Rocky Balboa

Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr was a legendary boxer, famous for his indomitable spirit, his extreme tenacity, ferocious body attack, and above all, for fighting with his heart. He was acted by Sylvester Stalone.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Robert "Rocky" Balboa was born on July 6, 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Roman Catholic, he quit school after the ninth grade. Rocky had plenty of street smarts growing up in the rough South Philadelphia slums. He did what he could, even if it meant fighting, to survive. According to his father, Rocky wasn't born with my brains, which he compensated with his brawns, working out and training himself for boxing. In his early 20s, Rocky befriended Mickey Goldmill, the owner of Mighty Mick's Boxing, a local boxing gym where Rocky often trained His first professional win was against Philadelphia Heavyweight Champion, Pappa John Gomez. ^[1]

He also began fighting on the local club circuit around this time. Realizing that he couldn't live on the rather meager pay of small club fights, and being unable to find work anywhere else, Rocky took a job as an enforcer for Tony Gazzo, the local loan shark, just to make ends meet. By late 1975, Rocky had fought in 64 fights, winning 44 (38 KO'S) and losing 20. A source of pride for Balboa was that he never had his nose broken in a professional fight (although he eventually suffered a broken nose in his first fight with Apollo Creed). His closest friend has always been Paulie Pennino, whose sister, Adrian Pennino, Rocky would ultimately marry.^[1]

[edit] An opportunity

Rocky got his big break when heavyweight champion Apollo Creed decided to give some local Philadelphia talent a chance to fight for his title after his scheduled opponent, Mack Lee Green, suffered a hand injury and was unable to fight. Apollo selected Rocky mainly because of his nickname, "The Italian Stallion." Rocky initially refused, saying that a fight between the heavyweight champion and a simple club fighter like himself would not be a very good matchup, but Jergens, the fight's promoter, convinced him that an opportunity like this was one in a million, and he shouldn't pass it by. Rocky then accepted. Eventually, Mickey Goldmill visited Rocky to his home and offered to help him train for the fight, to which Rocky reacts with bitterness as Rocky asked for help for a long time only to be rejected, and even recently lost his locker after Mickey took it from him, practically kicking him out of the gym. After venting out his emotions over his frustration, Rocky accepts Mickey as his manager, and began training under him. On New Year's Day 1976, Rocky Balboa faced Apollo Creed in the Philadelphia Spectrum for the heavyweight title. Rocky pulled off a miracle by becoming the only fighter to go the distance with the champion. However, Apollo was awarded the split-decision victory.^[1]

[edit] The rematch

After that first fight, Rocky intended to retire from boxing and settle into a normal life with his wife Adrian, whom he married in March 1976. Apollo, however, was bitter over the fight's subsequent fallout. He may have won by decision, but he felt he didn't take the fight as seriously as he should have, and that Rocky just got lucky. He was heavily criticized in the media and by boxing fans, being accused of having the fight fixed and being called a "disgrace to the sport." Apollo felt that the only way to redeem himself was by challenging Rocky to a rematch. Meanwhile, Rocky was having difficulty finding work. ^[2]

Eventually, he got a job at the meat-packing plant where Paulie worked, but this job was short-lived. Rocky came to realize that fighting was what he's supposed to be doing. With Adrian's blessing, Rocky once again trained with Mickey. The big rematch, dubbed Superfight II, was again held at the Spectrum on Thanksgiving Day 1976. The fight was a particularly brutal one, with both fighters falling to the ground exhausted toward the end of the final round. Racing against the referee's ten-count and each other, Rocky and Apollo wearily climbed the ropes to be the first on his feet. Rocky was the first to get up, and was declared the new heavyweight champion of the world.^[2]

[edit] The new challenge

Clubber Lang and Rocky before the match.

After his tenth title defense, Rocky was challenged by a newcomer named Clubber Lang, a Chicago-based fighter who quickly climbed the ranks to become the number one contender for Rocky's title. During a ceremony on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum in Rocky's honor, Clubber showed up and presented a challenge. Rocky agreed, but Mickey wanted no part of it. He felt that Rocky had gone soft since winning his title and wouldn't stand a chance against a "wrecking machine" like Clubber. Rocky, however, dismissed Clubber as just another fighter, and finally convinced Mickey to train him for one last fight. On the night of August 15, 1981, Rocky and Clubber met at the Spectrum for the title fight. During a pre-fight melee, Clubber inadvertently shoved Mickey to the ground, causing him to suffer a heart attack. Unable to concentrate on the fight, Rocky suffered a humiliating defeat when Clubber knocked him out in the second round and was crowned the new heavyweight champion. In the locker room after the fight, Rocky had one last conversation with Mickey before he passed away. ^[3]

