Original subtitles

Some guys like chasing women.

Some guys are all about the drink.

Some like to laugh it up with the boys all night.

And some guys like the brawl.

Some guys, they like all that shit.

Me?

I'm one of those guys.

Big fuck a bunch of me is what they call an up -and -comer.

The world will know I'm the guy who sold the hamburger grill on TV.

His name is Drew Foreman, and he's like a ton of bricks falling off a rooftop

right on your head.

The motivational speaker was Al Braverman.

He didn't know the meaning of sugarcoating, but I gotta say, I

into the ring if I didn't know Al was gonna be in my corner.

You're fucking blowing it. You understand? Blowing it. Keep your

up. Use them to block the punches instead of your fucking face.

I can beat this guy up.

You really knocked his walk off?

Marines, they like bras.

After the Marines, I figured I'd come home and get a

regular job. Problem was, I ain't any good at regular jobs.

There's a fight going on.

I'm good. I got one coming up in a couple weeks.

Don't forget me.

I want ringside tickets.

Got anything for your job?

This dirty motherfucker owes us money. When I catch him, I'm gonna wring his

fucking neck.

Let's rock and roll. Let's go take care of this piece of shit right now.

See, back then, anyone who could throw a decent punching bag on what to work for

the mob.

Where's my money, douchebag?

Where's my fucking money?

I don't have any fucking money. Are you kidding me? One of my favorite side jobs

was collecting for a mobster named Joey G.

Welching on Joey G was a real bad move.

He was, hands down, the scariest mobster in New York.

That guy would gouge out your eye over a nickel.

Joe, Joe, please, let me explain.

Look at me.

You got that ass fucking thing in you. Look at me.

Something to pay the bills.

But I knew I didn't want to get mixed up in that crazy shit.

So I went back to what I did best.

But

finally,

I settled into what I did best.

What I was meant to do.

I went to the only place in the world that makes sense to me.

Sometimes life ain't there.

I only did it for three months straight. I was trained for this fight.

Me? I raised my kids, worked two jobs.

Get your head out of your ass. Stop throwing wild punches.

Use your strength. You gotta do defense like we talked about.

Defense? Fuck that.

I gotta knock him out.

The only thing harder than being a fighter is being married to one.

They feel the pain of every loss, but they don't get the high of the wind.

After listening, I was invincible.

Are you okay?

Daddy's okay, honey. Go get ready for school.

You don't look okay.

I'm fine.

You sure?

Yeah, I'm sure.

Hey.

Get up.

Mom made you breakfast, remember?

Look at that Jesus fucking Christ.

He got you good?

Does it hurt?

Yeah, what are you going to do? What are you going to do?

I must be late for work.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're really going to go to work right now?

you joking me?

Look at this dump.

It's not big enough for a little bit. You need to lay down and you need to

up. Stop. I need to pay the bills. That's what I need to do.

But what about the fight and the money? That was like a really big fight, right?

After expenses, it goes fast.

Yeah, I know that.

So why do you do it, then?

You never win.

What's the point?

Does it look like shit?

No, I don't get it. I actually don't get it anymore.

Really? What?

I'm sorry.

This is what I do.

Do something else. You're the one who married a fighter.

So what do you think about Chuck? Do you think he's got a chance?

Of course, it's tough.

Of course, he's got a chance.

Very tough.

Very tough.

Son, Liston was the meanest heavyweight champion who ever lived. He was also the

toughest. He was the champ. Until a kid named Muhammad Ali took away his title.

Jesus Christ!

Are you serious?

I should have known this was going to be a bloodbath.

Liston was knocking the shit out of sparring partners left and right for

leading up to the fight.

I hope his wife ain't watching this.

Johnny, okay, come on, we gotta stop this. Come on.

I got this guy out, Al.

Look, you got to buck. This guy's going right for your face. He's chewing you

up.

I got you. How many fingers do you have?

How many guesses do I get? Can you even see?

I can see. I'm fine. We're going to have to stop the fight.

I'm stopping this fight. Don't stop this fight. It's over. That's it. It's over.

I'm stopping the fight. Stop the fight.

You don't realize how banged up you are in the ring.

It's after that you feel it.

I was banged up bad.

Broke my cheekbone, shattered my eye socket.

Tore me up for 72 stitches.

You got me good.

Stable? Heart rate's good. Blood pressure is good.

Shit.

This big guy. Come on, give me three.

That's what I'm talking about. You got a good nickname for your dad. I'm going

to call him Zipperhead from now on.

You know, when I was watching that fight, I saw my husband getting his shit

kicked out of him and living alone without you in my life.

It's not normal.

That's what you want me to do.

I don't really want you to fight anymore.

I was knocking fighters out left and right.

I had a glimpse of failure, which lit a fire in me.

I knew one day I'd have to leave boxing.

But I was going to go out swinging.

You know, this kid could be champ.

Could be the white hope.

No, no, no, no.

Don't get ahead of yourself, no.

He's too easy to hit, you know.

I fought my way all the way into the top ten. I started getting noticed by all

the right people.

I was about to be thrown into the fight of my life, and my mom found out before

me.

Oh, my God.

Chuckie, did you see the newspaper?

No. You're fighting Muhammad Ali for the title. I couldn't believe it. Ali, Mom.

Ma, that's great.

God, I'm so proud of you, honey. Al Braverman got me a title shot.

This is what I wanted my entire life.

Fuck yeah!

Guys like me never got a chance like this.

And I was gonna make damn sure I didn't blow it.

10 -ounce gloves.

22 ring?

22. All right, good. Make sure it's 22, or I'm gonna be damned.

Yeah, I know.

What you doing eavesdropping on us? I'm not eavesdropping on you. Just waiting

for Al to do his business.

You and Don are really giving me a great opportunity here, and I really am

thankful. Stop flattering me, brother.

There's a nice waiting room for you downstairs.

All right. Thank you, champ.

Good seeing you, Angel. You too, Chuck. You are in trouble.

Hey, you're in trouble.

What you talking about, coach? I'm the prettiest man alive.

Take care of this.

Hey, what you talking about, coach?

You know exactly what I'm talking about.

I'm the chap of the world.

Ring size?

22.

20.

22, Al.

Don King told me you already agreed to 20. We've been training in 20.

My guy likes 22.

What, is he coming to dance or to fight?

Look, he's coming to fight.

If Don wants 20, 20.

Club size?

Eight ounces. Ten?

Eight ounces.

You might want an X for two ounces. My guy hits pretty hard.

Get that off. You look tired.

I'm not tired.

You're not tired. Ain't nobody tired.

Ain't nobody tired. I'm ready to go.

Hey, how'd we get everything?

Everything we hoped for.

What about ring size clothes? 20 -foot ring, 10 -ounce gloves.

20 -foot ring? How'd you get Angelo Dundee to agree to a 20 -foot ring?

I lied.

This fight was going to be different. I was going to make a big enough payday to

be able to train full -time.

Believe it or not, the Alou fight was the first one I ever got to train for

time. Let him dance. He wants to dance. He wants to be a butterfly. Let him be a

butterfly.

Don't try to go for the knockout. It's never going to happen.

It's too fast. His reach is too far.

All right, Al. Body shot.

