Chuck Wepner was a huge underdog going into the fight with Muhammad Ali. Ali was paid $1.5 million dollars while Wepner signed for just $100,000 which was the biggest payday he’d ever made by a huge margin, so he took the fight.
The following year, Wepner found himself in another ring against another one of the greats, this time Andre the Giant. On June 25th, 1976, Chuck Wepner took on Andre at Shea Stadium. The fight was a the headliner of the WWWF’s Showdown at Shea and was held in conjunction with the Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki bout in Boduokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Both matches were marketed under the banner, “War of the Worlds” and were show on closed circuit television. Following the Wepner fight, the fans at Shea Stadium were able to watch the Ali/Inoki bout on a three-sided video screen that was placed on the field.
The fight was scheduled for three ten minute rounds, but lasted just one minute and seventeen seconds. There was some controversy on whether or not it was a work or a shoot, and honestly may have been a combination of both. The fight actually takes on the same flow of the Thunder Lips/Rocky fight from Rocky III, but Wepner makes it back into the ring and is ultimately counted out.
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