8/19/2019 The Fight that Inspired Rocky

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16 Chronicle-Telegram  Elyrio O. Tu«s. March  25 1975

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J ERRY   Q U A R R Y PHY L L I S

 W EP N ER

M U H A M M A D A L I C H U C K

 W EP N ER

. . . E n d o f t h e

 l i ne

Enjoying the

 fish ?

. . . ' T r ie d to  k i l l h im'

. . .Battered, bruised

TKO

  in

  5lh  round

Ali has

 enough

  to get by

  Wepner

B y J O H N T . K A D Y

RICHFIELD (UPI

 >

 — H e a v y w e i g ht c h a mp i o n M u h a mm a d

Al i  wh o said.  I did enough to ge t by. did just tha t Monday

night

 in his heavyweight t i t le

  fight

 here.

Al i  toyed with cha llenger  Chuck  Wepner f or  most  of the 15

rounds of his

 title  fight  before ba tter ing

  the 6-foot-5.225-pound

liquor

  salesman

  from Bayonne . N. J . , to the canvas in the

 last

30  seconds  of the  15th round, w i n n i n g o n a  technica l knockout,

before  14.875 fans and a c losed circuit te levis ion audience .

Al i  then

  lay on the

  f loor

  of the

  ring before ge tting

  up and

leaving.

  THERE  WERE too many fools jump ing into the ring. I

laid

  down

 on

 purpose .

A li

 sa id.

Al i  said

  he

  would  next

  fight

  E u r o p e a n c h a mp i o n

 J oe

  Bug-

ner . then maybe meet Joe

  Frazier

  again, i f he can  c o m e u p

with

 $1 0

 million.

Ali .

  w h o w a s

  ahead

  on a

  card

  of the two

  o f f i c i a l s

  scorers

and re feree  Tony Perez,  decked Wepner,  w i t h  a r ight to the

j a w a n d Perez then s topped the  fight .

  I had to  stop it, said Perez.  H e w a s  out.  I  counted  to

n i n e

 and he fell

  back

 d o w n

 again.

Perez s a id  h e s t o p p e d t h e f i g h t  w i t h o n ly 1 9 s e c o n d s r e -

m a i n i n g  because. I  would have f e l t  I w o u l d  have been respon-

sible

  fo r

  something disgraceful

i f he had let i t

 c o n t i n u e .

A L I F O U G H T m u c h o f t h e f i g h t o n  th e  r o p e s ,  as he did

against George Foreman   in  A f r i c a .

 I

  la id

 o n t h e

  ropes

 a n d le t h i m d o h i s t h i n g ,

s a i d A l i .

  I

FORE-ARMED —  M u h a m m a d  A l i

  tried

  to

 ward

  o ff  around  the b a c k of the

 head

  wi th  a  l e f t h and.  ( P h o t o b y

C h u c k W e p n e r  w i t h his  forearm,  as  W e p n e r  comes

  C-T

 Chief Photographer J oh n K e n n e y )

*

Fans   f leeced mugged

by   pathetic f ighters

By MILTON RICHMAN

UPI Sports Editor

R I C H F I E L D

  i U P I )

  —

 People aren't  fussy  anymore . They

settle for fa r less  than they ever did. More than th a t, they have

become inured and a lmost impervious to

  injust ice,

  no matter

how

 f la g r a n t

 it is.

They were mugged  here  M o n d a y

 night ,

  a ll but hit over the

head and

  their money taken f rom them

  fo r

  w h a t

 w as

  bla tantly

  advertised   as a  world heavyweight championship,  and  they

w e n t  h o m e  a f t e r  it  w i t h o u t  so much as a whimper . They

 w e r e

f leeced,

 rooked, short-changed

  an d

 d i d n ' t seem

 t o

 mi n d

 at

  a ll.

A w k w a r d ,

  amateurish C huck Wepner went

  in

 against

  Mu -

h a m m a d

  Ali a 10-1 underdog when he should've  real ly  been at

least  50-1.  maybe even higher . Some of the punches he threw

embarrassed

  him. he missed them so badly. He

  suffered

  th e

greatest  possible  indigni ty  any professiona l can in the s ixth

round  when the crowd of 14.847 actua lly laughed a t him as he

flai led  a w a y  feebly  an d

  i n e f f e c t u a l l y

  at  A li . covering  up and

playing

 peekaboo wi th

 him in one of the

 corners.