For the first time in my life, I was ready.

I was ready for Ali.

And I was going to show the world I belonged on this stage.

Put

it

up there. When you throw to your left, you're dropping your right.

Don't drop your right, because you throw your left and you're open. You're open,

right? So every time you throw that left, make sure you're keeping this

And then salute. Go back.

It's right, back, but salute.

I want you to salute. Every time you throw a point, salute, like you're

saluting. Keep that hand up, because I can't hit you that way.

Are you preparing for Westmore?

Well, I plan on bringing a mop to the ring so I can soak up all that blood

going to spill on me.

Got you.

Ain't nobody answering your question, man. It's Muhammad Ali.

Get out of here. You got to go.

Holly wasn't nervous.

He should have been, but he wasn't.

He was always playing it cool.

See,

Holly thought he was going to mop the floor up with me.

He was out there eating, gaining weight.

He thought it was going to be a cakewalk.

But I knew different.

The bleeder. My brother Donnie.

Stupid fucking name. As many times as I get punched in the head, I still

couldn't be as stupid as that guy.

Hey, you're a four -year -old underdog. Maybe I should place a bet.

As long as you bet on me, Donnie.

Man, you look nervous.

You never been on national TV?

No, I never have, but I'm doing all right. I just, you know, maybe... All

well, don't worry about it, man. You ain't got nothing to worry about. Piece

cake.

Done it a hundred times.

Thanks, champ. I'll do my best.

All right, now, when we get out on that stage now, I'm gonna need you to call me

nigger.

Come on, now. Act like you ain't never said it before. I'm gonna need you to

call me a nigger. I don't... I don't think that's a good idea. I mean...

we gotta get a press something to holler about, all right?

I don't want you to be boring.

Get with the program, now.

Come on.

Let's do it for TV.

Do it for Don King.

Do it for great white America.

Don't be a big disappointment, Chuck.

It's good for business.

Come on, Sutter.

All right, all right, all right. It's gonna be like this.

How you doing, Chuck?

Doing well, Angel. How are you? Very good, thanks.

You know, this guy wants me to, you know, say the N -word, you know, on

but I don't know if that's a very good idea, you know.

Do what the champ tells you.

If he told you to, would you do it?

Yeah.

Chuck, you nervous? You look okay.

What are you kidding me? You think I'm nervous? I get punched in the face for a

living. Hey, Chuck. What's going on, Chuck? What's going on, bud?

I'm doing well. Okay, all right. Good, good, good. Hey, look.

Give me a good show out there, all right? All right. All right, don't fuck

shit up for me now.

If you fuck your shit up, bud, I'll break both your legs and you'll be

out the studio. Okay, bud? Come on. I thought you were over that, Jack. Yeah,

I'm not.

Have a great show, okay?

I will. We don't get along too good. I heard about him.

He's a white fella. He don't care too much about colored people.

Yeah, I heard he called you Cassius Clay.

No, he called me something else. You ain't heard what he said last week.

He called me a name.

I guess this is going to be a real fight.

You know, I did not say that. I did not say that at all. I want the record to be

straight that I did not say that. Here he is, the challenger.

This is Chuck Webber. Welcome to the show. Thanks. It's good to be here.

Oh, okay. It's going to be like that.

Okay, so is there any truth that you said any of these terrible things?

Absolutely not. Yeah, he said it. He said it. He said it.

Hey, listen. I'm going to get in the ring. This is my opportunity to talk to

you. You're boring.

You're boring. I'm excited. Nobody wants to hear you talk. Yeah, well, you got

to get off because everyone's going to see how fat you are on the camera.

Oh, you want to do this now?

Sit down. Sit down.

Let's play nice. Keep talking. All right. All right. I'm here anytime you

Have a seat. All right. Here we go.

We're friends here, right? Tell me a little bit more about yourself.

I was born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey.

I'm a Golden Gloves champion.

Jim,

come on. Give a little respect to this guy. Are we going to get a chance to

talk? You knocked out a lot of guys that knocked you out. I've never been

knocked out. I've been cut and never knocked out. This guy, I'm going to

him out. That's right. No, you will try. You will get your chance.

I'm going to be there. You better be there. No, you're going to be there.

I'm going to be there. I'm going to wipe the floor with you. I'm going to wipe

the ring with you. There ain't no way in the world you're going to work me.

Hey, who's this little shit guy?

Are you kidding me?

It's time.

Sorry, Alvin. I want to cover Sports Illustrated. I got another cover for

You spread eagle on the canvas, knocked out by Ali because you didn't train for

the fight.

Because you're here entertaining your idiot brother when you should be jumping

rope. He's contending for the heavyweight championship of the world.

coming and putting... this shit in his head.

You need to learn how to protect my brother. He's in there in the ring

beat up. Can you teach him how to move?

You're distracting my fucking fire.

I have a responsibility to be a leader, and so do you, Don King.

That's right.

That's why I take this serious.

It's not all about fun and games when you see me on TV laughing, cracking

for Howard Cotell.

He gets paid to laugh and crack jokes.

I get paid to help my people out.

Well, I'm not going to be a politician for this country because this country

hasn't done nothing but for black folks. Never did nothing for black folks. All

they did was take us from our land. Why would I go over there to the Viet Cong

and kill all those people? They ain't never did nothing to us.

No, you're right.

You the ones that lynched us. You the ones that robbed us. You the ones that

went over to Africa where we were kings and queens, and you took us from over

there, and you brought us over here for 400 years of slavery, and now you want

me to sit here and act like I love y 'all? No, I do not love y 'all. I will

fight for you. I will help my black people out.

It's always going to be black people first. I'm sorry, but that's just the

it's going to be.

Right. We got to fight for our rights because that's what we deserve.

We deserve to be kings and queens.

That's right, champ. You're right.

Maybe someday there will be a black president. Who knows? Oh, yeah. Because

I help this poor white boy out in this fight, and they see that we can help

out. Amen to that.

You know what, champ?

You're the smartest fighter I know.

Well, let's try to keep it that way.

All right. All right.

Now, we are all here for the World Heavyweight Championship between

and the contender Chuck Wepner.

Currently ranked eighth in the world, and they call him the Great White Hope.

We're here at the Cleveland Coliseum for the weigh -in of the heavyweight

championship between the champion Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wefner.

Muhammad Ali. Yeah, you heard about all that, how fat I am?

Don't touch me. Don't touch me. Now, you've been wigging. You've been jobbing

for a long time now.

One of these days, I'm going to take that toupee off of your forehead.

All right. All right. Let's weigh him in. I'm on a scale. I'm on a scale. All

right.

227.

I am boxing.

He's not fighting the challenger. He's challenging boxing.

He's challenging one 227 pounds. That is six pounds heavier

than when Ali fought George Ford. Man, there's too much soul in here.

Everybody thinks that the training, the timing, that that's the hardest part.

223 and a half.

You're too light. You're lightweight.

You're too heavy. That ain't enough for me. You need to eat some more cookies.

But really, It's the quiet before fight night.

It's those hours when you're thinking about everything that led up to this.

It's about spending time with the people you love and praying you don't let them

down.

Why, are you worried about me?

Of course I'm worried about you.

