinFox-uk9sn MMA wasn't around until the 90's but Wepner fought a Japanese wrestler and he fought Andre the Giant. It was a predecessor to MMA.Edit: also in Rocky this is why Balboa faces Hulk Hogan.

[@Smokinjoewhite]

Andre wasn't a fighter, he was a strong man. Big, big difference.

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

He was SO CLOSE to going the distance with Ali, Foreman and Liston. One of the toughest to ever do it.

[@thetriggeredone3461]

He keep cheating agaisnt ali and hit him with illegal rabbit punches why is he getting respect

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

@@thetriggeredone3461 Maybe because he went against the GOAT and nearly made it 15 rounds as a semi professional.

[@thetriggeredone3461]

​@@ImBarryScottCSS I will agree he did go the distance with the goat but i can not forgive him for using rabbit punches even if you are trying to win you are severely damaging a person with those hits

[@Osvie01-uc8go]

​@@thetriggeredone3461I agree. Wepner fought dirty the entire fight and was awarded an underserved knockdown.

[@robertgold6108]

Wepner was lucky Ali cept toying the first eight rounds.

[@gauloiseguy]

Dude kept coming like a force of nature. Chin and heart might not be the end all, be all. But it takes you a long way.

[@isaacartaz6200]

I think having an iron chin is one of the more underrated attributes a boxer can have. Just the ability to be able to take a good shot and awnser with 2 or 3 more is amazing to watch

[@WhiskeyMyersour]

Yeah until you get older then it's a curse. Ali had a granite chin and look what happened to him 😢

[@Autumnhades-fp8db]

​@@WhiskeyMyersourit also makes some people overconfident in their ability to just take power punches and neglect their defence a recent example would be Ngannou against Joshua with Ngannou going in certain that he could take anything AJ could give him and being very wrong (bad example I know as Ngannou is from an MMA background but it's the most recent I can think of)

[@sharpvidtube]

15 rounds seems crazy. Joe Bugner had the right idea, just have a 12 round fight with Ali.

[@Sanjovalentine]

As dirty as a fighter he could be, his spirit was legit. Glad Muhammad was able to be pushed like this and power through! You’re only the Greatest if you Fight for it🔥

[@ManiacMageetheG]

Yeah he had heart, but was dirty. I can't believe he inside leg kicked him. This was a fight Ali was supposed to win, which is always the hardest fights. Ali was a legend.

[@loganduncan8789]

if you arent cheating you arent trying

[@Doc_Holiday]

He certainly was a dirty fighter.And I don't think anyone actually believes that punch would have knocked Ali down down if Wepner hadn't been standing on his foot

[@hosvet_animation]

Wepner seems like a brawler not a boxer. That said he copped to a kick after Ali did one mid-fight, so he seems legit.

[@oliverearnshaw6189]

@@ManiacMageetheGas dirty as Ali when his corner cut his glove to open up a cut on Henry Coopers face after he got knocked down by a left hook? 🤔

[@surrealistidealist]

You're really great at integrating your analysis with your storytelling! 👏

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Thank you, it's a lot of work! I went to film school, so I try to use all the same rules as a movie script.

[@cleaver3168]

​@@TheModernMartialArtisthave you ever thought about making a side channel analyzing film? Would love to your breakdowns on something like Raging Bull or other non sports related movies

[@dmitrychirkov4206]

Ali came for the show Chuck came for the battle Ali won, but Chuck had his way

[@1977TA]

As a fighter the moment you realize you are going to be in for a long night is when you hit your opponent with your best stuff, and he just keeps coming like a runaway freight train. Chuck Wepner was a fighter's worst nightmare. We'll never know if he could last 15 rounds with Mike Tyson however, he faced the likes of George Forman, a fighter known for packing serious power in his punches. That fact that Foreman could not knock Wepner out says a lot about how tough this dude was. Ali was lucky he didn't suffer an upset defeat. He totally underestimated Wepner's ability to take a punch.

