Rocky Balboa
 | This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. |
Rocky Balboa | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Robert Balboa 1945 |
| Nationality | Italian American |
| Other names | The Italian Stallion |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 81 |
| Wins | 57 |
| Wins by KO | 51 |
| Losses | 23 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. (born 1945) is a fictional boxer created and portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky series starting in 1976.
Biography
Template:Spoiler Robert "Rocky" Balboa was born in 1945. A Roman Catholic, he started boxing at the age of fifteen, because, as his father said, he had no "brains", so he might as well use his body. By the mid-1970s, he was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, working as an enforcer for a local loan shark and fighting club fights.
He was close friends with Paulie Penino whose sister, Adrian, he would ultimately marry.
In November 1975, Rocky was asked to be the challenger for the “Heavyweight Championship of the World” against reigning champion Apollo Creed after the scheduled challenger Mac Lee Green broke his hand during training. The fight was scheduled for January 1, 1976. Apollo took the fight as a joke and a novelty. Rocky was given a “million-to-one-shot” at winning the belt and a fifty-to-one shot at lasting more than three rounds with Creed. Rocky “went the distance” and was still standing at the end of the fight. Although Rocky lost the fight in a split decision, it didn't matter to him; all he wanted to do was prove he wasn't just another bum from the neighborhood.
Following the fight and some time in the hospital, Rocky married Paulie’s sister, Adrian. Not long afterwards, Adrian was pregnant. Rocky tried to retire from boxing to get a "desk job" and tried do commercials, but lacked the ability to do so, and instead started working in the meat house with his brother-in-law. He was laid off soon after. Apollo Creed wanted a rematch with him to prove that the first fight was a fluke. Taking the risk of permanent blindness due to injuries from the first fight with Apollo, Rocky accepts a rematch, which will take place November 1976. By this time, Rocky is 31 years old. He accepts the rematch against Adrian's wishes. Without her support, his training lacks motivation. Adrian went into premature labor after Paulie yelled at her for not supporting Rocky for the fight. She gave birth to Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Jr., but falls into a coma due to birth complications. Rocky stays by her bedside until she wakes up. When she does, he tells her he will not fight Creed and she tells him that the one thing she wants him to do is "Win." Motivated by the birth of his son and Adrienne’s recovery, he wins at the very last second, beating the 10-count as both Rocky and Apollo fall in the 15th round. Rocky wins the fight with a knock-out, becoming the “Heavyweight Champion of the World.”
Rocky followed this win with ten successful title defenses and an exhibition match with the world wrestling champion, Thunderlips, whom Rocky fought to a draw. An up and coming challenger, Clubber Lang, repeatedly dogs Rocky for a fight despite Rocky's attempts to retire. After finding out that his previous title defenses had been hand picked to make sure he would be able to beat them, Rocky doesn't believe in himself any more. He then lost a match against challenger Clubber Lang This was the same night Rocky’s long-time manager, Mickey Goldmill died. Apollo then came to him and offered his services to train him for a rematch against Clubber. In a fast-paced rematch, Rocky wins and once more becomes the “Heavyweight Champion of the World”.
Apollo and Rocky continue their friendship with Rocky helping Apollo train for an exhibition match against Soviet champion Ivan Drago. During the fight, Rocky has the opportunity to throw in the towel and stop the fight but adheres to Apollo's wishes and lets the fight continue. In this match, Apollo dies after several intense blows to the head. Rocky feels guilty and responsible for Apollo's death and decides to fight Ivan Drago in Russia on Christmas 1985. The fight will not be sanctioned and Rocky has to give up his Heavyweight title in order to fight. Adrian, again, doesn't want him to fight, believing that it is suicide. She tells him that he can't win and does not accompany him to Russia for his training. She changes her mind and decides to support him, telling him that she's with him, "no matter what." With her support, Rocky's training and focus intensifies. Rocky wins the non-title battle in the ring against Drago, and wins the Soviet crowd's support in the process.
Following his return from the Soviet Union, Balboa learned that his accountant stole all of his money after his brother-in-law unknowingly gave him power of attorney. Balboa was forced to retire upon learning that his years in the ring had left him with brain damage.
Balboa reopened Mighty Mick's Boxing and began training fighters. One of his boxers,Tommy “The Machine” Gunn, proved to be an up-and-comer in the heavyweight division and Rocky was seen as something of a sucess as a trainer. Ultimately, Gunn left Balboa on bad terms and signed with controversial promoter George Washington Duke who promised Gunn a title shot. As promised Gunn got his shot and won the heavyweight championship. After Gunn's victory many in the media chided him for not having the heart of Balboa. Feeling that they had unfinished business, Gunn sought Balboa out and badgered him into a street fight which Balboa won.
In 1995, Balboa opened a restaurant named Adrian's in Philadelphia. He decorated the restaurant with mementos from his boxing days and would often regale customers with tales of his time in the ring.
Adrian Balboa later developed cancer in 2002.
Balboa applied for and was granted a boxing licence in order to participate in an exhibition match against reigning world heavyweight champion Mason "The Line" Dixon which Dixon ultimately won in a split decision.
Balboa's professional record is 57-24-1 with 54 KOs.
Character Origin
Early in my acting career, I realized the only way I would ever prove myself was to create my own role in my own script. On my 29th birthday, I had $106 in the bank. My best birthday present was a sudden revelation that I had to write the kind of screenplay that I personally enjoyed seeing. I relished stories of heroism, great love, dignity, and courage, dramas of people rising above their stations, taking life by the throat and not letting go until they succeeded. But I had so many ideas in my head, I couldn't focus on any one. To cheer myself up, I took the last of my entertainment money and went to see the Ali-Wepner fight on closed circuit TV. Chuck Wepner, a battling, bruising club fighter who had never made the big time, was having his shot. It wasn't at all regarded as a serious battle. But as the fight progressed, this miracle unfolded. He hung in there. People went absolutely crazy. Wepner was knocked out in the 15th and final round, almost lasting the distance. We had witnessed an incredible triumph of the human spirit and we loved it. That day, Rocky Balboa was born. He is a man of the streets. People looked on him as the all-American tragedy, a man without much mentality and few social graces. But he has deep emotion and spirituality and good patriotism. And he has a good nature, although nature has not been particularly good to him. I have always seen him as a 20th Century gladiator in a pair of sneakers. Like so many of us, he is out of sync with the times. To all this, I injected doses of my own personal life, of my frustration at not getting anywhere.
— Sylvester Stallone[1]
Partial List of Rocky’s Opponents
Rocky Balboa: The Drink
Inspired by the character, the Rocky Balboa Drink is meant to represent each of his major opponents from the movies, and the character himself. The drink includes: two parts apple cider (for Apollo Creed's All-American pageantry), one part spiced rum (Clubber Lang's spicy attitude), one part vodka (Ivan Drago), one part light American beer (Tommy Gunn), and one part orange juice (for Mason Dixon, who is from Tampa Bay). In addition, the orange juice gives the drink a "punchy" flavor. The cider has two parts to represent Apollo's added importance to the saga. The drink is topped off with a raw egg. [unreliable source?]
References
- ^ Stallone, Sylvester Origin of Rocky Balboa, totalrocky.com
External links
- BalboaPension.Org - parody-based fan fiction on the life and times of Rocky Balboa.
- 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.
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