I mean, you know he's got way more experience than you, and you know that.

He knocked Sonny Liston out in one round, baby, one round. And what did

to you?

He broke your fucking face in half.

I think I can beat Ollie.

I know you can.

Hi, darling.

How are you? I'm good. Good to see you.

Jackson, what's on the plate?

How you doing, champ? How you feeling, buddy? How you feeling, baby?

Come on, man. I'm the champ.

Yeah, I know, baby. So it's going to be a great fight. I just can't wait for

this one.

That's the way it should be.

I'm going to give everybody a good shot.

Ain't nobody worrying about nothing in this room right here.

Absolutely, champ. You're all good.

All right, Angelo, just make sure you don't be uptight.

This was the biggest fight of my life.

Where fate would decide if I became a legend or just another kid from Bayonne

who life kicks the shit out of.

Round one.

The bell sounds, and here we go.

Whitmer comes bouncing across the ring and looks as though he wants to be

aggressive right away.

Ali knows the slow start, circling ever so patently to the left.

He'll try his footwork early in the fight.

Come on.

I wipe his butt. Let's not forget one thing.

Ollie does not chance to get eight, nine rounds anymore.

But he does put on these displays.

Wepner will look low and awkward because he is low and awkward. But he doesn't

seem to be hanging on. There he goes.

It looks like Tony Perez has warned the lead about hitting behind the head.

Ollie cruises in some rounds.

He'll put on a flurry before this round's over.

Ollie's hands are so quick.

And he can count it so fast that it makes it difficult for Wepner.

This is a heavyweight championship fight. Played it for 15 rounds.

And the real question is, can Ali knock out this man?

Many people say no.

The exhaustion factor as they go to round nine.

Ali flips a punch to his left.

Oh, a picture shot to the ribs of Muhammad Ali.

And what a surprise.

Chuck Webber gets to the body of Muhammad Ali.

Let's see what happened here. We have a count.

Six, seven, and...

I couldn't believe it. Ali fell.

For a second, I thought, if it bleeds, I can kill it. And maybe this guy isn't

as invincible as he says he is.

I thought that for a second.

And then... Then he got back up.

Ali has horsed around and horsed around.

And was warned by his corner not to do that.

Muhammad Ali went down from a vicious right hand thrown by Wepner.

Ali is agitated.

He thinks this is for real.

Don't worry about that, Tim. You're the champ of the world. He's nobody.

Do like we worked on, okay?

Defense.

Use your defense. Keep your midst up. Use the body shots.

It looks like Webner is in trouble now. He's staggering.

Ali goes to work with the right hand. Webner's in trouble.

Ali throws on the right hand, right to the eye. There's a left hook. Another

left hook. Misses.

Webner continues to come on.

Ali's final 30 -second floating won't win him the round, though.

What a great round of boxing.

He's in trouble.

He's in bad trouble.

Ali's not tired.

Webner is tired.

Ali has scored many more points.

The surprise knockdown so far has been a story.

Great uppercut by Ali.

Wepner wants Ali so bad he can taste him, but he doesn't have the ability to

it. Ali does have the God -given ability.

Ali looked awkward that time. Wepner has his hands up and says, is that the best

you can do?

Wepner's a tough kid. There's no doubt about it.

I have a tremendous respect for the courage of this man.

Ali has no respect for his ability.

Ali wants to knock out. He wants to knock him out so bad.

Ali's trying to keep him in punching distance now, which tells me he wants to

finish this thing right now.

Ali crosses with a right to the dome and taps the head of Wepner.

Ali definitely wants to finish.

There's a great combination.

Wepner's ready to go.

He's ready to go. Ali comes on.

Wepner is staggering.

He's out on his feet right now. There's a combination.

Ali has his man in trouble.

Wepner attempting to hang on viciously. Wepner is out on his feet.

A right hand off a left hook.

Chuck Wepner, the count is up. Four, five, six, seven, eight.

He stops the fight.

It'll be scored as a technical knockout. Muhammad Ali retains the heavyweight

championship.

In that moment right there, I knew that fight with Ali didn't end up in a loss.

See, people from all over knew that a nobody from Bayonne went the distance

the champ.

And that meant more to me than anything.

I'd gone 15 rounds with the champion of the world.

I wasn't a nobody now.

I was a somebody.

Said I go to his room or is he coming here?

Very funny.

You fought your ass off.

You really did.

It looks great on you, by the way.

Cheers.

So you're going to be a movie star?

A movie star?

He's too ugly to be a movie star.

Very funny, Donnie. No, it's kind of funny. No, no, no. Leave Chucky alone.

Chucky, tell me what it's all about.

What's it all about you?

Well, yeah, they say it's based on my fight with Ali, but, you know, it's not

me. Some actor's playing the role.

Yeah, but it's some star nobody knows. Some Stallone or something like that

that's playing the role.

Stallone?

Stallone Baloney.

Find Ali was nothing compared to what was coming my way.

One night I get this call from some movie producer in Hollywood. He starts

telling me that they just made a movie about a boxer who I was the inspiration

for.

It was a small movie with an unknown actor in it.

I didn't really care. I was just flattered that they even called.

But it turned out that movie wasn't so small after all.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm talking about Rocky.

It was amazing.

The movie was great.

Hey, yo, Rocky.

Yo, Chuck, how you doing?

Look at this, man. The real Rocky. Here he is. This is my wife, Phyllis. Hey,

Phyllis. Nice to meet you, Chuck. Thank you for coming, man. I appreciate it

very much. Thank you for having me. Well, you know, Chuck is the inspiration

this. Oh, thank you. No, no, no, Chuck. It's the truth. I don't want to say

nothing. Watching you fight Ali, I always had Rocky in mind, but watching

fight just gave me that little push.

Well, uh... Whatever I could do to help. Are you kidding me? Thanks, Chuck.

Thanks for calling. Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you. You guys have a

good night, okay?

Let's go to Peter Luger's.

Really? Yeah, why not? Do we have time?

Yeah, we got time.

Couldn't believe how packed Peter was.

Yeah, he's got a pretty good movie there, huh?

Yeah, he does.

In true fashion, like a great fighter, Rocky knocked out the competition and

took home Best Picture.

In the end, it won three Oscars.

No, it won't happen again. I have a fucking policy where people that are

consistently late get fucking fired.

You're fired, get your shit and get the fuck out now.

Get out of my fucking club now!

Hey, John.

Hey, how's it going?

Hey! Hey, Rocky! Everybody in Jersey knew I was the guy that inspired Rocky.

I was like a celebrity going to all these parties.

And nobody threw a party like Artie Stock.

He runs the whole boardwalk.

If you need anything, you just ask, all right? You want some booze or some

girls? Anything else?

I want you guys to have a good time, okay?

Well, we got booze. Let's eat some girls. Hey, Roger!

You are Stock Wepner. That's Amy and that's Sandy.

You like brunettes or redheads?

I like all women.

This was the life I dreamed about.

As a kid, I never thought in a million years that I'd be living it up like

Yeah, I heard about this cocaine shit.

Now it was right in front of me.

So what did I do?

I shoved that shit right up my nose and I loved it.

Made me feel like a fucking superhuman.

Oh, yeah.

