AS A RESULT OF our having been a Chicago Cop for some 30+ years, it was our pleasure and purely lucky dose of happenstance that we occasionally met some celebrities from the world of Entertainment. as well as those from the area of Sports. During the period of 1973-78, it was our assignment to the Loop Traffic (Downtown) unit that brought us together with a former World's Featherweight Boxing Champion, Leo Rodak; who had the title circa 1941.
WHEN THIS FILM was telecast on (we believe) CBS late night, we inquired of Mr. Rodak if he'd seen it and what was his opinion. Who would've won and in what round?
LEO HADN'T HEARD of this "fight", but seemed intrigued nonetheless. Without any hesitation, he said; "Oh, it'd be Marciano with a K.O. in the 11th Round!" It was quite interesting to have had been there as his human "gray-matter" computer gave us his answer in what was a mere few seconds. (It also was remarkably close to what was contained on film.)
WE SEE THAT this very unique film was an instant success, not only with those in the Boxing World and its fans; but also with a large chunk of the public at large. Sports fan or not, everyone identifies with the top dogs in any of the sports; be they Basenall. Football, Basketball, Hockey or Boxing. The Heavyweight Champ, in particular, is of high interest among even casual examiners.
THE IDEA OF filming a super number of rounds with the two undefeated Champions came about as a result a series of audio-only computer generated segments on Radio, The radio shows paired such fighters from far flung eras such as: Sonny Liston vs John L. Sullivan or Primo Carnera vs. Jack Johnson (just fictitious examples, Schultz) All of the Radio installments were between opponents of which at least one was already deceased.
THAT'S WHEN THE gratuities intersection of coincidences gave rise to the concept of a film. Ever since Cassius Clay appeared on the horizon of the Prize Ring of Pugilism, there was a lot of discussion about who was the greatest Heavyweight Champ of all time. The 5 top names on everyone's all-time roll were: Jack Johnson (deceased 1948), Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and Mohammad Ali/Cassius Clay.
IT ALSO WAS during this time that Ali/Clay was suspended from boxing; having had his Heavyweight Title stripped from him for his having violated the US Selective Service Act by refusing to be inducted into the Army.
IT WAS THEN that producer, David Woroner, pitched the idea to the two Champions to bring the computer fight concept of his fro the radio waves to the visual medium. According to what we've heard, both agreed PDQ. Marciano was anxious to show what he still had and quickly got into fighting shape, dropping 25 pounds. Ali, being rendered inactive by his being banished to the scrapheap, during his prime years, also jumped at the chance.
THERE WAS CERTAINLY a lot of personal pride involved, but doubtless, there was a great financial component that came into play; particularly for Mohammed Ali.
AS FOR THE fight, it really managed to generate a great deal of excitement for the viewer. While we all know that it is not a contest, the filmed sparring that the two men performed was among the best ever recorded for a movie. and why wouldn't it? After all, they were two of the very best in their field and there were reports of Ali being injured from Rocky's persistent pummeling.
THE "FIGHT" WAS originally telecast over the closed circuit network in movie houses throughout the country. The trailer declared how it would never be shown again following its pay-per-view premiere; which wasn't exactly true. It was certainly an excellent tool in promoting the film; but as we said earlier, we saw it on CBS about 5 years or so later. You can purchase a DVD of it on Amazon.com, if interested.
WELL< THAT JUST goes to show you, "you can't believe everything you hear!"; right Schultz!
NOTE: WE CANNOT CLOSE without making reference to the tragic death of Rocky Marciano just three weeks after the filming finished. Mr. Marciano met his maker following the crash of the crash of the Newton Cessna 172 light aircraft in which he was a passenger. By all accounts, the man was a Champion in every respect and a real, true regular guy, who never lost touch from his roots.
You are missed, Sir! We know you are resting in Peace with the Lord.
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