SYLVESTER STALLONE’S PASSION PROJECT ABOUT AN UNLIKELY HERO TAPPED INTO SOCIETAL TRENDS AND UNIVERSAL DREAMS TO GIVE THE WORLD A BOXING ICON By Christina Newland 50 Years of Rocky
W e all know the story. And most of us know the story behind the story, too. In 1975, an unknown young actor and aspiring screenwriter watched the heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and the tenacious, outgunned Chuck Wepner. Wepner, 31-9-2, was ranked ninth by The Ring at the time of the fight and was nicknamed “The Bayonne Bleeder” for the number of stitches he had procured in the course of his career. The bruiser was only a few seconds shy of going a full 15 rounds with Ali; an honorable defeat. Wepner likely would have been a brave but small footnote in boxing history had that young actor not seen him fight that day. Instead, he became the inspiration for Rocky Balboa.
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