Stream On: the armed robbery that made Atlanta the ‘Black Mecca’
‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ is the true story of Muhammad Ali’s return to boxing in 1970 and the notorious robbery at an after-party in Atlanta.
On October 26, 1970, Muhammad Ali triumphantly returned to the world of boxing in Atlanta, Georgia. But every national front-page headline the next morning featured the story of the largest Black-on-Black heist in history. At the center of it all was a hustler named “Chicken Man.”
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist is an American crime drama television miniseries created by Shaye Ogbonna, based on the 2020 podcast of the same name.
FIGHT NIGHT: THE MILLION DOLLAR HEIST
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“Doubt is the Devil’s drug—and faith is the elixir.” (Chicken Man)
Chicken Man, like most of the characters in Fight Night, was a historical figure. Named Gordon Williams, he was a small-time hustler and numbers runner in Atlanta, who saw an opportunity and stepped up.
In 1970, Muhammad Ali had gone more than three years without fighting due to his decision to opt out of the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector. Ali was stripped of his boxing titles and banned from the sport. Twenty-two states refused to grant Ali a boxing license, but Georgia State Senator Leroy Johnson, described as “the most powerful Black elected official in the South at the time,” issued Ali a boxing license and hosted his highly anticipated return on October 26, 1970, against one of the best heavyweights in the world at the time, Jerry Quarry.
Chicken Man (Kevin Hart) hears about a post-fight house party in honor of Frank Moten (Samuel L. Jackson), New York’s “Black Godfather,” and determines to run it, at his own house, inviting as many high-profilers as he can. Meanwhile, Detective J.D. Hudson (Don Cheadle), twenty years before, one of Atlanta’s first Black policemen, is assigned to lead Muhammad Ali’s security detail. He’s not happy about it.
As the first episode, “Round One: The Ballad of Chicken Man,” opens, a card reads “Based on some sh-t that really happened.” Frank Moten is pointing a handgun in Chicken Man’s face. “You do believe in God? Then test-i-fy!” Chicken Man cowers.
“Amen, then.” And Frank pulls the trigger. The camera goes into reverse, past the beginning of the short scene, reversing at a high speed through backwards gunfights, careening cars, a boxing match, and scenes from a party, to “2 weeks ago.”
Two men are talking. Chicken Man says, “You know, they burned Atlanta to the ground! Down to the ashes: General Sherman, like they did in that Gone With the Wind. Yeah, but Atlanta rolls up, rebuilt. How we do that? ’Cause of us, ’cause of Black folk; that’s how we did it.
“Speaking of hustle—this Muhammad Ali fight? This here when Atlanta turn them ashes into gold.”
The undertaker says, “Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Chicken Man picks up the undertaker’s betting slip for the day’s numbers and gets into his car. He’s a true believer, and through a mighty effort, fighting through his fear, succeeds in luring the nation’s powerful Black demi-monde to the “party of the century.” But he’s too busy to see that some hard cases also catch wind of the party and set about to rob it.
The production is replete with the colorful outfits and cars of 1970 Atlanta; it’s partly an homage to the blaxploitation films of the decade, and looks great. The writing, direction and acting are all excellent. (Dexter Darden as Muhammad Ali steals every scene he’s in. Unhappy with Det. Hudson’s protection, he says, “I get saddled with the Black Andy Griffith!”) The music, of course, is perfect. This action-packed dramatic series with a touch of comedy is a winner. With Terrence Howard as Moten associate Richard “Cadillac Richie” Wheeler.
Sources include iHeart.com; Forbes.com; Time.com; and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED).
Pete Hummers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to earn fees by linking Amazon.com and affiliate sites. This adds nothing to Amazon's prices. This column originally appeared on The Outer Banks Voice.