ALI'S OVERALL performa nce against the tremendously

willing but  terr ibly c lumsy Wepner  was not the

  k ind

  that

  wi l l

rush

  to h is

  mind whenever

  any of his

  grandchildren

  ask him to

te ll them about

  his top 10

 f ights .

  A ii

 prepared

  for the

 contest

indi fferent ly  and thought he could  take  out the

  rough-hewn,

unpolished 35-year-old New

 Jerseyite

  whenever he  liked,  bu t

he  wa s

  wrong. Dead wrong.

C h u c k

  W e p n e r . a  h a m - a n d - e g g e r . w o u n d u p g i v i n g h i m

more trouble th an big bad George  F o r e m a n .

Battered  Quarry

retires

 from

  ring

NE W

  Y OR K

  ( U P I  i  — S a y i n g .  I' m  never  g o n n a g et

  cu t

again in the

 r ing.

a bloodied

 J erry

  Quarry announced his

 re -

t irement  from the

  ring

  Monday night

  after

  s u f f e r i n g  a

  f i f t h -

round

  technical  knockout

  at the

  hands

  of Ken

  Norton

  in

 their

heavyweight

 eliminat ion

 bout.

Quarry, a 29-year-old

  C a l i f o r n i a

  Irishman,

  needed eight

stitches

 t o

  close

 the cut  i n f l i c t e d  over his right eye by Norton

in   the third round of  scheduled  12 rounder  at  M a d i s o n  Square

Garden.

  I see  n o f u t u r e  for him in the

 ring,

commented Quarry 's

manager,

 G il

 Clancy,

 w ho

 agreed

 w i t h

 h is

 fighter 's  decision

 t o

call

 i t

 quits.

  I tried. I

  tried,

said a disconsolate Quar ry who entered

his   dressing room  bleeding  f r o m   cuts in his

  m o u t h

 a nd  nose in

a d d i t i o n  to those over his

 eye.

  I  couldn't  see  after  the  t h i r d

round. I just couldn't

 see.

O n l y

 twice a l l n i g h t d i d t h e  people's c h a m p i o n c o m e

anywhere  close  to  look ing  the

 part,

  once  in the  f i f t h  w h e n he

p u mp e d

  a

  steady succession

  of

 razor-like  le ft  h a n d s

 into

 Wep-

ner's  rapidly t h i c k e n i n g  fea tures ,

  an d

  again

  19

 seconds  f r o m

the   c o n c lu s i o n of the  f i g h t  w h e n  he  sent  the  thin-h aired cha l-

lenger reel ing  into t he ropes,  then demolished him comple te ly

w i t h

 a

 m u r d e r o u s r i g h t

  t o t h e j a w

  t h a t  e n d e d

  th e

 o n e - s i d e d

farce .

Referee  Tony Perez  called it a

  15-round TK O:

  l i k e W e p n er .

he was a bit confu sed. Wepner had been on the canvas m uch

longer  t h a n

  the

  required

 1 0

 seconds .

  I t was as

  c l e a r

 a

  k n o c k o u t

as y o u ' l l ever  see.

When

  i t was

  over.

 A l i c o u l d n ' t

 resist

 o ne

  fina l  touch

 o f

 bur-

lesque.

H e l a y

  down

 in the

  ring and. with everybody millin g around

him. everybody, tha t  i s . w h o w a s n ' t  busy trying  to  revive  th e

immobile Wepner . folded his arms  behind his head and pre-

tended to take a nap.

IN HIS dressing room  later.  Ali lay on a rubbing table , na-

ke d except  for a towel covering his

  loins,

  and lis tened vaguely

as Wepner 's post-f ight comments  were  being pumped in over

an

  amplify ing system inside

 th e

  room.

Al i  listened silently.

  How long would

  you say he was on the

  c a n v a s

  in the

  15th?

