Forty-two years after he stepped into the ring against Muhammad Ali as a 40-to-one underdog, Chuck Wepner’s business card still has a picture of the moment when he knocked down the champ.
The fight provided inspiration for a young actor named Sylvester Stallone, who incorporated elements of it and Wepner into his film Rocky.
Liev Schreiber plays the Bayonne Bleeder in the new film Chuck, which opens on Friday in New York and Los Angeles.
Wepner says he’s been living large for 42 years and hasn’t been waiting around for his story to be told. Still, he’s happy to see it on-screen.
In 2003, Wepner sued Stallone, arguing that he improperly used his name to promote the Rocky films.” Stallone later settled.