[@WarioSaysSo]

4 times in his career to my knowledge Chuck Wepner was knocked down in a career with 9 TKO/RTD stops out of 14 career losses = 26-14-2, KO's 17. Wepner said in an interview "I was a big bleeder. I had 328 stitches in my career. My nose was broken nine times in 16 years. And, uh, it never fazed me, you know" Buster Mathis stopped Chuck Wepner in the 3rd round after Mathis had floored Wepner for an eight-count in the opening round and opened a cut over Wepner's right eye later in the session. Wepner was unable to recover from the 1st round pounding and the fight was stopped by referee at 1:58 of the 3rd round. "Big" George Foreman hit Wepner at will with a snappy left jab, stinging left hooks and solid rights. Foreman staggered Wepner with a volley of punches in the 2nd round and cut him over the left eye. Early in the 3rd round, Foreman split the cut wide open with a series of punches, and the referee stopped the fight! "I'm happy to win, but disappointed it didn't go a few more rounds. I could use the work." - George Foreman. Sonny Liston had Chuck Wepner down from a right to the body in the 5th round. and after a lot of pummeling, the fight was stopped after the 9th round due to severe cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. He required 72 stitches and also suffered a broken nose and a cracked left cheekbone. This was Liston's last fight of his career. He was found dead six months later. His death was ruled to be from "natural causes", but many believe the so called evidences was nothing but boguses and the truth was that Liston was murdered! One long theory is that Liston was supposed to take a dive against Wepner, and killing him was payback for his failure to do so by his mobster connections. Joe Bugner came out and worked confidently behind the jab in the opening round as Wepner came forward and threw mostly wide punches. By the end of the 1st round, the left side of Wepner's face had already begun to show signs of wear from Bugner's jab. In Round 2, Bugner continued to pump his jab into Wepner's face with little defensive resistance. Toward the end of the round he landed a solid combination to the body. Midway through Round 3 a gash opened above the right eye of Wepner that almost immediately covered the side of his face with blood. Both fighters turned up their intensity and exchanged power shots for much of the remainder of the round. Following the round, Referee came over to view the cut and decided to call an end to the bout after 3 rounds of boxing. Ernie Terrell pound the bleeding, punchless Chuck Wepner through most of there fight, for the American heavyweight championship. The BS was that in New Jersey's boxing rules at the time, the decision on the fight result was made by the referee alone (?). Known as a cautious fighter, Terrell jabbed away at cuts over Wepner's right eye and left ear. Terrell tired in the late rounds but continued to land the fight's only solid punches. Both the Ring Magazine and Associated Press scored the fight easily for Terrell as much as 10 of the 12 rounds....and yet somehow Wepner was given a HUGE gift decision and Terrell was blantly robbed. "As long as you have people who are cheap in their moral dignity and code of ethics, you will have something that smells like Convention Hall here tonight." - Ernie Terrell. Wepner stated, "There is no way I'll get in the ring with Terrell again." - Chuck Wepner. Duane Bobick outboxed Chuck Wepner till he stoped him on bloody cuts in the 6th round. Club level fighter Horst Geisler knocked down Wepner once in the tenth round, and the referee later stops him at 1:19 on standing feetes. Club level fighter Jerry Tomasetti stoped Wepner with a 5th round TKO. Journyman Jerry Judge stoped Wepner with a 5th round TKO.

[@aaronfleisher4694]

@@thejerseyj5479 What are you talking about? The Liston part? The comment as a whole seems rather factual.

[@JC-oj9dh]

Thanks for sharing. Great job on making the vid. Accurate and entertaining.

[@kerryfry1857]

A very brave man. No wonder it inspired Rocky. 🥊

[@troyocarroll]

Wepner didn't inspire Rocky, Stallone stole his story and in the end settled for a confidential sum out of court. Stallone still carried on and made Rocky 2 copying Wepners fight with Andre the giant by fighting Hulk Hogan. Stallone never had a original thought and made his name and fortune by blatantly plagerising Chuck Wepners career and life.

[@master-of-mind5881]

@@troyocarrollyou’ll be surprised how many artists and creators plagiarise the works of others. Nothing is ever truly original. Every idea is essentially based off an archetypical concept or foundation or story or event that is adapted into something else to fit a specific narrative of the inspired. Thats just human nature man. I still commend Stallone for bringing Rocky to life. Taking a boxing match and turning it into a cinematic extravaganza that became iconic and a staple of the sports drama genre in film. Keep hating.