You're a fighter.

You've got to fight two, three times a year. There's a lot of guys out there

that you could be making money with. And he deserves more money. Because you

know why?

Because he's one of the best there is, man.

He got Muhammad Ali down on the canvas.

And if it wasn't for the referee counting so goddamn slow...

Where's your brother?

How would I know where my brother is? I'm sure he's training or something.

Ain't it kind of late to be training?

It could be anywhere. He's out there. I told you, go look for him.

Because he's popular right now, I don't get to know where he is. Where the fuck

is my husband?

I ain't fucking around anymore.

If you don't tell me right now, both of you guys get the fuck out of my house.

Why don't you take this shit up with your husband and leave me the fuck

all right?

You guys are both fucking bullshit.

Unreal. What's your fucking problem? Because you stick your nose in every

fucking problem. And you created this fucking crazy bitch.

What's your problem?

You want to blame me?

Blame your fucking brother.

Fuck this shit. I fucking hate it.

You got to slow down with the chase and the skirts.

Come on, Donnie. Don't go and quake around in your fucking square.

What the fuck you talking about?

You didn't have to deal with her shit and my girl's shit last night. I did.

Well, that's your problem right there, Donnie. Your girl's got your impact.

I ain't got problems, bro.

You got problems.

I want you to be fucking serious.

One time in your whole fucking life.

Do me a favor.

Just be a little more fucking discreet, will ya?

Thank you.

All right, what about number 26?

Uh,

Theodore Roosevelt.

I think you're going to ace it.

What do you guys want to drink?

Hello?

Hi, baby.

Do you know what time it is?

Sorry.

One tonight, though.

Where are you?

At a hotel in North Bergen. Then my drive home wasn't feeling so good.

Well, then you should be home, Chuck.

I'm pretty tired.

Good night, honey.

I was in a constant rotation of fighting, fucking, and throwing blow.

Life after Rocky was like an endless night out.

I always get shit at home. Everyone's always busting my balls. My brother,

Phyllis.

I mean, I don't do anything wrong. I love my kids, but... I don't want to

your balls, Chucky.

I just want to do drugs and fuck you all night long.

Well, cheers to the groupies.

Busters don't have groupies.

Rock stars have groupies.

You ain't no fucking rock star.

I'll fuck you like you Jimmy Page, but you ain't Jimmy Page.

It was a crazy ride.

But like all good things, it had to come to an end. Where have you been?

Out. Where'd you get that shirt?

I bought it at a store.

I've never seen a shirt before.

When have you been shopping?

When did you go shopping?

I don't know. I went the other day and bought some clothes.

The other day?

Oh, when you were training? You're fucking drunk.

Give me that.

You don't need to be drinking anymore.

What, now you've got to tell me when I can drink and not drink? I've never told

you what to do. Because now you're stuck with a fucking balling motherfucking

chain.

It's going to make your motherfucking life a living motherfucking hell. You

what? You need to shut the fuck up and we need to go to sleep. No, I won't shut

the fuck up. We need to talk about this tomorrow. You're fucking all riled up.

You're fucking insane right now.

You've never been correct.

Then why'd you marry me?

I was young.

You were beautiful. You were nice to me. You think you're nice to me now? Are

you nice to me? Is this nice?

I mean, it would be nice to come home and maybe get like a fucking hug.

You know, maybe give me a fucking kiss when I come home. I didn't know you

smelled like shit.

Because I was at a fucking nightclub.

You came over to what? Me sitting there waiting for you?

Can we go to sleep and talk about this in the morning?

What the fuck, fellas?

Fucking poison.

You fucking piece of shit.

Close the fucking door. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up and stop fucking

waking him up.

Shut the fuck up.

Wow.

You're going crazy in the middle of the night. I'm not going crazy. You broke

bottles. So fucking what if I fucking broke things?

I'm fucking pissed. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. You

want to pack them back? Just fucking pack them back. You'll be all packed up

there. They're all waiting.

Fuck him.

Do it.

Do it. Do it. Fuck you.

Fuck you. Fuck you.

You know, maybe you could wear that.

every once in a while. You know, in fact, maybe if I came home and you were

wearing that instead of fucking screaming at me.

Sure.

I'll put this on you.

Put it on for me.

And then what?

I'm going to still motherfucking walk away.

You're going to walk away from me? I'm going to fuck with you. You fucking

stupid ass, nasty, blue fucking... Sweetie, please. Sweetie. Can

we just lie down? You look so beautiful.

I think we got off on the wrong foot. You think we got off on the wrong foot?

Sally, I love you so much.

I love you so much, too.

I'm sorry if I fucked this up.

You broke my fucking heart.

My fucking heart is shattered.

You ruined me.

You ruined our marriage.

But you won't ruin my life.

You'll ruin your own life. I'm going to sleep.

I am so disappointed in you.

This hurt more than any jab.

I'd rather let Ali beat the shit out of me for another 15 rounds than have to

see the looks on my kids' faces because I'm a mother pack that packs.

All right, kids, come on. Let's go.

Everyone be careful.

Tell us.

What? Tell us you don't have to do this. You did this.

You don't care.

I don't care. You don't care. It doesn't matter.

Don't worry,

bro.

She'll be back.

I don't think so.

You know what your problem is?

You're too hard -headed.

It's exactly why she left you.

You don't fucking listen, and you never have self -control.

Never.

Give me a favor, Don.

Anything for you, bro.

What the fuck up with it?

I needed to get back to work. I needed to get my mind off those pale lights

driving away from the house.

The only thing that could get my mind right was a match.

To hear those crowds again.

So how do you follow up a fight against the most famous boxer who ever lived?

Holy shit.

Well, yeah, he got his wings, but he's slow as shit.

If you're me, you fight the largest wrestler in the world at Shea Stadium.

He body slams you, we get the money, and we go home.

Then it's back to real fight.

There's no way in hell I'm letting that fat fuck body slam me.

He can throw me into the ropes or something, but that's it.

I'll talk to Vince.

No, you don't talk to him. Tell him that's how it's gonna be, Al. All right

already. Take it easy, Chuck.

Now look at the difference in their size.

Wepner is a big man. A big man by any stretch of the imagination.

232 pounds, I believe.

But a midget compared to Andre the Giant, Andre's not going to be able to

in that ring against Chuck Wepner.

Pounding away to the kidney now, Andre has him, but doesn't know what to do

him.

Ref should get in there and break it up by all rights.

Oh, baby!

You don't know the true meaning of rock bottom.

An overweight, enormous European guy picks you up like a baby and throws you

around.

I was broke.

With no family.

Getting tossed around like a piece of trash.

Got any more of this, baby?

Nah, that's it. I couldn't help feeling like I deserved it.

No more party favors. No more party.

I was just about ready to tap out. Give me a scotch and soda.

You're cut off.

You're cut off.

Just give me like a soda with scotch then. When she walked into my life.

Come on.

I'll take two waters.

Take it easy, slugger.

You get kicked out of here, you don't get back in.

I'm Chuck.

I know who you are.

I'm Linda.

Linda. I swear, she was sent from heaven.

That woman came into my life just when I needed her most.

You know, I think we're going to be friends for a long time, Linda.

Oh, do you?

