7’1″ Wilt Chamberlain and 236 pound Muhammad Ali sized each other up in “rare GOAT footage”

7'1" Wilt Chamberlain and 236 pound Muhammad Ali sized each other up in "rare GOAT footage"

Wilt Chamberlain and Muhammad Ali are two legends of their own time, and they one decided to size each other up for a potential fight.

Wilt’s career was defined by dominance. There was simply no NBA player in the same league as him when he played for the Warriors back in the day.

Of course, everyone is well aware of his untouchable record of 100 points in a single game, and everyone also knows about his monstrous season when he averaged 50.4 points per game and 25.7 rebounds per game, yet another untouchable mark.

However, Wilt’s dominance also came with the tagline that he was an ’empty stats’ player as he hadn’t won a championship despite putting those ridiculous scoring numbers. People labeled his style of play selfish, and it wasn’t until he joined Philadelphia, changed his style of play, and won a ring that he lost that label. He would of course win another with the Lakers in 1972.

Also Read: $600M Lakers executive chose Magic Johnson because of his smile and style, according to Jeanie Buss

Wilt Chamberlain and Muhammad Ali almost fought each other in 1971

The former Warriors and Lakers star almost took it to one of the greatest boxers ever. In 1971, the 7’1″ Chamberlain challenged the 236 pound Muhammad Ali to a boxing match for his heavyweight title.

There are some incredible stories about Wilt’s strength. He could lift 3,000 pound cars, and he’s lifted Arnold Schwarzenegger with one hand before. So, you can see where he may have gotten the idea to challenge Ali.

The fight was all set to happen at Madison Square Garden and ABC arranged a sports segment with Ali and Chamberlain to announce the fight.

However, the fight didn’t happen, and there have been many theories as to why. One theory suggests that Wilt’s lawyers told him it wasn’t a good business decision.

Other theories say that Ali scared Wilt out of the fight by yelling ‘Timber’ every moment he could. Wilt would later name his father responsible for the collapse of the fight.

Also Read: $160 million Stephen Curry shows off his most recent gift in the prettiest way imaginable

Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
NBA Wilt Chamberlain

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

Don’t miss these