Rocky was devastated by the loss of his mentor and friend. Alone in Mickey's Gym one night, Rocky received a surprise visit from the former champ Apollo Creed, who offered to help Rocky win the title back. After some apprehension, Rocky agreed to Apollo's proposal. Apollo then took Rocky to the Watts section of Los Angeles, where he trained him in the same way that Apollo himself was trained. With Apollo now in his corner, Rocky was prepared to take on Clubber Lang in the much-anticipated rematch held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Rocky was able to defeat Clubber in the third round and regain his title. Rocky and Apollo remained good friends for several years. They even made a tradition of having friendly "rematches" at Mickey's Gym. ^[3]

[edit] East versus West

Ivan vs. Rocky in the Red Stadium.

In early 1985, a Soviet amateur boxer named Ivan Drago arrived in America. His trainer boasted to the press about Drago's incredible strength, and that they would like to set up an exhibition bout with Rocky. Apollo, however, caught wind of this and was immediately turned off by what he saw as arrogance on the part of the Russian trainers. One day while visiting the Balboa residence, Apollo told Rocky of his intent to come out of retirement and fight Drago himself. Both Rocky and Adrian were against the idea, and Rocky wasn't afraid to let it be known to his friend. Apollo had been retired for the past five years, and not much was actually known about the Russian newcomer. Apollo, however, was able to convince Rocky to help him out one more time. ^[4]

In a grand spectacle held at the MGM Grand Hotel, Apollo and Drago faced off in what was supposed to be a friendly charity exhibition match. Instead, Drago unleashed all his strength on the former champion, finally delivering a fatal blow in the second round. Devastated at having lost another close friend, Rocky decided that he had to face Drago himself. Adrian was very much against it, fearing that Rocky would have the same fate as Apollo. Rocky told her that it was something he had to do. In order to fight Drago, however, Rocky had to relinquish his title, since the Boxing Commission refused to sanction the fight. Another catch was that Rocky had to live and train in a remote cabin in the snowy Siberian wilderness, and the fight was to take place on Christmas Day in Moscow. Rocky agreed to all of this and got on a plane to Russia, accompanied by Paulie and Tony "Duke" Evers, Apollo's former trainer. Rocky knew that he would have to basically train himself for the next few months leading up to the fight, but Duke let him know that he would be there for him. A few weeks into training, Adrian showed up much to Rocky's surprise. She had always been his greatest inspiration, and her presence provided Rocky with even more focus and drive. ^[4]

On Christmas Day 1985, the two fighters met in Moscow for the globally telecast event. Rocky wore Apollo's red, white and blue trunks for the fight to honor his memory. Everybody in the audience and, by extent, the entire Soviet Union was cheering for Ivan Drago, but this did not budge Rocky in the least. It was a bloody battle, with Rocky receiving the full brunt of Drago's strength, but he managed to hold his own. In the beginning of the fight, it seemed that Rocky's fight would go the same way as Apollo's did, with Drago brutally maiming or killing Rocky, but the tables began to turn soon when Rocky landed a haymaker and cut the Siberian Bull near the eye. Drago also began to gain a certain measure of respect for Balboa, and before the last round said to him, "To the end." His determination eventually began to win over the initially-hostile Russian crowd, and, in the last few seconds of the fight, Rocky knocked Drago to the canvas, defeating him.^[4]

In the locker room immediately after the fight, Rocky started feeling nauseous and his hands began shaking uncontrollably. He had never experienced such sensations after a fight before, and it worried him. All he wanted at that moment was to have Adrian by his side, and he sent Duke to get her. Adrian became frightened by what Rocky was telling her, and insisted that he needed to see a doctor right away. Rocky, however, just wanted to return home. They were on the next flight back to America.^[5]

[edit] Retirement and the return to South Philadelphia

At the press conference held at the airport upon returning home, a flamboyant promoter named George Washington Duke showed up and challenged Rocky to fight Duke's protege, Union Cane. Rocky, however, easily blew off the challenge and headed back home with his family.^[5]

That evening, Rocky overheard an argument between Adrian and Paulie. It turned out that during their stay in Russia, Paulie had inadvertently given power of attorney to the Balboas' shady accountant, who then disappeared with their fortune. The family's lawyer also revealed that their mortgage was not entirely paid off, and that Rocky still owed six years of back taxes. There was no choice but to auction off their home and possessions. To add insult to injury, a visit to the doctor's office confirmed that Rocky was suffering from Cavum septum pellucidum, a condition common to boxers who take too many hard hits to the head. This effectively ended his fighting career. The announcement of Rocky's official retirement made headlines.^[5]