[@manubishe]

Ali must have been at the point of getting disheartened. Wepner either played the tired one, or wanted the crown more than anyone

[@foxik7272]

Or maybe Chuck was even motivated by it. Imagine knowing that you're up against one of the greatest boxers of all time. Of course, he wouldn't just give up; he wanted to leave his mark. What a great fighter!

[@hosvet_animation]

@@foxik7272 "I'm the greatest boxer alive" "Prove it."

[@mastarminds4042]

Your videos are so good man

[@robertmoore294]

That was the greatest fight in history. I wasn't born then of course but I just watch the highlights of it. I always like how Ali do that jump while boxing. He's like Bruce Lee in the ring.

[@streetguru9350]

Shoulda included the clip of Ali approaching Stallone as he was accepting an award.

[@naturetrails8357]

Webner was one tough dude , showed grit and determination, I’m sure he earned Ali respect, Ali arguably the 🐐!

[@kseer8269]

No doubt.. I'm sure everybody knows this but Chuck did not truly knock Ali down. As Ali backed up from the punch, Wepner stepped on his foot. As Ali's foot was pinned, he tripped backward.

[@WarriorsOfYasheral]

Ali's handspeed in this fight was insane. Wepner was rabit punching the whole fight behind Ali's head and paid dearly for it.

[@michaeloeser9187]

Chuck had an iron will, a heart of gold and big brass... knuckles.

[@Otw.munna6]

PLEASE drop the switch hitter video I can’t wait any longer 😕

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Haha I'll write the script for it this month actually, then plan a release date.

[@Sam-ht4og]

Yeah I would like you to talk about how fundamental heavy fighter like Naoya uses switch hitting to confuse opponents as well as how Willie pep or Crawford disguises switching Or Maybe video on how Hagler, Pac-Man, or Beterbiev switches mid combination.

[@rabidlenny7221]

It’s amazing how Ali can just ‘decide’ to get serious and start landing heavy leather. Even if it’s against ‘just’ Chuck Wepner.

[@surrealistidealist]

Did Wepner ever say whether Liston or Foreman hit him harder? I'm dying to know how their power compares. Wepner is probably the only person still alive who fought them both.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

That's a great question! Maybe he has a twitter or something to ask him.

[@Liam_Barlowe]

Chuck Wepner who fought both Sonny Liston and George Foreman said, *“Sonny made George look like Mr. Friendly!”* Chuck also said, *"Getting hit by Sonny was like getting hit by a baseball bat."* Chuck wasn’t exaggerating, as he walked out of that fight with a broken nose, a broken cheek bone and 72 stitches!

[@MJIZZEL]

He definitely said liston hit harder. Said it was like getting hit with a bat or a pipe or something. Can't remember it's been a while since I read it tbh but he did say liston for sure.

[@MJIZZEL]

​@@Liam_Barloweoh hell thanks. I had read about this year's ago and couldn't remember what all he said. Was about to look it up so thanks.

[@keithwiggins3131]

Chuck Wepner was living proof that you can take a beating and keep on ticking. He survived Ali he survived Liston he survived Andre The Giant.

[@hmzhus]

Man it’s sad we never got to see Ali in his prime

[@WhiskeyMyersour]

We did but it was brief. His fight against Cleveland Williams was probably the best HW performance ever. It's like he couldn't be touched.

[@angelic_disappointment7889]

Yea its BS what this country did to him

[@MicahNstuff]

@@angelic_disappointment7889 millions were drafted and he gets a pass cause he was a Muslim/famous prizefighter. He didn’t help the poor and dying the war, in fact he ran from it.

[@angelic_disappointment7889]

@@MicahNstuff so? There was a lot of people who also dodged the draft, with Trump being another example. The U.S involvement in Vietnam was a mistake, and it was wrong on a lot of levels, men basically went there and died for no real reason

[@norvelwhite3811]

​​@@MicahNstuffHe didn't run

[@adambane1719]

That was fantastic, thank you..... Dude was tough ! "Nicknamed "The Bayonne Bleeder" due to repeated facial injuries in the ring, he took the name that was initially meant as an insult and made it his nom de guerre. In an interview with the BBC, Wepner said "I was a big bleeder. I had 328 stitches in my career. My nose was broken nine times in 16 years. And, uh, it never fazed me, you know".