Yeah? Cheers to friends.

Cheers to friends.

Do you like steak? I love steak.

Yeah, it's pretty tasty. With, like, Bearnaise sauce?

I don't know. I just like salt on it and stuff like that.

You like salt.

This is me.

Well, I, uh, I had a great time. I really needed this.

Me, too.

Good night, Linda. All right. Good night.

trying their best to crawl out of the bottom.

Guys like Stallone, they never left the top.

One day I'll make another movie.

What am I making another movie? I'm making one right now.

We're making Rocky II. Well, you want to be in it, huh? You want to be in it?

Yes. You want to be in it? All right. I'll put you in it.

I want to be Rocky when I grow up. Wait a minute. Wait, hey. You want to be

Rocky? What about me? What about your dad?

Come here. You want to be Rocky? Okay, you got it. All right? Listen, do me a

favor. Now you got to make a phone call. Just be quiet for a couple minutes.

We'll play, okay?

Okay. All right. What about your horse?

I'd gotten 15 rounds with the champion of the world.

I wasn't a nobody. Hey, Chuck, how you doing? It's Sly Salone.

Sly, how you doing, man?

Congrats on all the success.

Hey, man, thanks a lot, Chuck. I appreciate it. Look, Chuck, you know, I

this role in mind for you in Rocky II, okay? It's this experienced fighter. His

name's Chink Webber.

You know, he spars with Rocky.

Chink Webber? Sounds a lot like my name.

Yeah, yeah, it's kind of the point, Chuck. It was written for you. Look.

All you gotta do is come in, audition, and the part's yours, okay?

Seriously? Yeah, come on, Chuck. You belong at Rocky II. I wrote this for

I'll be there.

Sometimes those guys at the top throw a guy like me a line.

This was my fucking line. And I was gonna try my best not to fuck it up.

Rocky Poo.

This was a night to celebrate.

I'd inspired Rocky, and now I was gonna be in Rocky.

I was more excited about this role than any of my fights. I was going to be a

famous actor.

It's okay, it's okay, sweet.

Yeah, you can all come to fucking Hollywood. Open up a fucking club out

Chuck, before we go, let's get breakfast.

You want breakfast?

We'll have to do it.

I'm going to fucking watch.

Hey, champ, man.

What's up?

Didn't that train you're supposed to catch at 745?

Yeah.

I think you missed it.

Boy's late fly.

Yeah.

Who's next?

Hey,

you're late.

We don't do late here.

Chuck.

Yeah. Hey, Chuck. Listen. Hey, how you doing?

You feeling okay?

Yeah, it's just good. I just had a crazy night.

Yeah, I know. That was for the best of us. Listen, Chuck, what we're going to

is we're just going to have you read it from the script a little bit before we

offer you the role, okay?

All right, sounds good. All right, good. So listen, why don't you turn to page

five, and when you're ready.

All right.

Really excited. Take a deep breath.

You can do this. Come on. Here we go. All right.

Uh, Chink Webber says, uh, you are fighting all over the place. Wait, wait,

wait. Chuck, Chuck, you, uh, you don't have to read the character's name. You

just, just read the lines.

Oh, sorry. It's all right. First time. I understand.

It's all right. It's from the top.

All right. It's all right.

You are fighting all over the place, Rock.

Yeah, I know, Chink. You know, I don't think I'm ready for this fight.

You have got to have some heart.

Take it to Chuck.

You looked at these lines before, right?

Yeah, a little bit.

Well, you got nothing to worry about. Come on, man. Chuck, I wrote this part

you. You can do this.

All right, sorry. Yeah.

Come on, Rock. You got to have some fucking heart out there.

Read the lines on the page.

Please. I can read, asshole.

Asshole.

You know who I am?

Excuse me.

Do you know who you're talking to?

The guy who gets Stallone's coffee.

I produce motion pictures for Sylvester Stallone.

You come in here and you disrespect everything we do in this business.

Get your act together, read the lines, and do me a fucking favor, all right?

Don't come in here fucking around and read off the goddamn script!

Chuck, this is... This is an amateur hour with this guy flying. Hold on a

here. Hold on, Chuck.

There ain't no bars in Bayonne here.

Come on, man. I gave you an opportunity to come in here. This guy, this is a

Hollywood guy.

You got to do this in a different way. He's a different animal. Robbie put him

here for me.

You got to make men say apologize to this guy.

I'm not apologizing. Chuck, you got to do me a favor. You got to apologize to

him. I got to work with this guy.

Sorry, sir.

No, not to me. To him.

I brought you down here. Come on.

Sorry. Dang it.

Just listen.

I'll be right outside.

All right, I'll be right outside. We'll do it again, all right?

It's a good read, Chuck. You're a very good actor.

Very good.

Dang it.

That was an embarrassment, Sly.

After I try to give him a shot, okay, I try to help him.

Hey, Chuck, how's it going?

Fine, I guess. Who is this?

I'm with Rocky, too.

Hey, look, I'm sorry, Chuck. They're cutting out your part.

We're taking Cenk Weber out of the script.

I'm sorry it's just the audition didn't go well. The part wasn't really fitting

with the script.

Hey, Arthur from the studios would like to speak to you.

Chuck, we feel bad for you. We really do.

In all walks of life, you lose, my friend. You come this close for the

And drop the ball every time. Winners win and losers lose, my friend.

So if you do want a job, though, you can always start at the bottom, like I did.

And maybe get Salona's coffee.

So, Chuck, the usual as always. Go fuck yourself.

I already knew this was coming. But just like a right cross to the jaw, you see

it, but...

It still hurts when it lands.

Hello? It's Chuck.

Hey, Chuck.

How are you?

It's kind of late, huh?

Yeah, sorry about that. I can't sleep.

I auditioned for Rocky II today.

Oh. I didn't know they were making a sequel.

Yeah, it's the only one of me in it, but I...

Yeah, well, take comfort in knowing if it wasn't for you, there wouldn't be a

Rocky.

Hey, you want to, uh, you know, go to dinner or something?

Yes, I would.

I'll go to bed, Chuck.

Yeah, let's see what I can do here.

What's going on with Rocky II?

Stolen as of him returning my calls.

Oh, I wouldn't worry. I mean, this big Hollywood action can get so busy.

How do you do that?

Do what?

Make me feel better about everything that's going on.

I don't know.

It's all like I see it.

Ha.

Oh, not that one. Oh, thank you. You're welcome.

What's with it?

No, no, I insist.

No.

I felt like a prick. I fought the greatest boxer of all time, got one of

most legendary films of all time based off me.

And I didn't have a penny to show for it.

Turns out I don't really have any money, though.

I don't like you anymore.

Well, I still like you.

Well, I'll just be your friend.

What are you doing with your life?

So, your wife left you.

You screwed up the biggest fucking audition of your life with Sylvester

Stallone.

What are you doing with your life now?

What am I doing with my life?

What are you doing with your life, huh? You're so special.

You're an iron worker from New Jersey, Donnie.

All right? I'm Chuck Wepner. People know me. People respect me.

Nobody knows who Donnie Wepner is. And you know what?

Nobody cares.

You know, my wife.

And that's all that matters to me.

