"After the Hinke win, promoter Don King promised Wepner the next shot at heavyweight champ George Foreman, after Big George was done pummeling Ali in Zaire. Although most of the world rooted for the aging underdog Ali, Wepner was pulling for Foreman and assumed his title shot had disappeared when Ali went on to famously Rope-A-Dope his way to an eighth-round knockout. As it turned out, King was just as eager to put the Great White No-Hoper in with Ali as he had been to match him with Foreman, and on March 24, 1975, Wepner's life was forever altered." Full interesting story here: http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/page/IamChuckWepner/chuck-wepner-recognized-rocky-fame
Considering Wepner's improved conditioning in Cleveland, and much better ability to avoid cuts (incredibly, only Duane Bobick stopped Chuck on cuts after January 1971, a span covering 21 fights over nearly eight years), Foreman-Wepner II in 1975 might have been an interesting rematch. Of course Chuck didn't have the power to hurt George, but what if Foreman fails to take him out early? Whether Wepner challenges Muhammad or George, Stallone may still have had his inspiration. Foreman had progressed considerably since August 1969 (when he was 3-0), and was over ten years younger, but he'd also regressed into a pure amateur distance slugger who had gotten away from the jab of his Olympic days. Wepner's lack of power translated into greater endurance, having gone 12 rounds with some regularity in recent years, and now he'd had an opportunity to train regularly. The advantage in experience was his. No way Chuck wins this, but if he gets George into the later rounds, Foreman might not have the power in reserve to put him away either. The differences and variables between August 1969 and March 1975 make for potentially interesting dynamics, and King would have been shrewd enough to promote that successfully.
Although Chuck had improved in the years between their first fight and their second proposed fight. So had Foreman, i predict George by K.O. again
Expert analysis. I agree with most of what you say, but disagree that Wepner would have had any shot at lasting into the late rounds. My guess is that the improved Wepner of 1974-75 would have done better (than he had in 1970) against Foreman. But to me, this means Wepner would only have lasted a few more rounds. Ultimately, he just didn't have the tools to defend against Foreman's bombs. Even Foreman's degraded left jab of 1974 (you rightly point out that Foreman's jab devolved over the years) would have hit Chuck with ease. I say Foreman-Wepner II, held in 1974 or 1975, would have been won by Foreman, by stoppage in the 5th or 6th round. Chuck shows lots of guts, but nothing else.