[@TheBeast-pb8gq]

Chuck Wepner was a legends and hung in there longer than anybody would all I remember speaking with him many times he was a big rough guy from the streets. He represented those streets well.❤

[@randomtroll7374]

@0:15 Rumble In The Jumble. : )

[@Dee-nonamnamrson8718]

Who's cutting onions in here? You gotta stop.

[@ezsmith3765]

At 6’5” that puts Wepner at about a full foot taller than Sly Stallone 🤣

[@StanKelly-eg5cf]

Respect for Wepner.

[@Dottor_J]

People would clown Ali had this fight happened in the modern era lol

[@WhiskeyMyersour]

Yep. Guys like Wepner and Gatti wouldn't be fully appreciated today like they should be. There's something to be said for otherworldly toughness.

[@marksmith4346]

They sort of did back then, Ali had gone through a list of guys who were top 20 all time earlier in his career and he was sort of fighting guys he assumed he could beat easily...but fights don't always turn out like they think. Then he fought that guy who wasn't even a heavyweight (Spinks?) and everyone was convinced he did it just so he could get the record for number of times "reclaiming" the belt. It was obvious that at some point a Norton or Holmes or Tucker or someone was going to catch him on the wrong day but he was doing more than just hanging around, he was defending the belt. People still thought he was ducking though.

[@PretendBreadBoy]

Kinda found a way to cheese fights. Forcing his opponent to come to him as he wouldn't engage, just keep running until he tired him out.

[@setosbagofgoodies995]

Always droppin awesome videos. Content is heavy!! I'd love to see your breakdown on Laila Ali vs. Christy Martin "coal miner's daughter". deep backstory

[@rajeev7898]

Wepner"s punches flew like flying kisses.

[@irishadventurer9759]

Really enjoyed this video, and appreciate the focus on the fight itself, not endless lead-in about the personalities involved. Rocky is, hands down, my favorite movie. Your treatment of this subject was excellent and the presentation kept me on the edge of my seat. Chuck Wepner, defeated, scored a victory for the ages. Ali, arguably the greatest fighter who ever lived, a legend on par with man-god Achilles, only won the fight. He could not beat him. Therein lies Wepner's triumph.

[@aliasif8498]

Best channel for fighting techniques and matche analysis

[@BigDaveSolomita]

My father was a photographer that catalogued Wepner’s training camp. He showed me the book some years ago. Chuck was good friends with my cousin Louis so my father was also friends with him. I’ve heard this incredible story my entire lift.

[@markchapman2585]

Cutt me, Mick. Rocky is still my favorite movie series. Besides number 5.

[@AlexG-tp2ik]

Rocky 5 is a very underrated movie.

[@douglaskump5713]

As always awesome content. The Modern Martial Artist channel is one of the best. Thanks for the great videos.

[@daiblaze1396]

Martial art is essentialy a battle against yourself first. The opponent is here to make you understand what you are worth at this moment in time. That's why if you gave it all but still lose it doesn't matter. It's not failure, it's understanding what you can do to overcome that hurdle. My understanding of my journey in martial arts at least. Never seen this match up, didn't know that Rocky was inspired by Wepner. I was amazed by his will to keep going no matter what. That's very inspiring!

[@jakethecaliforniawolf4888]

I really enjoy all your videos/breakdowns man. I liked your stuff so much I bought 3 of your books. Can’t wait to learn more, improve my boxing.

[@1satisfiedmind]

Man, I forgot about Chuck. Thanks for this.

[@miguelguzman4552]

Wepner really locked in

[@MuratKadir-o3c]

Absolutely, and have you noticed how quick 4RA loads? Betting in seconds, so cool! 🚀

[@modiggady]

5:02 overhand right and then a leg kick🙈😂🤣😅🙈

[@scottwilliams8334]

I see Big George every now and then. His gym and church is around the corner from my house. He's got a gym, daycare center, community center on one side of the street, the other side is the church and his kid's houses.

[@thunderzproductions5474]

i love your channel bro . God bless

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Thanks bro!