 

someone s tanding a longside the champion asked him .

  I d u n n o . h e

  said.

  I

  don' t count.

  I g o t my  mi l l ion  a n d a

h a l f .

  T h a t ' s a ll I know.

What would you say he does best?

Take a p u n c h .

An d

  ho w would y ou

 c h a r a c te r iz e your

 o wn

  p e r f o r ma n c e ?

Good,

  f o r a

  3 3 - y e a r - o ld

  m a n w h o h as

  b e e n f i g h t i n g

 so

m a n y  years  a n d st i l l h a s t h a t m u c h le f t i n h i m. I d i d j u s t

enough

  to ge t by. I won. You don' t see no scratches. T he  only

p u n c h e s  that h u r t

  a r e t h e

  o n e s

 h e h i t m e

 w i t h

 i n

 b a c k

 o f t h e

head.  Rabbit punches .

 T he

  re feree didn' t

 d o a

 t h i n g a b o u t 'em.

He's  a  dir ty dog, tha t Perez.  I d o n ' t ever  w a n t  him refereein '

any  more

 of

 my f i g h t s .

Al i  said

 he was

 upset with Wepner

 fo r

  those  rabbit punches .

 Remember

 m e

 h i t t i n '

 him as he was

  goin' down

 in the

 last

r o u n d ?

  I

 tried

  to

 k n o c k

 hi s

  head of f .

 I

  tried

  to

  k i l l  h i m.

 I

  never

did

  that before to anyone . I had Quarry like tha t, but I backed

o f f :  I had

  E l l i s

  and I

  backed of f :

  I had

  Mathis . Blue Lewis

 a nd

George F o r e ma n ,

  and I

  backed

  off al l of 'em.  But not

  Wepner .

I  real ly  went a f te r him. I tr ied to annihila te him .

OVER

  IN

  a n o t h e r corner

  of the

  r o o m ,

  one of

 M u h a m m a d

A l i ' s closest  fr iends,  someone who has  k n o w n  h i m a  long

  t i me ,

knows when he 's  serious  and knows when he 's  put t ing  people

on. lis tened to him and smiled.

  H e h a s

  n e v e r  t r i e d

  to

  a n n i h i l a t e a n y b o d y

  i n h i s

 w h o l e

life . sa id his friend.  H e w o u ld n ' t k n o w h o w .

le t him  tire out. Only he didn' t tire so qu ic k l y .

Al i  hammered away a t Wepner 's face with a quick le f t jab

and   scored  heavily with several  combinations . Wepner ended

th e  f i g h t

  w i t h

 o n e e y e

  sw o l le n s h u t ,

 t h e

 o t h e r

 e y e c u t a n d a

bloody

 nose.

Wepner a ttempted to keep in close  to Ali and

  p o u n d

  a t the

body.

 However,

 he did

 l ittle apparent  d a m a g e .

  I D I D enough to get  by. sa id Ali . You don' t see any cuts

or scratches.

Al i

  said

  Wepner .

  wh o

  picked

  up

 $100.000

  for the

  fight  w h i le

Al i  earned §1.5

 million,

 was a  good f i g h t e r .

  H e w a s  b e t t e r  t h a n y o u ( t h e m e d i a l g a v e h i m c r e d i t .

F o r e m a n w a s easier. Norton w as

 easier.

Al i

  a lso compla ined about what he ca lled Wepner 's rabbit

p u n c h e s a n d said Perez  a l lo w e d W e p n e r t o g e t a w a y w i t h

them.

  He

  ( W e p n e r >

  hit me on the

  h e a d ,

  then he  ( P e r e z

  i

 yelled a t

me. sa id Ali . He is a dir ty   referee.  I never want him to re f -

eree  another one of my f ights .

W e p n e r indica ted h e w o u ld l i k e to

 f i g h t

  A li again.

  I

  ma d e

 a

  c o u p le

 o f

  mistakes

  in the  f ight  I would

  l i k e

 to fix

up, sa id Wepner . Maybe I was not ge tt ing of f soon

  enough,

trying too hard to land th a t r ight hand. and . yeah. I 'd duck a li t-

tle  more.

