INA (DR) / NESN (DR) / Legends of Boxing (DR)
By Guillaume K. | Sports journalist
The Rocky saga is one of the greatest in the history of cinema, one of the most popular, but we often forget that behind this fictional character hides a real fighter. A fighter who faced all the legends, including Mohamed Ali, and who was particularly marked by one man.
Today, the character of Rocky Balboa is so ingrained in popular culture that we can almost forget he ever existed. To tell you how much the border between fiction and reality was disturbed by this 1976 film, Rocky has its own status in the streets of Philadelphia, a city which nevertheless gave birth to some of the greatest champions in history…
But behind the role played wonderfully by Sylvester Stallone, there is a concrete inspiration. This inspiration is Chuck Wepner, a former professional boxer who had the chance to fight the best. For example, it was his 15-round war against Mohamed Ali that inspired the script of the first film of the legendary saga. On the other hand, contrary to fiction, the “real Rocky” was knocked out by his Apollo Creed.
Chuck Wepner talks about his fight against Sonny Liston
Obviously, one would think that this historic duel would be the most memorable memory of Wepner’s career, that he would see Ali as his toughest opponent. But no, as he explained in an interview years later, he had already encountered a much more terrifying man, who was capable of breaking the bones of his opponents with every strike:
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I have fought 147 times in my career, professionally or amateurly. I faced 4 world champions and 9 boxers who were in the world Top 10 at the time of our fight. Nobody ever struck me like Sonny Liston. Person ! Every time he touches you this man breaks a bone. I fought 10 rounds with him, he broke my nose, my left cheek, I finished with 72 stitches.
When the general public tries to determine the most powerful and terrifying boxer in history, the name of Mike Tyson often comes up, he who fought in a relatively recent period… But according to specialists and especially his former opponents, no one was no more intimidating and destructive than Sonny Liston. Two broken bones and 72 stitches in 10 rounds, Wepner went through real hell in the ring with him!
And the crazy thing is, he was just as dangerous in everyday life. Liston has in fact made several trips to prison, once for robbery with a firearm and once for beating a police officer. He was also closely linked to organized crime, which managed his career in the shadows. We can understand the fear he inspired.
To many of his opponents, Muhammad Ali was not necessarily the most terrifying fighter, although he was extremely skilled. Obviously, a man like Sonny Liston was much more disturbing in the ring, and outside of it.
2024-06-01 20:30:00
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