[@MrManWithPlan]

I had no idea foreman and Liston fought this guy. Thanks for mentioning that! I’ll be watching those

[@WhiskeyMyersour]

David you're the best in the business! Incredible storytelling by you. And proof that truth is in fact stranger than fiction. What a fight!!

[@Mr.MikeBarksdale]

My father was a football player at the University of Colorado at Boulder about this time, and he became friends with NFL All-Pro Lyle Alzado. For those of you who don't know, "Three Mile" Lyle was widely considered the toughest guy in the NFL of the 1970s--a time when only real men's men played football. A graduate of several reform schools, the street kid from New York famously said, "If I fought King King in an alley, only one of us is going home, and it ain't the monkey." And he could back it up. In 1977, the former Golden Gloves champion agreed to a "sparring match" at Mile High Stadium against Muhammad Ali for charity. My father sparred with him to help him get ready for his "fight" with, oh, the greatest boxer in history. "He was the scariest son of a gun I have ever met", my father likes to say. Imagine being so good at boxing, and so tough, that you can take on one of the toughest men in world history in just a sparring session, just for fun. That was how good Muhammad Ali was compared to the average man.

[@Mo-MuttMusic]

Thanks for sharing. Learned of the Ali-Wepner fight long after I had seen the first "Rocky" film. Excellent discussion. Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music/Sacred & Secular (and sports fan)

[@stayingalivewithsaad5351]

That's a terrific breakdown video on the inspiration behind Rocky. Love your channel as always. ❤ On the contrary 1:51 You said April 24th 10:55 lol 😂

[@jokelot5221]

People like Chuck Wepner is what i call true American heroes, and this is coming from a guy from Serbia.

[@sugondese123]

An interesting video IMO would be one on jake lamotta's rivarly with sugar ray Robinson

[@MerveMustafa-cr7sw]

Love the color theme of 4RA, it’s so catchy and vibrant! Eye-candy bhi, money-candy bhi! 🌈💸

[@S92COLINZ]

rarely comment but this video has so much heart and soul i just need to commend the the uploader on such an amazing watch.

[@synvaVal]

Floyd and Ali’s pull counter 😤

[@klepperkamarad]

During h.s. in Bayonne, NJ, my XC team would come across Chuck running all the time.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

I would add that Rocky Marciano was also a huge inspiration for Rocky as he first ever put on gloves at 25 and 6 years later was heavyweight world champion, after beating a boxer "Jersey Joe Wallcott" with some of the best footwork ever seen in the ring, so complex some of his moves still can't be replicated and in his previous fight had just done the best left hook knock out ever to this day, knocking out Ezzard Charles who had never even been knocked down in 77 fights let alone knock out with one punch. In terms of timescale it would be the equalivant today of Jake Paul knocking out Usyk (who ironically both Usyk and Loma uterlise some of Wallcotts footwork techniques) with one of the best knock outs the world has ever seen. Edit : there is a Troll commenter below that uses alt accounts to always type the same things under anything that mentions rocky Marciano. Why who knows.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

True! My understanding is that he used Marciano's style for the film but made him a southpaw! And the hitting the meat was something Joe Frazier did. Lots of tributes in that movie.

[@Sara_Sky_Sutton]

Zhang weighs - 285 Bakole - 285 Joyce - 280 Briggs - 265 Ruiz - 265 Grant - 265 Fury - 262 Parker - 250 Foreman - 250 Vitali - 250 Peter - 250 Joshua - 250 Whyte - 250 Ibeabuchi - 245 Lennox - 245 Kabayel - 245 Wladimir - 245 Dubois - 245 Anderson - 245 Sanchez - 245 Ruddock - 245 Hrgovic - 245 Wardley - 240 Bowe - 240 Ortiz - 240 Witherspoon - 235 Tua - 235 Dokes - 235 Bruno - 230 Morrison - 230 Cooney - 230 Wilder - 225 Thomas - 225 Usyk - 223 Lyle - 220 Tyson - 218 Holmes - 218 Ali - 218 Liston - 218 *Moore - 175 lb LH champion from 1952 to 1962.* *Charles - 181 lb HW champion with lowest ever 42% KO's.* *Marciano - 184 lb HW champion with 67" flyweight reach.* Heavyweight was only 175 lbs back then. Moore & Charles best years were at MW (147 to 160) and LH (160 to 175). Moore had his first pro fight in 1935. He never weighed more than 165 until 1944. That's 9 years at MW. Marciano fought between 178 and 188 over 40 times and was 'Never' weight drained!! *If size don't matter why hasn't there been another 184 lb Heavyweight champion since little Rocky's little era 4 generations ago?*