  HE'S A great c h a m p i o n , a great f ighter . I fee l no shame to

lose

  to a man of his  s t a t u r e .  Hov:

 ma n y

  guys do you

 kr.o'.v v;ho

went 15 r o u n d s w i t h  M u h a m m a d Ali and who were s ti ll i n th e r e

p u n c h i n g

 a t

 the-end.

The

Chronicle

Telegram

Sports

Rabbits everywhere

in

  dirty title bout

By  A RN OL D MI L L ER

C-T  Manag ing Edi to r

RICHFIELD

  — T h e  Easter

  Bunny arr ived

  a

  li t t le  p r e m a -

ture ly this  year  but he  proved  to be an active li t t le  fe l low  last

mg n t a t me c o l i s e u m.

There

  were  rabbits ,  rabbits,  rabbits everywhere — and

especial ly

  to the

  back

 of the

  neck

  as

  M u h a m m a d

 A l i a n d

 C h u c k

W e p n e r

 staged  o n e o f t h e dirtiest tussles  in r e c e n t  h e a v -

yweight championship his tory.

W h e n i t w a s a l l over. W e p n e r l a y  g l a s s y - e y e d ,  r u b b e r y -

legged

  and no d o u b t

 sore-necked

 on the

  c a n v a s

 as

  re feree

  Tony-

Perez  raised

  A l i ' s

 h a n d i n v i c t o r y o n a t e c h n i c a l k n o c k o u t j u s t

19  seconds  before

  the end of the

  15th

 an d

  last r o u n d .

A C T U A L L Y   th e

  bout would have served

  as a

  mo d e l

  for a

t r u t h

  in

  advertis ing campaign.

Wepner did

 e x a c t ly w h a t

 he

 said

  he

 w o u l d

 d o.

.  He  said  he

  would

  f i g h t  d i r t y  and use r a b b i t p u n c h e s . A n d h e

d i d .

A n d A l i

  s a i d ,

  if W e p n e r  f o u g h t  dir ty, then  Ali would  retal -

ia te  in kind. A n d A l i did.

W h e n  they  fina l ly  settled  d o w n ,

  it

  turned

  out to be a

  good

an d

  surpris ingly c lose  f i g h t .

Most observers , inc luding this one ,

  ha d

  predicted

  a n A l i

v i c t o r y

 i n

 something be tween f ive

 an d

 seven rounds .

B u t t h e B i g B l e e d i n g  B a r r o o m  B r a w l e r f r o m B a y o n n e

proved

  as durable and game as his record  had indica ted.

In

  something  m o r e  than

  10

 y e a r s

 o f

  fight ing.  Wepner never

ha d  been knocked off his  fee t .

H E ALM OST preserved

  that

 record against Ali . who at age

J ilt

  UU» UU  U

old.

A s a

  ma t t e r

  of f a c t ,

  g o i n g into

 t he

  last  r o u n d .

 I had the  f i g h t

scored   s u r p r i s i n g ly c lo se  — n i n e  r o u n d s f or  A l i . f ive  fo r W e p -

n e r . i n c lu d i n g t h a t  ninth  round where

  A l i w a s

  h a l f - p u n c h e d ,

half-shoved  to the canvas for a mandatory

  8-count .

E v e n c o n c e d i n g

 i t was

 p e r h a p s mo r e

  of a

 s h o v e

 an d

 t h a t

 A li

wa s

  c a u g h t

  of f

 b a la n c e ,

 i t

  b r o u g h t

 th e

  crowd

  to i ts

 fee t sensing

a possible his toric upse t .

Bu t it was not to be . The gold  c a r r ia g e t u r n e d

 p u m p k i n

  once

more

  for the

  w o u ld - b e C i n d e re l la

 M an

  f r o m

  Ne w

 Jersey.

A LI   S L A M M E D b a c k  f u r i o u s l y  a f t e r  the knockdown, but

even

 s o.

 W epner e lected

  to

  s lug

  it out in the

  last  r o u n d , f e e l i n g

th e

  f i g h t

  wa s

  close  enough where

  he

 c o u ld h a v e p u l le d

  out an

upset .