Luckily, Paulie had kept his old home in South Philadelphia, and in 1986, the family packed up and moved back into the modest home. Rocky assured Adrian that the move would only be temporary. ^[5]

[edit] Tommy Gunn

Some time later, Rocky reopened Mickey's old gym, Mighty Mick's Gym, and was approached by a young fighter named Tommy Gunn. Tommy came from Oklahoma, and was eager to meet Rocky, with the intent of showing him how good of a fighter he was and hoped Rocky would become his manager after seeing him in action. At first, Rocky was unsure about the idea, not considering himself manager material, but he eventually began to see his younger self in Tommy, and feeling he could pass on some of Mickey's teachings to Tommy, he not only accepted to become his manager, but also offered him to stay with his family. Starting then, Rocky began to relive the older days; he was Mick, and Tommy was Rocky, and since he had to retire, he felt that through Tommy, he would feel like he would win again, feel in his prime again.^[5] This unfortunately had a bad side effect, as Rocky became so focused on his role as Tommy's manager, and Tommy himself, that he began to neglect his son, rapidly severing the bond between the two. That bond would be rekindled later.

The more Tommy fought, the more he became famous, but all for the wrong reasons. If the media referred to Tommy, it was indirectly through Rocky (i.e. "Rocky's Gunn aims at the title!"), and Tommy became frustrated for being trapped in Rocky's shadow. George Washington Duke tempted him with promises of fame and riches, and Tommy alligned himself with him instead of Rocky. He was also given a chance at the title, something he wanted very eagerly. During the match between Union Cane and Tommy, Rocky watched the match through television rather excitedly, cheering him on and even punching his punching bag in symetry with Tommy's punches. When Tommy won the match, Rocky literally screamed and jumped in joy, and when Tommy was about to thank the man whom he described as the one that got him there, and Rocky smiled as he knew he was talking about him, or so he thought. Hearing Tommy give all the credits to Duke and thank him for everything, followed by the crowd showing great displeasure towards Tommy, and praising Rocky instead, while on his end, Rocky lost all the excitement and his smile from the event, and after his son tried to recomfort him, Paulie asked him to go out with him to take his mind out of all of this.

After being insulted by the media in comparison to Rocky, and his frustration and rage fueled by Duke in his scheme to get Tommy to taunt Rocky into a ring, they both went to look for Rocky in town, and after finding him, began taunting him into fighting him in a ring; Tommy, however, vented off his anger at Rocky, the very man who trained him to become the fighter that he is and the one who genuinely cared for him, who was prepared to ignore him until Paulie began criticizing Tommy. The new champion's response was to punch Paulie down, resulting in an angered Rocky to challenge him into trying to knock him down now. Duke tried to stop the imminent fight by saying that Tommy would only fight in the ring. Rocky followed by saying, "My ring's outside." This triggered a street fight between the two former friends.

Surrounded by a crowd, which was entirely on Rocky's side, Rocky took the initiative by punching Tommy down, then expressed his disappointment in how they should've been friends, like brothers, two fingers of the same hand, and walked off. However, Tommy got back up and attacked Rocky from behind. A few of the crowd attempted to help Rocky out of this back attack, resulting in them being punched out by a wild Tommy. After taking a brief beating from Tommy, Rocky began having flashbacks of his horrifying fight with Ivan Drago, and lost his focus almost completely over what was happening until he began having flashbacks of Mickey instead, with the words, "Get up and fight, you son-of-a-bitch, 'cause Mickey loves ya!" echoing through his head.

Completely rejuvenated, Rocky got back on his feet, and taunted Tommy into fighting "one more round" with him. Cheered on by the crowd, which now included his wife and son, Rocky eventually knocked his former pupil out.^[5] He then approached Duke, who threatened to sue him should he lay a finger on him, but Rocky knocked him down with an uppercut and nonchalantly asked him, "Sue me for what?"

[edit] Later life

Rocky completely moved on from the boxing world after the Tommy Gunn incident, and in 1995, opened a small Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. He named it Adrian's, after his beloved wife. The walls of the place were adorned with several family photos as well as magazine covers and pictures from throughout Rocky's fighting career. The patrons loved it when Rocky would visit their table and tell them stories about his past fights.^[6]

Rocky's world came crashing down in 2002 when Adrian succumbed to ovarian cancer. Every year afterward, on the anniversary of her death, Rocky would visit Adrian's grave and tour all of the places (Rocky's old apartment, the site of the old skating rink and J&M Tropical Fish, the pet store where Adrian worked for years) that held some significance to them.^[6]

By early 2005, Rocky was pushing 60 and living out his days mainly focusing on his restaurant, his financial troubles long behind him. No longer the huge celebrity he once was, he was content with the modest life he'd been living for the past fifteen years, although he continued to be recognized on the streets and receive friendly greetings from fellow Philadelphians. He even managed to reconnect with a woman named Marie, who, as a young girl, Rocky had saved from going down the wrong path in life.^[6]

[edit] The final round

Mason Dixon.