[@Sara_Sky_Sutton]

Heavyweight was only 175 lbs back then. Rocky does not represent all Heavyweight categories and Super Heavyweight categories. The average Heavyweight today weighs 250 similar to Joshua and Parker. Zhang weighs 285, Rocky only 184 with 67" flyweight reach.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

​​​​@@Sara_Sky_Sutton not one of them could throw 100 punches for 15 rounds and still be ready for another 10 rounds. He had the best conditioning of any heavyweight in history. He knocked out his heaviest opponent 253lbs in round 1. His punches were so hard they had to change the springness of boxing rings because boxers were hitting their head to hard off of it from Marciano's punches. He was never 175lbs, his lightest was 180lbs. The fact is back then you had to have the stamina for 15 rounds. The only reason heavyweights are the ridiculous weight they are now and so overweight is because stamina is no longer taken into account. It's hilarious you want him to be less well conditioned because of arbitrary targets. Not to mention, Due to the way a punch works which is velocity half Mass Times velocity squared as soon as mass starts reducing velocity. It reduces power. Archie Moore said "I hit rocky with the hardest punch I ever threw and all it did was make him angry" and the only other time he was ever knocked down was by that same punch that knocked out Ezzard Charles with a single punch and Marciano got up at the count of 2. Oh and by the way it doesn't matter how many alt accounts you make, you write in the same disjointed way, it is obvious you are the same marciano hater, you going to do the well he fought against people who lost next go on.v

[@Alex-cw3rz]

​@@Sara_Sky_Sutton yeah and the average heavyweight today can't go 3 rounds without tiring and have to have cool down rounds a concept that did not even exist back then. It was 15 rounds and you had to have the stamina for 15, 3 minute rounds. Now it' 12 rounds and you need to have stamina for six to eight, one and a half minute rounds.

[@momcramer3920]

💞 love your uploads. I never heard of this fight.

[@sirlloyd6386]

What a superb piece of video editing, and narration. A fight many will never have seen before, or been aware of. Simply Brilliant.

[@dalebaker3799]

In the Rocky movie Apollo wasn't looking for a tune up fight. He had beaten every boxer with ease. He was looking for something to draw attention to his fights because everybody was getting bored of him winning with ease. So he came up with the idea of giving an unknown a chance to draw publicity.

[@sonofromel]

Ah Wepner's stance. The classic CTE shell.

[@Tanerirem]

Been with 4RA for months now, their fair play is why I keep coming back 🔄🎰

[@brianwarner308]

awesome video man!

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Thanks! Says you've been subscribed 7 years, so it means a lot hearing that from such a long time viewer :)

[@knowwudimean1064]

Hey please do other ali fights like Norton III, shavers, like and spinks 1 and 2

[@G.M.1944]

I love the James Brown commentary ringside, comparing Ali’s jab to a RAZOR, and to the great Ezzard Charles. James Brown, in his younger pre-fame days, also had been a boxer, and he carried that footwork into his legendary stage performances. I bet young James’ fists packed some serious punch ! 👊🏾

[@cullex.2851]

So even Sonny Liston didn’t knock him down?

[@sugondese123]

That was a very old and past his prime sonny Liston and foreman was very early on in his career and not really in his prime yet.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Agree on Liston but Foreman was knocking out EVERYONE already, only a few misses in his first 40 fights. Possible Foreman would have knocked him out cold if not for the cut, to be fair, but the footage is lost so we'll never know.

[@llanero4069]

Liston kd wepner with a bodyshot.

[@MonkeyDToniProductions]

@@sugondese123Both a young Foreman and very old Sonny would still break walls so I still give him props for both

[@kakashihatake6176]

​@@sugondese123 bruh foreman was still koed everyone, is a hell of a feat And that same foreman stated that liston was stronger than him even at old age

[@PowerHouseWash]

Really nice job with the video.