He

 c o u l d n ' t

 do i t . but he gave i t a good try.

On e

  look

  at his

  bruised

  an d

  b a t te r e d

  f a c e a f t e r

  th e

  b r a w l

a n d y o u h a d t o

  c o n c e d e t h a t W e p n e r

  ha d

 i n d e e d e a r n e d

  h is

$100,000.

E v e n

  th e

 Easter  B u n n y w o u ld h a v e

  to

 a d mi t t h a t .

Indian

  girls

  on warpath

B y S U E B U R K E Y

C-T

 Sports

 Writer

L O R A I N

 —

 D e ad l y p a s s i n g , f a s t b r e a k l a y u p s

 by

 L a u r a

Hudnell and the   a ll-a round play  o f K i m  Gilbert sparked  th e

O b e r l i n  High School gir ls basketba ll team  to a  55-21 win  over

C o l u m b i a

 yesterday

  in the

  s e mi f i n a ls

  of the

  Division

  I

  Lora in

County

  Basketba ll Tournament a t Southview.

The Indians have roared to a   14-0  season  record as well as

the ir third Lakeland Conference  cage  crown this  season.  Th e

I n d i a n s

  can add the Divis ion I

  t i t l e

  to the ir laure ls  wi th  a win

over  Avon  in tomorrow's f ina ls a t 6:30 p.m. a t Lora in High.

Avon  topped Black River in yesterday's other Divis ion I s e m i-

f i n a l  clash. 48-28.

Box  scores on  Pa g e 18

Ober lin   shot 58 per

  c e n t

  d u r i n g a  22-point  second q uarter

explosion to

  p u l l  a w a y f r o m C o lu mb i a a f t e r

  a

  s luggish f irs t

quarter.

 T h e

 I n d i a n s

 h ad

  t r a i l e d

 b y t w o

  p o i n t s

  i n t h e

 early

going

 of the  ini t ia l  period but  stil l  had a 10-7 ead a t the quarter

break.

Ober lin

  opened the second quarter with three q u i c k baskets

by

  Gilbert ,  H u d n e l l

  an d

  Dawn Bradford.

  T he

  Indians a llowed

th e  Raiderettes  to  score  o n l y t w o  b a s k e t s  — b y D o r e e n

Heinrichs and Regina  S e n k u s— f o r  the quarter .

N o t e v e n

  a

  m a n - t o - m a n d e f e n s e c o u l d k e e p

  th e

  I n d i a n s

f r o m

  scoring

  as

  they canned  seven  straight baskets w i t h o u t

 a

miss  under the leadership of Hudnell, who led the spree w i t h

three  fast break layups . Sue Clark hit the  f inal  tw o

  baskets

 of

th e

  a t ta c k

 as the

 I n d i a n s rolled

 t o a 32-11

 h a l f t i m e  lead.

BOTH TEAMS cooled of f in the  scoring  department during

the third quarter , but Oberlin  came a live once — again in a 15-

p o i n t  f o u r t h  quarter perform ance . Gilbert led the Indians in

th e f i n a l  period with seven  points. T he Raiderettes. w ho scored

six points in the  fina l  period, were  led by Heinrich. who had

f o u r  points

 for the

  quarter

  and 12 or the  g a m e .

Clearview Lorain win

LORAIN — Lorain and

  Clearview

  w i l l

  m eet

 tomorrow at 8

p . m.

  at

  Lorain  H i g h

  for the

  Division

  II

  championship

  of the

Lorain

  C o u n t y

  Girls Basketball Tournament

 after

  posting

 sem -

i f i n a l

  victories

 yesterday.

Char

  Salmons

 poured in 22 points to lead Lorain

 past

  Am -

herst.  4 5 - 4 0 ,

  and

  Clearview  rode

 th e

  1 8 - p o i n t  performance

 o f

Diane

  M i h a l i c  and 10 m a r k e r s by Gladys Crist  to down Admi-

ra l

  K i n g , 4 2- 2 3.

  ,

Barb  A s h t o n

  ( 1 4 1

  paced Amherst scoring

 while

 Chris  K u f f e l

( 1 6 1

 l e d

  A d m i r a l K i n g .

