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Rocky Balboa (character)
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Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. is a fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky series from 1976 to 2006. By the end of the series, he is a two-time former Heavyweight Champion of the World.
rt Balboa was born in 1945 as the only child to a Roman Catholic Italian-American family. Young Rocky was always insulted by his father due to his low intelligence.
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Encyclopedia
Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. is a fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky series from 1976 to 2006. By the end of the series, he is a two-time former Heavyweight Champion of the World.
Fictional character biography
Rocky
Robert Balboa was born in 1945 as the only child to a Roman Catholic Italian-American family. Young Rocky was always insulted by his father due to his low intelligence. His father once told him that "You weren't born much of a brain so, you better start using your body" This advice led Rocky to take up boxing, and he trained hard so he could grow up to be like his idol Rocky Marciano (evident from his nickname, plus a framed picture in his apartment during the first film). He quit school after the ninth grade. Up to 1975, Balboa was living in the slums of Philadelphia's Kensington section working as an enforcer for a local loan shark while at the same time fighting the local club circuit, including the Cambria Fight Club, nicknamed "The Bucket of Blood". By this time, Rocky had fought in 64 fights, winning 44 (38 knockouts) and losing 20 (as directly mentioned in Rocky). A source of pride for Balboa was that he had never had his nose broken in a professional fight, though this would happen for the first time in the first fight with Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).
Balboa got his big break when the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed decided that he wanted to give an unknown fighter a chance to fight for the title after his intended challenger, Mac Lee Green, broke his hand while training. After some debate, Creed chose to fight Balboa, whom Creed dismissed as a nobody. Local boxing trainer Mickey Goldmill offered to take Balboa under his wing, and be his manager. Rocky first dismissed Mickey's offer citing ulterior motives because of his title shot and how ten years prior he asked for his help and was denied. After the heated conversation in Rocky's studio apartment, Mickey left as Rocky locked himself in his bathroom in an attempt at alienating Mickey as he felt Mickey did up to now. After Mickey leaves, Rocky opens the bathroom door and starts venting at an empty room about his doubts about his fear of a brutal beating by fighting the champ and everyone coming at him for handouts. As Mickey proceeds down the block, away from Rocky's building (who can still be heard venting), Rocky exits his building and approaches Mickey. The two shake hands, signifying a deal on a partnership with Mickey officially as his trainer for the upcoming fight.
On January 1, 1976 at the Philadelphia Spectrum, Rocky went the distance with Creed. Thus Rocky had achieved the goal that he had set out to accomplish - The night before the fight Rocky cannot sleep due to fear of humiliation and admits to his girlfriend Adrian of his concern that as a club fighter he is not even in the same league as Creed who is the Heavyweight Champion of the World - stating "Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood"
After the final bell rang, signifying the end of the war between the two combantants, Creed told Rocky, "Ain't gonna be no rematch!" to which Rocky replied, "Don't want one."
Although Creed won the fight by a split decision, it was the first time an opponent had lasted the full 15 rounds against Creed.
Rocky II
After the first match, whilst at the hospital to receive treatment for their injuries sustained in the fight, Creed hoping to dismiss some public opinion that Balboa had been the actual victor of that fight or that Creed had fixed the bout, Creed changed his mind about not wanting a re-match under the stress of being humiliated by the press for failing to beat Balboa convincingly. Creed demanded a rematch with Balboa stating that he would fight him any place, anywhere, even there and then in the hospital, such was his desire to prove to the press, and the world, that Balboa's feat was purely a fluke. The re-match was set for Thanksgiving '76. The grueling battle was another 15-round war with both Balboa and Creed falling to the canvas after Balboa landed a succession of left hands. Referee Lou Fillipo exercised his 10-count and as both Creed and Balboa struggled to make it to their feet, Creed crumbled back down in exhaustion. Only Rocky was able to get up, getting the better of Creed this time and beating the 10-count winning the rematch by knockout, thus becoming heavyweight champion of the world.
