ul

[Lynelle Staudt]

While the story of his first film is loosely inspired by Chuck Wepner, a boxer who fought Muhammad Ali and lost on a TKO in the 15th round, the inspiration for the name, iconography and fighting style came from boxing legend Rocco Francis "Rocky Marciano" Marchegiano, though his surname coincidentally also resembles that of Middleweight Boxing Champion Thomas Rocco "Rocky Graziano" Barbella.

ul

The first film begins on November 25, 1975, in the slums of the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Rocky Balboa is fighting Spider Rico in a local boxing ring called the Cambria Fight Club (nicknamed "The Bucket of Blood") inside a chapel. In the second round, Rico hits Balboa with a headbutt, leaving a gash on his forehead. Rocky then delivers a vicious barrage of punches, knocking Rico out. The next day, Rocky stops by the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop, where he meets Adrian Pennino. Adrian is very shy and scared of Rocky's tough appearance, even though Rocky is kind to her and shows her respect. Afterward, Rocky goes to collect a loan for his loan shark boss, Tony Gazzo. Even though the client, Bob, does not have all the money, Rocky does not break his thumbs, despite Gazzo ordering him to do so. Later, Rocky stops by the local boxing gym and finds out that his locker has been replaced by another local contender. Unknown to him, the gym's owner and grizzled former boxer, Mickey Goldmill, does not dislike him, but considers Rocky's potential to be better than his effort. When Rocky leaves for home that night, he sees a young girl named Marie hanging around a bad crowd and walks her home. On the way, Rocky lectures her about staying away from the wrong people. However, once they get to her house, Marie assumes Rocky is trying to flirt with her, and dismisses him. Rocky walks home, frustrated how nothing is going right in his life.

On January 1, 1976, at the Philadelphia Spectrum, Rocky has his match with Creed, who did not take the fight seriously during training. In the first round, Rocky knocks Creed down, the first time he had ever been knocked down in his career and Creed responds by breaking Rocky's nose, the first time in his career. Creed soon realizes that, although Rocky does not have his level of skills, he has crippling, sledgehammer-like power and is determined to keep fighting. The match becomes a long and grueling battle for both competitors. Up into the 14th round, Rocky is nearly knocked out but manages to get back up and delivers some hard body shots, breaking Creed's ribs just before the bell. The 15th round comes to naught and Rocky manages to pummel Creed until the bell rings once more. It is the first time an opponent had lasted the full 15 rounds against him and as a result, it ends up with a split decision, Creed wins the fight and holds on to his title. Both combatants, battered beyond belief, agree that there would be no rematch. Rocky clearly doesn't mind about the outcome, as he only wanted to go the distance with Creed. After the match, Adrian climbs into the ring and embraces Rocky saying, "I love you!"

Rocky's intentions were originally just to compete in small, local fights, but with the publicity of Rocky's return right on the heels of the embarrassing computer simulation, Mason Dixon's promoters convince Rocky to challenge the champ in an exhibition match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Originally against fighting an aged Rocky, Dixon recognizes the opportunity to fight a legend and hopes to end all prognosticating about who would win as well as contentions that he has never had a truly great opponent or memorable match. In the press, commentators dismiss Rocky's chances and the merits of the fight, assuming that it will be one-sided due to Rocky's age, despite their original excitement with Rocky's return to the ring, and their doubts regarding Dixon's ability. Before the fight, the boxing record that was presented for each boxer was, for Rocky: 57 wins (54 by KO), 23 losses, and 1 draw; for Dixon: 33 wins (30 by KO).

As news of the bout spreads, Robert begins to feel more pressure from being Rocky's son and makes an effort to discourage Rocky from fighting, blaming his own personal failings on his father's celebrity shadow, but Rocky rebukes him with some profound advice: to succeed in life, "it ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward" and that blaming others won't help him. The day after this debate, father and son meet over Adrian's grave and reconcile, which is when Robert announces that he has resigned from his job to be at ringside. Rocky also reunites with his old trainer, Duke, and both men quickly realize that age and arthritis have sapped Rocky of any speed he once possessed. They decide to focus on one major remaining weapon: power.

