Sylvester Stallone saw the Wepner-Ali fight 36 years ago and the Rocky story was hatched in his head. Wepner, 36 at the time, fought the younger champ Ali. It was supposed to be an easy fight for Ali. It ended up almost going the distance. Wepner scored a knockdown in the fight. Wepner sued Stallone for fashioning his hero Rocky after Wepner. Stallone settled with Wepner for an undisclosed amount. Wepner lives in his native town of Bayonne, NJ.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/22/wepner.boxing/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPgwCVarUsQ
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/22/wepner.boxing/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPgwCVarUsQ
