Wepner, a professional boxer, gained a following in the Bayonne, New Jersey, area, after never having been knocked down in more than 130 fights. Boxing promoter
Don King heard about him and set up a championship match in 1975 between Wepner and champ
Muhammad Ali, figuring Wepner would be not much more than a sparring partner for Ali, who would knock him out after a few rounds. To everyone's surprise, Wepner not only made it into the 15th round but actually floored Ali with one punch in the ninth round. Ali came back, however, and TKO'd Wepner at 2:41 of the 15th round, thus ending Wepner's no-knockdown string. As Wepner got up, stumbling against the ropes, the referee stopped the fight, giving Ali the TKO. Actor
Sylvester Stallone saw the fight and was so impressed with Wepner that he began to write a script about it, which eventually became "Rocky".