Yeah, that is all that matters to you. But you know what?

But not to me, Donnie.

I want to be somebody.

Hey, hey, be a good father.

Be a good husband to your wife. And stop blowing alimony money on booze and

cocaine and girls.

What?

a good father. My kids love me. They know that I love them because I fucking

tell them. And me and Phyllis are better off now than we've ever been. So stop

telling me how to live my life and how to run my family. In fact, why don't you

just get the hell out of here?

Because you know I'm right.

No, because you're a jerk who I can't be around right now. Just get the fuck

out. I'm the jerk.

You're the one out there fighting wrestlers.

And I'm the jerk. The whole world's laughing at you like a clown.

And I'm the jerk.

I think you're just a bayonet jackass. Fuck!

You don't tell me how to live my life. You don't tell me how to run my family.

You don't talk to anyone about me. You pretend I don't exist.

But you know what?

To me, you no longer exist.

How do you feel?

Chucky.

What's up, Al?

You ever think about hanging up the gloves?

The time?

No.

I think you should.

You really think it's that time?

You're overdue.

You had a hell of a ride.

A lot better than most guys with your skill set.

You should be proud of yourself.

Better you get out while you still got all your moments.

You're doing the right thing.

What's it like, you know, to stop fighting?

I felt relieved. Most guys do.

No, you're doing the right thing.

It was a great run hard.

Yeah, kid.

I was hanging up the gloves, but I still needed cash.

And I won't lie to you, I missed the action.

I was presented with an opportunity.

What kind of opportunity?

A fight.

Well, I mean, I'm not really fighting, but... You ever been to a circus?

Like a big circus? Or they got like animals and shit? The one that, you

they come around with the... Yeah, well, they got like bears at the circus. Big

fucking trained bears that can like... Balls and shit and do tricks and

fucking... Yeah, kids love them. Anyway, this guy comes in the club and he says

he wants to put on like a fucking exhibition.

He's trying to set up a fight.

With a bear?

Yeah.

With a bear.

You want me to fight a bear?

Would you fight a bear?

I mean, like, if you want to say no, I completely understand.

It is kind of a fucking crazy question, I know, but... How much money do you get

to fight a bear?

I haven't negotiated with him, but you would get a set fee for the fight, and

then I would give you a piece of the door.

I mean, that's a pretty good fucking deal, man.

What do you say?

I believe in you, Chuck. I think you can kick the bear's ass.

That I could beat a bear? Yeah.

I think you would kick his ass all over the place.

Victor Train has finally stopped the fight, so I guess I won.

My last fight was a victory against Victor the Bear.

The fight with the bear was good for last, but now it was time to party.

I'm having a big party. I need to really excite my guests.

Come on, man.

I'm not really a drug dealer or anything. You know, it's a lot of money.

just give me as much as you can. I trust you. You know, Artie tells me great

things about you, and I know you from the past. Get a beer on Friday?

I'll get you the blow by Friday.

By Friday? I'll get you the coke by Friday.

So Roger needed some coke, and I knew where to get it. No problem. My connect

could take care of that.

Got a gun. Got a gun.

Got another gun. Got another gun.

Got candy.

Got candy.

Miguel. What?

Look at this.

an error in judgment, a mistake.

I let down my friends, my family, my fans, and most importantly, my

And for that, I truly am sorry.

This is a drug case, and violence and drugs often go together.

You have indeed committed a serious offense.

Drugs kill, Mr. Wepner.

So violence is always inherent, and I believe it's inherent in you.

You are hereby remanded to the custody of the State Department of Corrections

serve a prison term of 10 years.

Six by eight and a top bunk.

That's all the room I had to think about for the next 10 years.

You got me locked up here with a celebrity.

I'm not that famous.

What do you mean? You fought Ali.

I bet you got one of those big old houses and everything.

No.

All this for trying to look like a big shot that could score some dope for a

bunch of assholes who couldn't care less about me.

Yeah, prison beat me up worse than any fighter could have.

I'd failed.

I'd finally become the man I thought I'd fought so hard to avoid.

I was exactly where a thug from Bayonne should be.

Locked up.

You know Stallone based Rocky off me?

At least that's what he said in the papers.

You know Stallone.

I auditioned for Rocky too.

He's a cool guy.

Wow. Damn, you got to be making back for these movies.

Bad apples, you know.

Sometimes you get a good apple. Just like out of some bizarre dream, there he

was.

Make a lot of money, huh?

You know, a little bit here and there. How much, how much? Come on, man, I

know. Cost me a lot of money.

No fucking way.

Chuck, what are you doing here?

I'm doing time. What are you doing?

I'm doing time.

Oh, I'm doing a prison movie, Chuck. It's called Lockup. Hey, hey, guys, come

here, come here.

You see this guy here?

This guy was the inspiration for Rocky. Yeah, him.

Yeah, this guy right here. You guys, you got to do me a favor. You got to take

care of this guy, okay? We'll take care of him. All right, thanks. Bye. Hey,

listen, Chuck, it was good seeing you. I got to get back to work. It was good

seeing you and all. I'll probably, maybe I'll see you while I'm shooting. You

guys, make sure, I'm telling you, this guy's the real guy, okay? All right,

Good seeing you. All right, Chuck.

I want to see you, okay?

All right. Take care, guys.

Seeing him in there was hard.

He was doing so well.

And me, I was throwing the bottom.

I feel like such a piece of shit. I mean, I know I fucked this all up.

I'm willing to wait for you.

If you think you can change, then you can come live with me when you get out.

That would be the best thing ever. I mean, I got nothing anymore but you, and

know it.

I care about you.

It's good to know someone does.

Don't give up.

Only thing that got me to prison was knowing that Linda would be waiting for

on the other side.

Welcome home, Chuck.

I mean, when that fence opened up, I knew the true meaning of a second

I'd never been so happy and so scared at the same time.

Happy to be with her.

Time to celebrate.

I'm scared shitless I'd fuck it up somehow.

What's wrong?

You know,

I don't deserve all this.

Yes, you do.

Life was the best when it was simple.

We didn't have much. I wasn't a movie star or a heavyweight champ, but I

need to be any of that.

I had someone who cared about me and a place to go home to.

I, uh... Will you marry me, Linda?

Yeah. Yes.

Yes? Yes!

I was back to selling liquor again. It wasn't the best job, but I was making it

work. More importantly, I was keeping my nose clean.

Hey, uh, Dave.

Hey.

What the fuck is this? It's your paycheck.

I think it's missing a zero at the end.

Look, things ain't what they used to be, you know, right? Nobody's paying top

dollar for the Bambrola's booze anymore.

Yeah, it's not my booze, but, you know, it'd be nicer to get a bigger check, you

know. I'm surprised here because I sold more liquor for this company than any

other salesman.

20 years ago, 21st century.

The only guys that are famous from boxing anymore are Ali, Tyson, George

Foreman, Rocky.

You're a good salesman, Chuck.

Just not as famous as you once were.

It's been so many years, Chuck.

I'm an idiot.

I love you, bro.

So, uh, tell me about prison.

You got a sec?

What's going on?

I got a shop called Ginsberg's.

And we do sports memorabilia, we do all that kind of stuff.

You know?

