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Muhammad Ali/ Cassius Clay was already a contemporary legendary, having been undefeated, never even been knocked down at the time. Rocky Marciano was the undefeated legend of the past.

The "Super Fight" was a filmed simulated bout between Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano using an NCR-315 computer. The Super Fight was shown around the world in theaters on January 20, 1970 and later broadcast on ABC (1970) and CBS (1977).

The film used 70 sparring sessions between the two, matched up by computer simulation to see which all-time great would win a hypothetical boxing match.

Logistical planning emphasized preserving spontaneity in participant responses, with radio producer Murray Woroner directing that the computer-generated fight outcome remain undisclosed until after the core filming segments were completed. This secrecy enabled the capture of unscripted reactions from Ali and Marciano during separate interview and commentary sessions, which were later synchronized with the simulated action in editing.

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Trivia:

-- Before they began filming in the summer of 1969...Rocky began training and lost 50 pounds and got a new hair piece so he'd look like he did in his prime...(1952-1956 when he was champ).

-- Marciano retired at age 32 in April 1956 at 49-0 with 43 KO's. In his prime he was 5-10 1/2, 185 lbs

-- Ali stood at 31-0 with 23 knockouts before having his title was stripped in 1967 for refusing to join the army in 1967. In his prime he was 6-3, 215

-- [ commenter overview ]: They "boxed" 70 1 minute rounds. All the info about the 2 fighters...(power...heart...chin...conditioning...ability to take a punch ) was fed into a computer...the computer gave a sort of "blow by blow synopsis of the fight and the rounds, matched up to computer probabilities.

At the beginning...Ali would come out and flick at Marciano's toupee'...and he knocked it loose. Ali said he was sorry. It happened 2 more times. Marciano was getting pissed. He worked Ali into a corner and "POW!"...Rocky threw a right hand body shot almost put Ali down! They stopped filming and Ali told the promoter Chris Dundee that he wanted $2,000 more if this was going to continue.(Both fighters were getting $10,000). Dundee sent somebody to the bank and he came back with the money! After that...Ali and Rocky got along just fine.

-- Ali said later that Marciano wasn't easy to hit.. Head punches were limited but body shots were OK. After filming was complete...Ali showed Rocky's friend trainer Lou Duva his arms and his ribs. Ali had pink welts from Rocky's "pulled" punches. He told Duva that Rocky was "crazy".

-- They both became friends and after they wrapped up filming...they agreed to take a bus tour...stop in the inner-cites...and talk to kids about non-violence.

-- Marciano was killed on August 31, 1969 near Newton Iowa in the crash of a small plane...the day before his 46th birthday. Ali's wife said that her husband broke down and cried when he heard the news.

-- Ali told Howard Cosell that he thought Marciano was better than Joe Frazier...and he didn't know if he could have beaten Rocky if both were in their primes! The film was released in Jan.1970 and it was sold out across the country

Grok details on the fight and the simulated bout