Joe Bugner vs. Chuck Wepner

Joe Bugner 215 lbs beat Chuck Wepner 215 lbs by RTD in round 3 of 10

• Date: 1970-09-08
• Location: Empire Pool, Wembley, London, United Kingdom
• Referee: Harry Gibbs

Promoter: Harry Levine

Notes

• Joe Bugner 26-2 (18 KOs) vs. Chuck Wepner 20-6-2 (7 KOs)
• At just 20 years of age, Bugner was 11 years younger than Chuck Wepner.
• Prior to the bout, Bugner trained in the United States where he sparred with Cassius Clay, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston and Jimmy Ellis. Following his four round sparring session with Clay, Clay remarked that Joe needed "2 more years and 2 tough fights and then you might have the white heavyweight hope of the world" (per Harry Carpenter during the broadcast)
• Wepner came into the bout off a brutal stoppage to Sonny Liston less than three months earlier. The doctor called a halt to that bout as Wepner had multiple cuts to his face and was bleeding heavily.

Bout Summary

Bugner came out and worked confidently behind the jab in the opening round as Wepner came forward and threw mostly wide punches. By the end of the round, the left side of Wepner's face had already begun to show signs of wear from Bugner's jab. In Round 2, Bugner continued to pump his jab into Wepner's face with little defensive resistance. Toward the end of the round he landed a solid combination to the body. Wepner was looking to close the distance and get on the inside but was met with a stiff jab that seemed to temporarily dissuade him. Midway through Round 3 a gash opened above the right eye of Wepner that almost immediately covered the side of his face with blood. Perhaps because of the cut, both fighters turned up their intensity and exchanged power shots for much of the remainder of the round. Following the round, Referee Harry Gibbs came over to view the cut and decided to call an end to the bout despite arguments from Wepner's corner to at least give him one more round.