Ginsberg's sports memorabilia.

We do a lot of high -end clientele.

And, uh, you know, we want to talk business with you. You should come down.

So you do, like, you know, signings, all that kind of stuff?

We do everything. We do everything sports memorabilia and stuff. Good

You come in, you sign some stuff. It's way better than this. We deal with,

Muhammad Ali, you know.

Oh, you got Muhammad?

Yeah, Muhammad, Jackie Robinson, Jake LaMotta. Like, everybody.

All right.

Well, it was nice meeting you. Can you sign this?

I know. I'm sorry.

All right.

You're the best, champ. Thank you so much. I had my doubts about Olsen.

He was up to no good, and I fucking knew it, but the money came so easy.

See, it's hard to make the right decision when you know the money's right

in your face.

Here you go. Here's a photo. What's your name? I'm so excited to meet you.

Teresa. Teresa, all right.

Okay, so that's $100. That's $15. All right, what's the next one?

Another shape. Oh, my God. I'll follow you forever.

Thank you.

Absolutely. The more money I got off Olsen, the more I kept getting the

that he was up to no good.

I couldn't stop, though. I mean, $300 for signing some books, another $200 for

picture. I know it's too good to be true, but you beat busting my ass

booze. Chuck!

Hey, man, how you doing? Come on in. Good job. Come on in.

How you doing?

Look at this place.

Yeah, did you see upstairs, Gimbert? It's awesome up there. Right.

You gotta get a boxing ring in the middle.

Yeah, yeah, we should. You're right.

Come on in. Come on in. Let's hit some balls.

Let's talk. Oh, you're gonna make me play baseball?

Yeah, why not?

All right. All right? A guy like you?

Smack the crap out of the ball.

It's been a while since I've been in a cage.

Yeah, I'm glad you came back. I'm sorry I couldn't see you the other day. I had

a thing. I was dealing with Muhammad Ali. Yeah, I came by you one year. Yeah,

was in Vegas, you know.

Let me ask you something. You, uh, you know, with these signatures and all

what kind of money, you know, is in that?

We can make a lot of money, Chuck.

And I'm not talking about 20 bucks an autograph.

And I saw what you were doing the other day.

Yeah. And that's great, okay? It's a good little scratch, little side thing.

But we think you should be at the next level.

We can make you a lot more money.

Yeah? Yeah.

Listen, do me a favor. Yeah. Hit that ball.

Hit this ball. Hit that ball.

You know what you just hit?

Not what I just hit. You just hit a $10 ,000 baseball.

That's what you just hit. No such thing as a $10 ,000 baseball.

It's a Babe Ruth.

Olsen was a real fucking weasel. Slick as they come, that guy was.

I didn't like him, but I liked the money.

Oh,

Johnny, Johnny, Johnny.

You've done good.

Unbelievable.

That's Babe Ruth.

That's fucking Babe Ruth.

I'll just throw it in there.

What could I do today?

Who am I going to be today?

You've got to love Babe Ruth. My grandfather saw him in Philadelphia.

He's so lucky. I wish I was alive, and I wish I was back then.

What are all these?

Ah, you know, I've been doing some signings recently, trying to make some

cash, getting fan mail. Look, all these.

Since we got some extra coming in.

This is going to be the biggest raid in FBI history. It's called Operation

Bullpen. It centers around certain criminals who think it's okay to forge

memorabilia autographs.

Oh, my God. Did you hear that?

Yeah, I did. Oh, my God. This guy is unbelievable.

Oh, my God.

Let's get these fuckers.

Special agent in charge, John Corbin.

We have an arrest warrant for John Olsen.

Where is he? He's downstairs.

Oh, shit.

Fuck you!

Olsen was a real con man.

He was part of a multi -million dollar memorabilia forgery ring that was a

-to -coast business.

Come on!

There's no crying in baseball!

Fuck you!

Fuck you! Come on, man, those are real!

It was called Operation Bullpen because most of the swag was baseball stuff.

The inventory comes in, and I just take it, and I just, you know, I clean it up.

You know what I mean? I just clean it up. I take the ball, I take the

I take... Now looking back on it. I'm not sure if it's, like, you know, age

stuff, and I just, I do, like, detail work. That's probably better off selling

booze. My forte is detail.

My point was small potatoes, but try telling that to Linda.

Chuck Wetner.

Chuck Wetner, I have a warrant for your arrest.

You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney.

If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.

Bring enough guys to arrest an old man?

What's going on?

Ma 'am, your husband's being taken into custody for his involvement in a sports

memorabilia fraud.

There must be a mistake. Tell him it's a mistake, Chuck. Ma 'am, if you say

anything, you will be obstructing this case. Let's go.

Don't worry, honey.

Call my lawyer. He'll take care of this.

You tell them it's a mistake!

Everything on tape already, Chuck. What do you got on tape?

Everything. The deal, the autograph, the conspiracy with you and Olsen. What do

you do with John Olsen?

Sign autographs. Who wants your autograph?

You're a has -been. You're washed up. You fought a bear like 40 years ago.

have you done since?

Tell me.

In all of these wiretaps, all this stuff you've been talking about, photographs,

all that, do you ever see me sign any name other than Chuck Wepner on

No.

So can I leave?

You had the world in your hands and you go and fuck it up. Why is that, Chuck?

Why?

Sorry, I didn't know. Bullshit!

You're not sorry and you knew damn well what you were doing.

This is typical Chuck Wepner.

A guy who thinks he can do anything he wants because the world keeps shitting

him.

You know, Chuck, we all get shit on.

I don't need a lecture right now.

Yes, you do need a lecture.

You need a lecture more than you need anything in your life.

I just hope it's not too late for you.

It's not.

Don't you give up on me, Linda. Don't you do it.

Don't give up on you?

So I can come visit you in prison the rest of your life?

All I did was sign my name. I didn't do anything wrong.

How do I know you're not lying to me?

Why would we be here if you were just signing your name?

You look beautiful, by the way.

Fuck you!

You're a fucking idiot.

Putting me in this position.

I fucking do nothing but good things for you, and you're fucking me. You're

fucking me.

I'm gonna fucking grow old by myself.

I can't take care of myself. I have no money coming in. It's all from you. So

I'm fucked.

I'm fucked. Thanks, Chuck.

Okay, they're ready for you. Now, Chuck, we're all disappointed.

We're all fans.

You know, dealing with a degenerate like this guy Olsen, what the hell was that

all about?

I mean, come on, man. You're getting too old for this shit.

All right?

Turn it over.

If your client pleads guilty to one count, he does one day... And just like

that, I walk out with a slap on the wrist. My so -called participation in

was a joke, and I was glad to have it behind me.

Just when I was clear with the feds, the universe decided to take a dump on me

one more time. This time I saw you, you was behind bars.

Well, I'm out now.

Broke his shit, but I'm a free man. Oh, no kidding. That's a shame. Turns out

Stallone was filming something in Bayonne, right in my backyard.

Oh, we're doing this movie Copland.

Any good?

Oh, yeah, it's great. Big kid. Then he wasn't.

No way. Bobby D, Raging Bull himself?

What, you want to meet him?

Yeah. I'll get him. Mr. Stallone, you're on standby. They're ready for you on

set. Yeah, sure. Hey, hey.