Sta tis tica lly,  the  I n d i a n s hi t 27 of 77 shots

  f r o m

  the  f loor  fo r

36-per c e n t . C o l u mb i a c a n n e d  10 of i ts 35 shots  for 29 per  cent .

Ober lin hi t one of two

  foul  shots f rom

  the

  c h a r i t y  stripe  w h i l e

C o l u m b i a

  was one-for -six .

C o l u m b i a

  wa s

 out-rebo unded. 41-29.

 as

  Gilbert hauled d o w n

14 c a r o m s to  lead  all  rebounders .

  W e

  played

  ou r

  k ind

  of

  g a m e

 —

  fast breaks

  an d

  fast pass-

ing. sa id Oberlin Coach Sue Brady.

Eagles

 soar

4S-2S

B y S U E B U R K E Y

C-T

 Sports Writer

L O R A I N  —  A v o n ' s girls  basketba ll  team  whipped Black

River, 48-28.

 in the

  s e mi - f i n a ls

 of the

  Divis ion

 I

 L o r a i n C o u n t y

gir ls basketba ll tourney

 a t

  Southview yesterday.

A v o n , w h o n o w boasts a 7 - 2 seasonal record,  w i l l t a n g l e

with  Oberlin. who routed Columb ia 55-21 prior to the . A v o n -

B la c k R i v e r  g a m e , in the

  f i n a l s

  of Divis ion I tomorrow a t 6:30

a t Lora in High.

Lisa  Bo m m e r .  wh o paced  the  Eagles w i t h  12  points , scored

the opening basket a nd  A v o n  led a ll the way. With  3:52 remain-

ing  in the

  init ia l period

  to

 play.  Cheryl Handly canned

  th e

  Pir-

  ;

ales'  f irs t and only basket of the quarter .

Boxscores

 on

 Page

 18

JUDY  S A H L I

  a n d  Bommer  b o t h h a d

  f o u r  points

  apiece  fo r

A v o n

 while

 M a r i a n M c C a s l in

 led Black River

  w i t h

 three

 points

f o r t h e   second quarter,

 when

  A v o n d o u b l e d t h e Pirates' o u t p u t , .

1 4 - 7 . ;

Down

  2 6 - 1 0

 going

  i n t o

  th e  second  h a l f ,  th e  Pirates  d i d n o t

f i n d

  th e

 going

 a n y easier  i n t h e

  t h i r d q u a r t e r .

 Once

  a g a i n  A v o n

d o u b l e d   th e  B l a c k River  t o t a l .

  1 2 - 6 .

  ;

Th e  Pirates were

  f i n a l l y

  rewarded  in the  f i n a l  stanza  as

they

 outscored

 Avon. 12-10. Sandy Kelly

 lead t h e

  f o u r t h  quarter 

rally as she pumped in eight points for the

 Pirates.

  ;

Statistically,  the  Eagles canned 22 of 58 shots f r o m   the f l o o r

  ;

of  38 per  c ent

 while Black

 River hit 12 of 61 shots for a

  f r i g i d

 20

per cent.

  A v o n

  outrebounded the

  Pirates.

 4 5 - 3 7 .

  .

A V O N C O A C H   C a t h y

  Hollars is

  a n t i c i p a t i n g

 a

  close battle

w i t h O b e r l i n W e d n e s d a y . W e ' ll  have  t o p l a y a f a s t  moving

game,  b u t I t h i n k m y  girls  ca n

  handle

  i t . W e ' l l  have  to  make  ,

them

 play

 o u r  k i n d  o f game.

 This

  w a s a good game t o n i g h t a n d  ;

a ll   m y  girls d i d a  f i n e job."

 said

 t h e Eagle coach.

  ,

"This  i s t h e  f i r s t  year  f o r u s a s a team  a n d t h e  girls never

 

gave up out

 there.

  A v o n  is a

  very

  good

 team

 and we're  p r o u d  :

just to be

  included

 in the

  tournament,"

  s a i d B l a c k R i v e r coach

  ;

M a r y  Jane Schafer.

  i