Ali with 6'6" actor Clint Walker on the set of The Dirty Dozen

[sentax]

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Ali looks like he was sizing him up.

[kara]

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Ali looks like he was sizing him up.

First time I ever saw that picture

[BKM-]

Great photo. Useful for fantasy matchups of Ali vs the big modern HW's.

[QueensburyRules]

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Ali looks like he was sizing him up.

- - Clint was bigger and stronger than Big George and a purt fair athlete. This after Ali publicly ducked the Wilt fight on Cosell's ABC sports segment.



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[Slugfester]

- - Clint was bigger and stronger than Big George and a purt fair athlete. This after Ali publicly ducked the Wilt fight on Cosell's ABC sports segment.

Your verbal offal goes on...you are obviously too ****** to embarrass yourself.

[QueensburyRules]

Your verbal offal goes on...you are obviously too ****** to embarrass yourself.

- - Truth hurts guys needing tents for their shorts…

[Ivich]

- - Truth hurts guys needing tents for their shorts…

However, Chamberlain’s attorneys’ official reasoning for withdrawing from the fight was that the after-tax money he would receive was only $500,000. This made the money from that bout too small for the future Hall of Famer to deem worthwhile.

As Los Angeles Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had a lucrative contract offer for Chamberlain, provided he give up "this boxing foolishness," that settled it for the big man — he was re-signing with the Lakers and backing out of the fight. The decision may have deprived fight fans of what would have been a curious in-ring matchup at the very least, but one can't say it wasn't good for Wilt's basketball career. With Chamberlain patrolling the middle, the Lakers won the 1971-72 NBA championship — his second and last title before his retirement in 1973.


Wilt Chamberlain didn’t turn up for the big fight
Wilt was done with his NBA career by then. He had completed 13 years of career in the NBA and touched heights in his field. On the other hand, Muhammad Ali had reached a peak in his career and recorded 31-0 with 25 knockouts by then. But around that time he had faced defeat against Joe Frazier in heavyweight championship title.


The duo was finally set up by Jim Brown to go up against each other. Well, the day had arrived. Ali was at the press conference waiting for Chamberlain to arrive. But guess what? That never happened. Wilt didn’t make his appearance and it became a piece of huge news all over the sporting world.



Rumors started encircling around why the NBA star didn’t make an appearance at the final moment. Chamberlain’s attorneys had made a statement in response to all these questions. The reason that they gave was that the after-tax money was going to be only $500,000 which wasn’t worth the effort and time.

There was plenty of gossip around this for a long time. Later in an interview, Wilt mentioned his reasoning. “I remember leaving my place in L.A. and — my father is a big fight fan — and I said, `Dad, I got a couple of days off, and I’m getting ready to go to Houston to sign to fight Muhammad Ali.’” His father rather advised him to go and play his game. “And I looked at my Dad and said, ‘Well, Dad, you’re probably right.”

There have been various assumptions about WIlt sneaking out of the whooping matchup of these two stars. But at the end, those rumors are all we got. Imagine what would have happened out there in Madison if this actually happened?

[Ivich]

Rock Hudson was same height as Clint Walker.

Hudson was not 6'6" , James Arness was.

[Slugfester]

Hudson was not 6'6" , James Arness was.

I have always seen Arness listed as 6'7". But I know in Hollywood and boxing they often fudge on the tall ones.

On the short ones, Robert Deniro makes Al Pacino look tall.

[Willie Pep 229]

However, Chamberlain’s attorneys’ official reasoning for withdrawing from the fight was that the after-tax money he would receive was only $500,000. This made the money from that bout too small for the future Hall of Famer to deem worthwhile.

As Los Angeles Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had a lucrative contract offer for Chamberlain, provided he give up "this boxing foolishness," that settled it for the big man — he was re-signing with the Lakers and backing out of the fight. The decision may have deprived fight fans of what would have been a curious in-ring matchup at the very least, but one can't say it wasn't good for Wilt's basketball career. With Chamberlain patrolling the middle, the Lakers won the 1971-72 NBA championship — his second and last title before his retirement in 1973.


Wilt Chamberlain didn’t turn up for the big fight
Wilt was done with his NBA career by then. He had completed 13 years of career in the NBA and touched heights in his field. On the other hand, Muhammad Ali had reached a peak in his career and recorded 31-0 with 25 knockouts by then. But around that time he had faced defeat against Joe Frazier in heavyweight championship title.


The duo was finally set up by Jim Brown to go up against each other. Well, the day had arrived. Ali was at the press conference waiting for Chamberlain to arrive. But guess what? That never happened. Wilt didn’t make his appearance and it became a piece of huge news all over the sporting world.



Rumors started encircling around why the NBA star didn’t make an appearance at the final moment. Chamberlain’s attorneys had made a statement in response to all these questions. The reason that they gave was that the after-tax money was going to be only $500,000 which wasn’t worth the effort and time.

There was plenty of gossip around this for a long time. Later in an interview, Wilt mentioned his reasoning. “I remember leaving my place in L.A. and — my father is a big fight fan — and I said, `Dad, I got a couple of days off, and I’m getting ready to go to Houston to sign to fight Muhammad Ali.’” His father rather advised him to go and play his game. “And I looked at my Dad and said, ‘Well, Dad, you’re probably right.”

There have been various assumptions about WIlt sneaking out of the whooping matchup of these two stars. But at the end, those rumors are all we got. Imagine what would have happened out there in Madison if this actually happened?

I think is was all a scam where two black athletes did eachother a kind.

The money, taxes, who was afraid of whom, the infamous Cosell contract ambush, all of it was for show and were things to say to the media. With no one ever giving a confirmed no; always keeping it just alive enough to use as leverage.

Both times that the fight was at issue, just happened to match years Chamberlain was in a contract dispute. Coincidence? I think not.

A great athlete like Chamberlain was going to be underpaid. The reserve clause was just then being challenged in the courts, and Chamberlain, like all great athletes had ittle to no alternative options. Plus endorsements were nothing like they are today (See Shinola).

Both were scams to force the 76ers and later the Lakers to pay up.

IMO when you watch the imfamous interview and 'tale of the tape' event with Cosell, Ali is quite quiet. Not his usual self. He's not sure how to play the promotion and let's Chamberlain take the lead. IMO you can see Ali is not actually thinking about fighting this guy

Ali always wanted a mental advantage over his opponents; where was the rhetoric with Chamberlain? It was non-existent because neither man ever intended to fight.

Just two brothers and a *** sticking it to the powers to be and saying 'pay the man what he's worth.'

P.S. Chamberlain asked his father what he thought about him fighting Ali. The father replied "You should practice your free throws."