It was a chilla, and a thrilla...

... when Ali got tossed
across the ring by this Gorilla.

In the summer of '76, Ali unexpectedly jumped into the ring at a wrestling match in Philly to challenge the 6'5", 350-pound Gorilla Monsoon. He stripped off his shirt, threw a few lazy jabs at the Gorilla, only to have Monsoon pick him up and throw him on his ass, at which point the Champ hightailed it out of the ring.

The incident would later provide Stallone with the inspiration for the Thunderlips battle in Rocky III. Here's what the Gorilla had to say about the incident years afterward:

"Ali was trying to get publicity for an upcoming gimmick fight for a fortune against a Japanese wrestler (Antonio Inoki) and he apparently wanted to use me as a warm-up for publicity. I was in the ring, waiting for my regular match, when Ali jumped through the ropes, kicked off his shoes, tore off his shirt, and began screaming at me. I picked him up and tossed him to the mat with a ‘giant swing.’ But I gave him a break and didn’t use my ‘Manchurian splash.’ "

Monsoon insisted that he knew nothing of the stunt beforehand. "I never saw him (Ali) before and haven’t seen him since," he said.