Wepner turned professional in 1964 and became a popular boxer on the Northeast's
Club Boxing circuit, where he began posting many wins and some losses fighting throughout the region, including in arenas close to his boyhood home such as
North Bergen and
Secaucus. He was the New Jersey state heavyweight boxing champion, but after losing bouts to
George Foreman (by cut eye stoppage in three) and
Sonny Liston (by TKO in nine) many boxing fans thought that his days as a contender were numbered. After the match with Liston, Wepner needed 72 stitches in his face. After his retirement from boxing, Wepner stated that Liston was the hardest puncher he ever fought. However, after losing to
Joe Bugner by a cut eye stoppage in three in
England, Wepner won nine of his next eleven bouts, including victories over Charlie Polite and former WBA heavyweight champion
Ernie Terrell.
Muhammad Ali fight In 1975, it was announced that Wepner would challenge
Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title. According to the
Cleveland Plain Dealer (February 9, 1975, Page 4-C), Carl Lombardo invested $1.3 million to finance the Wepner-Ali heavyweight title bout. According to a
Time article, "In Stitches", Ali was guaranteed a $1.5 million purse and Wepner was guaranteed $100,000. This was considerably more than Wepner had ever earned; thus, he "needed no coaxing." Wepner spent eight weeks training in the
Catskill Mountains under the guidance of
Al Braverman (trainer and noted
cutman) and Bill Prezant (manager). Prezant prophesied that the match would be a big surprise. This bout was the first time Wepner had been able to train full-time; since 1970 his typical day had consisted of road work in the morning, followed by his job selling liquor during the day. Then he was able to spend his nights working out and sparring in Bayonne boxing clubs. The match was held on March 24 at the
Richfield Coliseum in
Richfield, Ohio, south of
Cleveland. Before the match, a reporter asked Wepner if he thought he could survive in the ring with the champion, to which Wepner allegedly answered, "I've been a survivor my whole life ... if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali." In the ninth round, Wepner scored a knockdown, which Ali said occurred because Wepner was stepping on his foot. Published photographs showed Wepner stepping on Ali's foot at the time of the knockdown. Wepner went to his corner and said to his manager Al Braverman, "Al, start the car. We're going to the bank. We are millionaires." To this, Wepner's manager replied: "You better turn around. He's getting up and he looks pissed off." In the remaining rounds, Ali decisively outboxed Wepner and opened up cuts above both of Wepner's eyes and broke his nose. Wepner was far behind on the scorecards when Ali knocked him down with 19 seconds left in the 15th round. The referee counted to seven before calling a technical knockout. After the Ali-Wepner bout,
Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for
Rocky, which was released in theatres in 1976. Like Wepner, (Rocky) Balboa lasts 15 rounds, but unlike Wepner, he actually "
goes the distance". For years after
Rocky was released, Stallone denied that Wepner provided inspiration for the movie, though he eventually admitted it.
Late career In 1976, Wepner fought
professional wrestler André the Giant and lost by countout after Andre threw him out of the ring. On October 25, 1977, Wepner went to
Japan and lost to
Antonio Inoki in a Wrestler vs Boxer match. Wepner's last match was on May 2, 1978, for the New Jersey state heavyweight championship against a new rising prospect, Scott Frank, noted for using a heavy left hook. Wepner lost the match in a 12-round decision, but again proved durable. He announced his retirement afterwards. == Later life ==