© Mark Ollig
During the mid-1960s, Murray Woroner, a radio producer based in Miami, had an idea.
He believed the NCR (National Cash Register) 315 computer could predict the winners between former heavyweight boxing champions if they had fought each other during their primes.
Comprised of three to five cabinets, the NCR 315 is a second-generation digital computer that uses resistor-transistor logic circuits.
The computer memory utilized moderately rigid mylar plastic cartridges measuring 13.5 inches by 3.25 inches.
These cartridges housed magnetic disks coated with a protective film, serving as Card Random Access Memory (CRAM) storage devices.
CRAM technology provided quicker access to data than magnetic tapes and paved the way for modern random-access memory devices.
The NCR 315 console featured 32 indicator lights visually illustrating various system functions, including program execution stages, processing status, memory allocation, and error indications.
In 1967, Murray Woroner created a fictionalized radio boxing series called the “All-Time Heavyweight Championship Tournament.”
Radio stations nationwide broadcast his boxing matches featuring past heavyweight champions competing in an elimination-style tournament.
Before each radio match, we hear enthusiastic crowd chatter, followed by beeps, clicks, and a booming voice declaring: “Computerized!”
“From the magic city, the fun and sun capital of the world, Miami, Florida. Through the incredible speed of the NCR 315 computer, Woroner Productions proudly presents the All-Time Heavyweight Championship Tournament,” announces Murray Woroner.
Cheers could be heard from the crowd as the sportscaster described the scripted boxing action during the radio broadcasts.
Rocky Marciano, the former heavyweight boxing champion, won the tournament, defeating another former heavyweight champion, Jack Dempsey.
In a 15-round elimination match, James J. Jeffries, the heavyweight champion from 1899 to 1905, surprisingly defeated former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.
After the radio broadcast, Muhammad Ali filed a $1 million federal court lawsuit against Woroner for “seriously injuring his reputation as a boxer” because of the fictional radio broadcast loss to Jeffries.
Ali agreed to a $10,000 payment to drop the lawsuit and participate in a staged boxing match with Rocky Marciano.
At 27, Ali’s professional boxing record was 29-0; his boxing license and title were revoked after he refused induction into the US Armed Services.
Marciano, 45, had retired from boxing in 1956 with a 49-0 record and agreed to a computer fight with Ali for a slightly higher payment.
Ali and Marciano would meet in a boxing ring and film a choreographed performance, a staged fight, in which both would feign and land light punches against each other for the movie “The Super Fight.”
The NCR 315 computer analyzed data from Ali and Marciano’s professional boxing careers and scripted a simulated match using two programming languages.
COBOL (common business-oriented language) was used for data processing and managing the simulated actions, including tracking punches thrown, landed, blocked, and performance endurance.
FORTRAN (formula translations) is a language known for its mathematical capabilities.
It analyzed the complex round-by-round punch calculations and determined the winner of each round.
Although it wasn’t an actual boxing match for the world’s heavyweight championship, it had all the build-up of one, notably as Ali and Marciano were the only two undefeated champions.
The filming took place inside a private Miami studio warehouse in 1969.
Although Muhammad Ali had not fought since 1967, he appeared in good physical condition.
Marciano had trained hard, lost over 50 pounds, and looked in good shape.
The studio was highly guarded, and inside a boxing ring, the two sparred 70 to 75 one-minute rounds, later interwoven into regulation three-minute rounds for the film.
Murray Woroner and sportscaster Guy LeBow provided commentary on the boxing action. The sounds of the crowd were added to give the impression of being ringside.
For this fight, age differentials were wiped out by the computer; both Ali and Marciano were at their fighting peak.
The film and audio were edited to make the fight appear realistic.
On Jan. 20, 1970, the Minneapolis Star newspaper announced the fight would be shown at 8 p.m. in the St. Paul Armory.
“The Super Fight” was shown in theaters and halls across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
It grossed $5 million ($40.5 million today).
In the ending broadcast to American and Canadian audiences, Rocky Marciano knocked Muhammad Ali out at 57 seconds of the 13th round with two powerful right-hand body blows and a thunderous left hook to the head.
An alternative ending filmed for European audiences has Ali winning when the referee stops the fight due to facial cuts on Marciano at one minute and twenty seconds of the 13th round.
On Jan. 22, 1970, the Minneapolis Tribune reported most people who saw the fight said it was “the best they had seen in years.”
The movie was released four months after Marciano died in a plane crash Aug. 31, 1969, one day before his 46th birthday, and three weeks after filming the final boxing scenes.
Muhammad Ali died June 3, 2016, at 74.
“The Super Fight,” with assistance from a digital computer, created a dream match between two boxing legends from different generations, transcending eras and sparking the imagination.
Watch it at https://tinyurl.com/SuperFight1970.
