'Fight Night's wild history: The true story of Muhammad Ali's return and a gangster heist
The spectacular premise of Peacock's "Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist" seems like pure fiction: Gun-toting robbers force the country's most notorious gangsters to give up $1 million in cash and jewels at a secret afterparty following Muhammad Ali's triumphant return to boxing.
Even Atlanta-based executive producer Will Packer was blown away when he learned about the brazen burglary that really happened after Ali's Atlanta bout on Oct. 26, 1970.
"It was like, 'Yo, how have I never heard of this heist?' This is crazy," says Packer, who also executive produced the 2020 iHeart "Fight Night" podcast on which the dramatic TV series is based. "A bunch of gangsters get robbed after a Muhammad Ali fight, and it flips the city of Atlanta upside down. Still, to this day, it's the biggest heist in Georgia history."
Peacock's "Fight Night" takes dramatic liberties in telling the story centered on ambitious local hustler Gordon “Chicken Man” Williams (Kevin Hart). Williams makes moves throwing the lavish party to impress the Black Mafia, including "Black Godfather" Frank Moten (Samuel L. Jackson), who rules New York's underworld, and his New Jersey associate, Richard "Cadillac" Wheeler (Terrence Howard).
Here's what's remarkably true in "Fight Night" (first three episodes now streaming).
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Muhammad Ali returned to boxing in Atlanta, which lit a flame in his heart
Ali (Dexter Darden) had been sidelined, banned from boxing for more than three years after refusing to be inducted into the U.S. military during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector. While many states refused to grant Ali a boxing license, powerful Georgia state Senator Leroy Johnson (RonReaco Lee) pushed through Ali's comeback bout in Atlanta against heavyweight boxer Jerry Quarry, (dubbed “The Great White Hope").
The sold-out event at Atlanta Municipal Auditorium drew international attention, celebrities (Sidney Poitier, Arthur Ashe and Diana Ross), politicians and prominent gangsters from around the country.
"It was this elite Black crowd from all walks of life coming down to what was slowly becoming a Black city, Atlanta," says Shaye Ogbonna, "Fight Night" creator and executive producer. "It was the gangster class, it was rich folks, it was celebrities all coming together."
In the third round, Ali landed a punch that opened a gash over Quarry's eye, leading to a technical knockout and jubilation around Atlanta.
Ali's boxing rebirth was a big night for Atlanta and the beginning of a special relationship between the city and the legendary boxer. This culminated with the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, where Ali famously lit the Olympic Cauldron to start the games.
"Ali fell in love with Atlanta and came back many times," says Packer. "But obviously, the iconic moment is Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame."
The 'Chicken Man' afterparty turned into a shotgun robbery
Scores of fashionably dressed partygoers descended in limousines to Williams' house for the post-fight party with special-made engraved invitations. They were met inside by two masked armed robbers, one brandishing a sawed-off shotgun, who herded them into the house's basement.
The guests were ordered to strip down to their underwear and give up their cash and jewelry, which police later calculated to total over $1 million (about $8 million today).
Ogbonna discovered he grew up close to the neighborhood where the infamous party was held, shooting the actual party-house exterior for "Fight Night." Even on his day off from shooting, Jackson showed up to watch.
"Sam just walked on set and was taking it all in," says Ogbonna. "His wife is from the neighborhood, and he got married right around the corner. He was like a historian. So many real things happened in this story."
Williams, who earned his colorful "Chicken Man" nickname from the chicken sandwiches he doled out, was suspected immediately of orchestrating the heist because it was his house and party. And there was another suspicious detail: The stripped-down Williams was the only guest wearing long underwear on the chilly October night, suggesting he was prepared. Williams credibly maintained he had nothing to do with the robbery until he died in 2014.
J.D. Hudson was charged with protecting Ali and solving the robbery
J.D. Hudson (Don Cheadle), one of Atlanta’s first Black detective lieutenants, played two major roles in the "Fight Night" affair. First, Hudson was charged with protecting Ali before and during the fight, escorting the fighter to the ring and then scanning the crowd for trouble.
After the robbery, Hudson was tasked with solving the sensational million-dollar crime.
"J.D. Hudson is a story onto himself, one of the first Black policemen in the South in the '70s," says Ogbonna. "He's a very complicated character and we get to see police work from a Black perspective, dealing with everything Hudson had to deal with."
The gangsters got at least some of their robbery revenge before Hudson and his police colleagues solved the crime.
On May 26, 1971 The New York Times reported that two men shot dead in the Bronx were linked to the Atlanta robbery.
"We said last fall it was just a question of who caught up with them first – the police or the victims,” Hudson is quoted saying. “It appears the victims got there first.”