[@mbogaba667]

Never heard of your channel. Awesome video. I'm subscribing.

[@EGarrett01]

Saw the video title and was gonna click it and skip through, then I realized it was Modern Martial Artist and settled in to give it a better watch.

[@verrufen2642]

Music Production is awesome in this one

[@strasznymizogin3803]

Do you know names of the songs?

[@verrufen2642]

@@strasznymizogin3803 might be he made the beats himself. I actually hadn't heard them before

[@WokeSoros]

Great stuff as always. I always enjoy your work. Your editing, analysis and commentary are second to none.

[@TheBestEverEverEver]

“If you think my face looks bad than you should see the other guys fist.”

[@qalamkaar1984]

hi bro, i eagerly await your video, a Pakistani 🇵🇰 love ❤ & respect 🙏🏻 from Malaysia 🇲🇾…

[@thorneradel8667]

David, great job

[@sergegirard864]

Well, I never knew. Thx for educating me. 😮

[@bgt2848]

You fight Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston and the only time you go down in your professional career is in the 15th round against Muhammad Ali… Jesus Christ

[@AxleTrade]

That ref was horrible. Letting Wepner rabbit punch. Once Ali had enough of it he was letting Wepner hold and hit. Wtf?

[@thomaschristopher8593]

ali did a lot of that too in all his fights.

[@hudaarifathul6950]

​@@thomaschristopher8593Ali never do rabbit punches except his fight with Chuck.. got caught BS😂

[@thomaschristopher8593]

@@hudaarifathul6950 watch all ali fights. he did that behind the neck shit all the time and never called out.

[@hudaarifathul6950]

@@thomaschristopher8593 I already watch all Ali fights and he do is holding behind the neck not rabbit punching you blind🤦‍♂️

[@aaronfleisher4694]

A lot of people hated Ali back then. It's not too surprising that the ref didn't mind looking away if it hurt Ali.

[@samueldowney2806]

Your technical breakdowns are top tier David, but your ability to tell a story is second to none!Great fun! Well done Chuck (rabbit punches aside tut tut), what a beast! But even past his prime on an off night, an out of shape Ali still looks like the slickest silkiest smoothest boxer I've ever seen, SRR, SRL, Sanchez included. However, I hope Angelo ripped him a new a-hole for that lazy camp and performance! Lol.

[@commentaccount49]

Imagine Chuck Wepner vs George Chuvalo with 1867 rules (45 rounds!)

[@Paulafan5]

Chuvalo would've knocked him out. Chuvalo was a boxer; Wepner was a punching bag.

[@narniaphuket]

that punch hit so hard the camera felt it at 13:10

[@dwinosam]

I love your channel. Will you do more breakdowns? They are so insightful. How about bivol vs canelo or usyk vs fury?

[@dougvanminnen7537]

Wepner knocking down Ali is debatable, but the fact he lasted nearly 15 rounds against Ali is impressive as hell. I've heard about this story but I never new all the details till now. This was a very informative video Great job.

[@anybodycangetit-e1s]

What's debatable about it? He clearly stepped on his foot as Ali was retreating

[@kseer8269]

yeah, there are pics showing Ali's foot was pinned.

[@dougvanminnen7537]

@@anybodycangetit-e1s That's why it's debatable, for people at the time who may not have noticed him stepping on Ali's foot were making a big deal out of it as though it was a legit knockdown. But my point was even though the knockdown wasn't legit, it was still impressive that Wepner did as well as he did against Ali.

[@WareWolf831]

Boxing used to be so much more fun and colorful than today. Most importantly ring back good fights on regular tv

[@Shawnjames21]

The Rocky movies did a very accurate job. They even copied Adrian from the crowd @08:45 😂😂😂 she even looks like shes saying "Rocky!!!"

[@qalamkaar1984]

ALI ❤ is ALI ❤...

[@alertbri]

You're the best fight commentator on the planet my friend. 🙏👍

[@scottoshea9440]

How Chuck fought all the greats and didn't end up with CTE is the truest measure of his toughness imo.