The Super Fight
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he Super Fight was a unique type of boxing match. Since Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano fought at different times, boxing fans often debated over who would have won in a fight between the two heavyweight champions. In 1970, a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano, staged using probability formulas entered into a computer, was released as a feature film.
[edit] Concept
In 1967, radio producer Murray Woroner had the idea of determining the all-time great heavyweight champion of the world in a series of fantasy fights between boxing champions of different eras. Woroner sent out a survey to 250 boxing experts and writers to help determine which boxers would be used in the imaginary fights. Woroner picked the first round of fantasy matches to be:
- Jack Dempsey vs. Gentleman Jim Corbett
- John L. Sullivan vs. Jim Braddock
- Bob Fitzsimmons vs. Jack Sharkey
- Jim Jeffries vs. Jersey Joe Walcott
- Joe Louis vs. Jess Willard
- Max Baer vs. Jack Johnson
- Rocky Marciano vs. Gene Tunney
- Muhammad Ali vs. Max Schmeling
Punch-by-punch details of the boxer's records during their prime were entered into an NCR 315 computer. Also their strengths, weaknesses, fighting styles and patterns and other factors and scenarios that the boxers could go through were converted into formulas and entered. It took over 18 months for the computer to determine the outcome of every round of each fight. The NCR 315 was a state-of-the-art computer at the time.
The outcomes were then staged as radio plays with Woroner and radio announcer Guy LeBow as the commentators. The fantasy fights were broadcast worldwide. Even the boxers who were still alive at the time listened to the programs and some of them participated as commentators. After the series of elimination rounds, the final fight was between Dempsey and Marciano. Marciano defeated Dempsey and was considered to be the all-time greatest heavyweight champion by the computer. Woroner awarded the real Marciano a gold and diamond championship belt worth $10,000.