You know who this is?

No, sir, I don't. This is Chuck Webner. Hi, Mr. Webner. Nice to meet you. I'm

Maura. He was a boxer.

Oh, is this the fighter who saw Fight Off? Yeah.

Yeah. Wow, this must be something.

Standing next to Rocky, right?

Right.

Yeah, cute, huh?

You always have such smart acts on these shoots.

Oh, it's like she didn't mean anybody.

You know what I mean? She's shocked. She doesn't even know who I am.

Lord, do me a favor. I'll be with you in a minute. I just don't.

You see Salon?

Yeah, I saw him.

I felt like a real outsider on that set, like a fan or something.

What are you talking about? I mean, everyone calls me the real Rocky, but

did I get for it? Nothing.

You should get compensated for what they took from you.

You know, what Stallone did to you wasn't right.

You've been a fighter your whole life.

You gonna throw in the towel now?

What do you want me to do, Linda?

I want you to fight him.

You want me to kick Stallone's ass?

Yeah, I do.

You lost your marbles, Linda. No, I'm serious.

Go kick his ass.

You really want me to kick the best of Stallone's ass? Yeah, I do.

But not with your fist.

You do it with lawyers.

You sue him.

For what? For ripping off your life.

He didn't rip off my life. He said I inspired Rocky.

Are you a lawyer now?

You know what that means? No, you don't. So go talk to a lawyer.

They make billions off you, Chuck.

And what did you get for it?

Nothing but a pat on the back.

Think about it.

It's not so crazy.

I don't know.

I used to assume people.

Last time I was in court, they would put me in jail.

You got nothing to lose.

You should.

Get what's yours.

It's the other way around now.

It's your turn.

Time to lace up them gloves, honey.

So, you want to fight Sylvester Stallone?

Can I?

You do have a case, Mr. Webner.

I've been pulling through the records as well as the actual Rocky films.

So we have a case.

I'd say so.

I think you got a good one.

Will you represent me?

It'd be our privilege to do so.

And you have, like, big Hollywood lawyers here to fight this.

Yeah. You will.

All right.

Bye -bye.

Who was that?

That was the lawyers.

What'd they say?

We're still in Stallone.

Yeah?

Hey, Marty, relax.

Got it.

I'm walking to him right now.

Yeah, I got this.

Relax. No.

Marty's on the phone.

I'm going to call him back in an hour about the shooting.

He said it's important.

I'll call him back in an hour.

Talk to Marty.

Yeah, Marty, what's so important? I'm in the middle of shooting. It's in here.

That position.

What are you talking about?

No. No, I'm not doing it.

What do you mean I have to do it?

No, that's ridiculous.

Marty, it's got no merit. It's ridiculous.

You know what?

Marty, you're the best lawyer in Hollywood. Get it thrown out.

I was finally ready to fight for what was mine.

I didn't want to hurt Stallone, but I couldn't be broke while my life was

lived out by a bunch of guys who made a fortune off me.

You know, I just want to go on record here to let you know that this whole

lawsuit is an insult.

Okay? I'm here because my lawyer wants me here.

But I shouldn't even be here. So go ahead, ask your question. Okay. All

Let's talk about what role Chuck Wepner played in the Rocky movies.

What role?

He didn't have a role.

Rocky was my idea. I had it long before I ever heard of Chuck Wepner.

He had no role whatsoever. He was inspiration.

That's it.

So you admit that my client was your inspiration for writing this film? No.

was inspiring to watch Wepner fight Ali.

But he didn't inspire Rocky. That's two entirely different things. But...

You did credit Chuck publicly on numerous occasions with being the

for Rocky, am I correct?

It was a marketing thing for credibility.

It wasn't a creative thing.

Look, you know what? I don't even know what we're meeting here. You know that?

You're a real... Just answer his question. You know that?

You're a... She's typing out everything.

Everything you're saying. It's on a transcript, all right? Yeah.

They'll use it against you.

Yes or no? What do you think? Wait a minute, Martin. You don't think they're

using it against me now? Don't you understand there's more at stake here?

Don't you understand I have a reputation?

I have a reputation. I'm a star. People look at me, they also see me as Rocky.

They don't just see me as Sly. And what they're going to do is they're going to

think I stole from this guy. This guy's stealing from us. He didn't do anything.

We don't need Rocky in there.

We need me in there. It's bigger than that.

What's so good?

He doesn't sound too happy with me.

Chuck, that's not your problem.

I want you to cancel all our appointments for today, all right?

All right?

All right.

Let's continue.

Um, you're aware that Chuck wrestled Andre the Giant.

in 1976 in Shade Stadium, correct?

Yeah. Everybody knows that it was a big deal. Okay. Well, didn't Rocky wrestle a

character you called Thunder Lips, played by Hulk Hogan and Rocky III?

Oh, you guys are really bottom feet. Is that where you're going with this,

really?

Look, Chuck Webner had nothing, zero, not a thing to do with the creation of

Rocky. You want to know the truth?

Rocky was more based on Rocky Marciano, if you want to know. Okay, but you

didn't credit Rocky Marciano as being the inspiration for Rocky. So what? You

credit my client, Chuck Wepner. So what?

Wepner could take a punch, so could a million other fighters. What's the big

deal? But you didn't credit a million other fighters for inspiring Rocky.

You credit my client, Chuck Wepner.

Rocky was my idea. I came up with it. Nobody else.

You know what? You guys are really something, you know that? You got me in

this is nothing more than a shakedown, you know that?

Yeah, but you don't see Ali suing me over Apollo, do you?

Look, you know what? Are we done here? Are we done? Are you done with your

questions? Okay, that's it. You know what? I don't want it.

Ali's lawyer might be coming to you soon.

Lying.

Nothing personal.

No hard feelings. This is just business.

You.

Chuck, you... What?

You play a fighter in the movies, but you ain't no fighter.

Why don't you do yourself a favor and go back inside before you get hurt?

You know something, Chuck?

This is all a bunch of bullshit.

And you know what it is.

So I want you to remember this.

You can get your lawyers and you can sue me.

But in the end, it ain't gonna matter because nobody, nobody's gonna remember

you, Chuck.

And me, they're gonna remember me. And you wanna know why?

Because I gave him Rocky.

I gave him a hero.

I gave him somebody to look up to.

Would you ever give the world, Chuck, huh?

Would you ever give him nothing?

Not a goddamn thing.

Guess what we just did? No, what? We just won summary judgment against

fucking Stallone.

You're kidding.

No, I ain't kidding.

Yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah!

You ready, Rocco?

Okay. It was the final round.

Stallone fought hard, but Mango got me off the ropes, and we stood center ring.

It all came down to this.

I needed a knockout to win.

To take my life back.

I heard the judge told them to come up with a number.

Otherwise, if they lost, she would.

And her number would be a very big one.

And just like that, down goes the loan.

KO.

I was never the heavyweight champion of the world.

I was never a movie star or a billionaire.

I was just a regular Joe from Bayonne who went the distance with Ali and

Stallone.

And that was good enough for me.

Because in the end, it's all about the ride.

And God knows, I had me one hell of a ride.

Thank you.