When the match begins, it appears to be as lopsided as everyone predicted, with Dixon's speed allowing him to dominate Rocky at will, knocking him down twice early on. However, the champion soon realizes that Rocky will not back down and that the elderly Rocky "has bricks in his gloves". The tide turns when Dixon injures his hand while punching Rocky. This evens the playing field and allows Rocky to mount an offense, knocking Dixon down for the first time in the latter's career. During the subsequent rounds, Dixon's injury numbs up, which enables him to throw much harder punches and pose a threat to Rocky. In the final round, it starts out slow for both combatants. After a brief exchange of punches, Dixon catches Rocky with a strong blow, knocking down Rocky for the third time. As Rocky takes the knee, he looks to Robert in the corner and has flashbacks of his time with Adrian, remembering what she said to him about never giving up. As he slowly gets up, the crowd, along with Marie, starts to chant his name and he rises to Dixon's surprise. As the final thirty seconds unfold, Dixon manages to catch Rocky with quick punches; however, an emotional Rocky retaliates with devastating punches of his own. The two exchange punches, but Rocky gets the final blow before the bell rings. In the end, the two fighters go the distance and show their appreciation for each other. Before the winner is announced, Rocky and his entourage make their way out of the ring in celebration. As Dixon is announced the winner by split decision [3]), Rocky thanks each and every one of his group and, with Robert and Paulie by his side, they turn Rocky around and raise his arms as the audience gives him a heartfelt standing ovation. Dixon is finally recognized as being a warrior for fighting through every round and Rocky proves to the world that he is no joke, mirroring the ending of the first film.

Rocky and Tony "Little Duke" Evers (Wood Harris) take Donnie to a decrepit location in the California desert to retrain, describing it as a place where fighters are "reborn". Donnie undergoes a rigorous and brutal training regimen with Rocky, focusing on fighting from the inside and training his body to repeatedly absorb the heavy impact he knows he will receive from Viktor in the ring. Rocky accompanies Donnie as they hold their rematch with Viktor in Moscow; Donnie withstands Viktor's blows and wins the match after Drago throws in the towel. Rocky doesn't join Donnie's celebration, saying that it's "his time," and watches in contentment from outside the ring.

Shortly after, Paulie passes away and Rocky's relationship with his son becomes strained due to Robert distancing himself from any contact with him, leaving him alone again. A few years later, he meets Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of his old friend, Apollo Creed, who asks him to come train him. After initially declining to, Rocky agreed and the two would have a father-son relationship. Eventually, Rocky learns he's been diagnosed with cancer and turns down treatment, seeing it as a chance to be reunited with his loved ones, although Adonis convinces him to keep fighting and decides to take treatment, saving him. When Adonis's wife, Bianca, gave birth to a daughter, Rocky was named her godfather.

The name, iconography, and fighting style of Rocky Balboa was inspired by the legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano from Brockton, Massachusetts and from the 5 times world champion Roberto 'Manos de Piedra (Hands of Stone)' Durán, from Panama, where the Balboa is the official currency. Balboa was also inspired by other fighting legends: Joe Frazier, for his Philadelphia origin, training methods and victory against Muhammad Ali (the inspiration for Apollo Creed), and Jake LaMotta, for his Italian-inner city roots, ability to absorb many blows and his rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson, which heavily resembled Rocky and Apollo's. However, it was Chuck Wepner who inspired the movie and Balboa's underdog personality.

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started when I was 12 years old as a way to get in shape and spend time with my father. That was Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and within a year, I was training MMA.
What ranks and titles have you held? I earned my black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and I had one amateur championship in Brazil.
Do you have any heroes? My father. There are also many teammates and coaches that I look up to.
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? It's a dream come true -- but it's only the beginning.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I actually left college to pursue MMA, so unfortunately I didn't graduate. I would like to go back someday.
What was your job before you started fighting? Fighting has always been my full-time focus, since I was 13, so I haven't worked much outside of the sport.
Favorite grappling technique: Anaconda choke
Favorite Striking technique: Leg kicks

The rematch is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with Creed serving as Rocky's new manager for Mickey's legacy and Tony and Paulie being the cornermen. This time, Apollo gave Rocky a box that has a new boxer shorts of red, white and blue after he wore them in the first superfight. At the start of the fight, Rocky sprints from his corner, fighting with a level of skill and spirit that no one expected. As a result, Rocky dominates the first round. After the bell, Lang is in a fit of rage and has to be restrained by his trainers. In the second round, Rocky starts as he did in the first. However, Lang gains the upper hand; from here he dominates Rocky, knocking him down twice. Getting up from the second KD, Rocky adopts a strategy that bewilders Apollo (and Lang) by intentionally taking a beating from Lang while taunting him for being unable to knock him out. The round ends with a verbal altercation between Lang and Rocky.

b9b4d2437c