Wilt Chamberlain did almost everything he wanted to do in his life, creating a legend that transcended the game of basketball. Wilt was a monster on the court and a great performer when he wasn’t playing basketball, too.
There are plenty of stories about this man, and one of the most incredible involves another all-time great from another sport. Two big worlds would clash if Chamberlain fought Muhammad Ali back in the day.
They were close to fighting each other twice, but the second one, in 1971, the possibility was stronger. As Thomas Hauser recorded in his book Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times:
In 1971, Wilt Chamberlain wanted to challenge Muhammad Ali in a boxing match for his heavyweight title. The bout was supposed to take place in the legendary Madison Square Garden. ABC arranged a special sports segment with both Ali and Wilt appearing together to announce the fight. Jim Brown was supposed to be the promoter and already managed to raise enough guaranteed money to tempt them both into contract negotiations. After several failed negotiations Ali accepted Chamberlain’s challenge after being offered more money than he had ever earned for a fight, money he and his family were desperate for after for 3 years in exile for refusing to be drafted during the Vietnam war.
Chamberlain was 35 years old, a year away from retiring from the NBA after 13 seasons during which he had set more than 70 individual records. He was a huge man, 7 feet tall, 275 pounds, and astonishingly strong, agile and fast. Ali was 29 in 1971.
There are several versions of why the fight never happened. One says Wilt’s lawyers advised him against the battle since he would earn very little money after taxes, so the risk wasn’t worth it.
Wilt’s lawyers told him this isn’t a good business decision. 😂 pic.twitter.com/mvuxllm68j
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) June 15, 2021
Bob Arum says that was only an excuse for Wilt. After Ali started yelling at him, the NBA legend allegedly felt intimidated, which led to calling off the fight.
Bob Arum, who was present, reports that on the day of the press conference to announce the fight, Ali was waiting. Arum says that as Chamberlain walked in, Ali yelled, “Timber!” Arum told Hauser that Chamberlain, “turned white, goes into the next room with his lawyer, comes out and says he’s not fighting. I think Ali intimidated him; that’s all it was, at the moment of truth, Wilt realized that fighting Ali was a totally ridiculous concept.”
Wilt himself gave a different explanation later, naming his father responsible for the collapse of the big event.
Via Basketball Network:
When interviewed later in his life, Wilt himself offered another explanation for his decision to withdraw from the fight. Chamberlain looked back and said: “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.’” Wilt then said his father told him he should work on his free throws instead.
“And I looked at my Dad and said, ‘Well, Dad, you’re probably right.” And subsequently, at the contract signing, Wilt withdrew.
In 1971, Muhammad Ali and Wilt Chamberlain were gonna fight.
Ali had just returned from his three-year absence.
Wilt was 34 and nearly retired from the NBA.
But it was real.
They even agreed on a date/place.
But Ali kept shouting “TIMBER!” at the presser and scared him off. pic.twitter.com/bcPvliDVRF
— Thomas Duffy (@TJDhoops) December 5, 2018
Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest athlete in NBA History
🔘48-inch vertical
🔘500-pound bench
🔘4.5 40-yard dash
🔘6’6 high jump
🔘Long Jump champ
🔘Professional Volleyball Player
🔘Harlem Globetrotter
🔘Almost boxed Muhammad Ali
🔘Nets wanted him to come out of retirement at 50 pic.twitter.com/wdpH2RRShS
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 30, 2020
We’ll never know what would have happened if these two titans clashed in the ring, although most people have an idea of how the fight could’ve gone. For whatever reason, we never saw these legends going at it for the World Heavyweight title. Instead, we have several versions of how things fell apart when almost everything was set for this super fight.
