A sloth, a roof and a heavy bag

Actor, writer, director, Sylvester Stallone on how watching a 1975 heavyweight fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner, inspired the character of Rocky Balboa:

"No one considered whether [Wepner] could win the fight, that was out of the question, but everyone was wondering just how much of a beating he’d take – and how long it would last – and how much pain he’d absorb before he crashed to the canvas.

The odds on Wepner were basically a zillion to one, and they couldn’t even take bets on the fight. So I’m sitting there watching the fight, with an especially bloodthirsty crowd, and it was terrible. The guy didn’t even look like a fighter. He was terribly awkward and unskilled, and he looked like a heavy bag with eyeballs. It was really sad.

Then, all of a sudden, something incredible happened. From nowhere, Wepner knocked down the immortal Ali. It was like a bolt of lightning from some Greek god in the sky, and, almost instantly, Wepner became the crowd favourite – in a matter of seconds."

Welcome to Newsletter #140

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