ESPN Films' the Real Rocky: Did Sylvester Stallone Steal Chuck Wepner's Story?

The Real Rocky is the latest film in ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series. 

Filmmaker Jeff Feuerzeig examines the story of Chuck “The Bayonne Bleeder” Wepner, the real man behind the myth in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky. 

Wepner is a 72-year-old former boxer from Bayonne, New Jersey.  Wepner’s life story and his 15-round fight with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in 1975 are said to have inspired Stallone to write the script for Rocky. 

The Man: Chuck Wepner

Wepner’s fight with Muhammad Ali was the highlight of a long career in the ring.  Wepner was guaranteed $100,000 for the fight (Ali earned $1.5 million), which allowed him to train full-time for the first time in his career. He trained for eight weeks prior to the fight, with his manager, Al Braverman, and his trainer, Bill Prezant.

Wepner and Ali met on March 24, 1975, just south of Cleveland, Ohio, at the Richfield Coliseum.  The fight was promoted by legendary boxing promoter Don King, who was working closely with Ali at the time. 

The fight lasted an epic 15 rounds; unsurprisingly Ali was the decisive victor. 

Wepner did manage to knock Ali down in the ninth round, but ultimately he walked away with deep cuts above both eyes and a broken nose. 

The Movie: Rocky

Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky is the story of Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer from Philadelphia who is scheduled to fight undefeated heavyweight champion Apollo Creed on New Year’s Day, 1976. 

Balboa knows he won’t beat Creed but he is determined to go a full 15 rounds with him. 

Early on, Creed doesn’t take Balboa very seriously and is embarrassed by the unknown upstart. 

But, eventually, the tide turns and Creed wins in a split decision after 15 rounds of boxing.    

The Myth

Director Jeff Feuerzeig says The Real Rocky is about myth; specifically the myth of Narcissus. 

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"When Chuck Wepner stood on line like an average schmoe and paid for his own movie ticket and sat in a dark theater in 1976 watching Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky," a film and character that were directly inspired by his truly heroic fight with Ali, he could not distinguish the mirror image from the real person, and like the hero in the Greek myth, he fell in love with his own reflection up there on the silver screen. And who could blame him? He was Rocky. Stallone even said so. If, as certain cultures believe, to capture someone's image is to steal their soul, Chuck had his soul hijacked."

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So, Did Stallone Steal Wepner's Life Story?

Chuck Wepner thought so, and in 2003 he sued Stallone for part of the profits from Stallone's many Rocky movies. 

Stallone must have conceded that Wepner had a legitimate argument because he settled the case out of court in 2006.  The amount in question remains undisclosed, but considering the Rocky franchise has produced gross revenues in excess of $1 billion, it’s safe to assume that Wepner made a lot of money.