After catching the ESPN-broadcast virtual reality contest Then and Now between Rocky Balboa in his prime and the current heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon, in which Rocky was proclaimed the winner, he felt a desire to get back into the ring once more. Ever since losing Adrian, Rocky had felt like a beast was eating away at him inside, and he felt a few small local fights would pull him back out of his lonely state. His decision to return to boxing was ridiculed by nearly everyone, including Paulie and Robert. He was even initially turned down by the boxing commission when he applied for a boxing license. The eventually granted it when they discovered, through more advanced medial equipment, that Rocky's brain damage was not as severe as was originally thought years ago.^[6]

Mason's manager, L.C., was well aware of the buzz that the ESPN contest was generating, and saw the potential in putting on an actual exhibition bout between Rocky and Mason. L.C. showed up at the restaurant and proposed the idea to Rocky. After some thinking over and speaking with Robert, Paulie and Marie, Rocky accepted. He knew the fight would help him to excise the beast from inside him.^[6] After going the distance with Mason, the fight ended and the latter won by split-decision. However, Rocky already began walking out before this was even declared. The beast he felt that was eating him from the inside disappeard after the fight ended, and Rocky found peace in himself.

After the fight, Rocky visited Adrian's grave, claiming that he never would've done anything without her. Before kissing her grave, he spoke his last words in the franchise, "Yo Adrian, we did it. We did it." He then walked away, waving at Adrian, and the viewers, before fading away.

[edit] Boxing Style

Though right-handed, Rocky fights as a southpaw (left handed). He's a hybrid-fighter, possessing the qualities of an Inside-fighter, brawler, and swarmer. With the exception of his rematch against Clubber Lang where he fights as an Outside-fighter, he advances quickly upon his opponents, driving them into the ropes and setting upon them with a devastating body attack. Rocky is well known for wearing opponents down over the course of a bout.

Balboa's iron jaw allows him to take brutal punishment throughout his fights. With an iron will, he is known for overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to triumph over his opponents. It is this trait that inspires fans worldwide, sending the message that nothing is out of reach if one believes in himself. Balboa, as stated by Jim Lampley during the fight against Mason Dixon, is renowned for his "cast iron jaw, ferocious body attack, and will of steel; all of which carried him to victories over the years against physically superior opponents". Rocky has an uncanny ability to sense weakness in his opponents, seizing every opportunity to capitalize on a momentum shift in his fights. No matter how exhausted and battered, Balboa pushes his offensive edge. In the first title fight with Apollo Creed, announcer Stu Nahan refers to Rocky as a "bull in a china shop" after witnessing the offensive onslaught. Rocky's official pro record is 57 wins, (51 by KO) and 22 loses.

The fight scenes in the last movie, Rocky Balboa, are considered to be the most realistic in film history, with many boxing experts considering Stallone's in-ring performance to be his best ever.

[edit] Appearances

• Rocky I (First appearance)

• Rocky II
• Rocky III
• Rocky IV
• Rocky V
• Rocky Balboa
• Rocky video game
• Rocky: Legends
• Ivan Drago: Justice Enforcer (Non-canonical appearance)

[edit] Trivia

• He was once a smoker.
• Though he fights as a southpaw, Rocky writes with his right hand.
• His car's registration plate reads "S0THPAW".
• Though he is responsible for the popularization of the red, white and blue trunks in popular culture, Balboa wore a combination of black and gold for the majority of his career, including the rematch with Apollo Creed. The red, white, and blue trunks were - in fact - a present from Creed for the rematch against Lang, and a tribute following his death.
• Authorities in the Serbian village of Žitište have built a monument to Rocky.
• Rocky had defeated 3 previously undefeated fighters: Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, and Ivan Drago.
• Rocky was mentioned in Mims' song Like This.

[edit] External links

• Report on Rocky 6 and comparison to Rocky Marciano
• AUDIO: Sylvester Stallone on boxing and faith
• Statue Photo of Rocky Balboa statue at Philadelphia Museum.

[edit] References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Rocky I
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Rocky II
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Rocky III
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Rocky IV
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5} Rocky V
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} Rocky Balboa