Today is May 10 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is “How often do you underestimate others?”
In 1975 Charles "Chuck" Wepnern underestimated his opponent and gained a valuable lesson when he challenged Muhammad Ali for the world's Heavyweight title.
Ali was guaranteed $1.5 million and Wepner signed for $100,000. This was considerably more than Wepner had ever earned and he therefore did not need any coaxing. Wepner spent eight weeks near the Catskill Mountains under the guidance of Al Braverman.
This bout was the first time Wepner had been able to train full-time. Before the fight, a reporter asked Wepner if he thought he could survive in the ring with the champion, to which Wepner allegedly answered, "I've been a survivor my whole life...if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali."
In the ninth round Wepner scored a knockdown, which Ali claimed had occurred because Wepner was stepping on his foot. Wepner went to his corner and said to his manager, "Al, start the car. We're going to the bank. We are millionaires." To which Wepner's manager replied, "You better turn around. He's getting up and he looks pissed off."
In the remaining rounds, Ali decisively out boxed Wepner and opened up cuts above both Wepner's eyes and broke his nose. Wepner was far behind on the scorecards when Ali knocked him down with 19 seconds left in the 15th round. The referee counted to seven before calling a technical knockout. Sylvester Stallone watched Wepner's fight against Ali and shortly afterwards wrote the script for Rocky, but Stallone subsequently denied that Wepner provided any inspiration for the movie. Wepner filed a lawsuit which was eventually settled with Stallone for an undisclosed amount.
The adage “There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent” proves relevant here as Wepnern underestimated Ali and mistakenly thought the fight was over. Ali had other plans though and went on to win.
How often do you underestimate your opponent?