Rocky III
Over the next few years, Balboa successfully defended his title in 10 consecutive defenses against various contenders. In addition, Balboa also fought an exhibition bout against the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan). However, in 1981, Balboa was challenged by newcomer James "Clubber" Lang (Mr. T). Balboa had some issues with his trainer Mickey Goldmill due to his revelation of having faced "hand-picked" challengers that were "good fighters, but not 'killers'"; Mickey insisted that he would quit as Balboa's manager if he chose to fight Lang, but Balboa convinced him to train him for one last match. Lang shoved Goldmill out of the way before the match, sending the elderly trainer into cardiac arrest, which threw Balboa off his game. He was then knocked out in the second round, losing his title; adding to his defeat, Goldmill died of a heart attack after the match, devastating Balboa. Despairing, Balboa was met by Apollo Creed, who, along with his old trainer Tony "Duke" Evers (Tony Burton), offered to train Rocky for a rematch. Apollo even gave him his signature red, white, and blue trunks to wear. Fighting a style very reminiscent of Creed's own boxing technique, Rocky won the second match with Lang by KO in the third round, regaining his world heavyweight title.
Rocky IV
By 1985, Creed and Balboa had been training together for quite some time, but Creed was itching to fight again after a five-year hiatus. He got his chance in a charity event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a fearsome Soviet World Amateur Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist-turned-professional fighter Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). The fight started off in a lighthearted manner, with Creed dancing on stage with James Brown performing "Living in America". Creed continued his cocky demeanor in the ring with quick, fancy footwork. He started off landing a few seemingly ineffective punches on Drago, but the tide turned quickly, as Creed was brutally beaten by the end of the first round. Balboa pleaded with him to quit the fight, but Creed insisted that he would not give up. In the second round, Creed was savaged by Drago, and fell limp in the ring. As Creed had asked, Rocky didn't throw the towel in the ring in order to save his life. Creed died from the injuries. Feeling responsible and facing overwhelming public outrage, Balboa set up a match with Drago, but there was a catch, as stipulated by the Soviets: the fight was to be held on Christmas Day in the Soviet Union. Rocky had to give up his World Heavyweight Championship crown to accept the bout.
After flying to Russia, Balboa asked for, and was given nothing but a simple log cabin and seemingly endless reaches of snowy, mountainous terrain in which to train. With Mickey and Apollo both deceased, Tony "Duke" Evers subsequently assumed the role as Rocky's new trainer. With Soviet KGB agents following his movements wherever he went, Rocky trained hard within the mountainous terrain of Krasnoyarsk Siberia; and when it came time for the fight, Balboa faced a stadium, and by extension a country, full of Soviets cheering for Ivan Drago. The fight started off much as Drago's fight with Creed had, with Drago absorbing punch after punch with no visible signs of damage, while pounding on Rocky relentlessly. After two rounds of abuse, Balboa caught Drago with a haymaker to the eye and cut him, shocking the huge Russian and allowing Balboa an opening to pound Drago. Drago would then say of Balboa: "He's not human. He's like a piece of iron." The fight continued in a bloody back-and-forth battle, with the Soviet crowd slowly turning to Balboa's side. The fight ended with Rocky knocking out Drago in the last few seconds of the fight. After the fight, Balboa announced to the crowd, with the help of the ring translator, that a war between two fighters was much better than one between two countries, saying that "If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!" After the fight with Drago, Balboa started to experience spasms in his hands, an indication of how great the beating caused by Drago truly had been.
Rocky V
In 1986, his doctor discovered that Rocky had suffered significant brain damage, caused by repeated blows to the head. As a result, Rocky was forced to retire. His brother-in-law, Paulie, took a foolish risk with Balboa's fortune by granting power of attorney to their accountant, which led to Balboa losing all of his money. He was then forced to return to the Philadelphia slums from where he was raised. Though retired from boxing himself, Balboa started training an up-and-coming fighter, Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison). Gunn slowly became an excellent fighter, but by Christmas 1989 he ended up leaving his trainer Balboa over an argument about whether Balboa was holding him back and won the World Heavyweight title from Union Cane in January 1990. However, he was ridiculed in the press -- since he had never fought a "real contender", he was not regarded as a real champion or heir to the belt. This motivated Gunn, with prodding from promoter George Washington Duke, to challenge Rocky to a fight. Balboa initially declined, but their tension culminated in a street brawl in which Balboa defeated Gunn.
Rocky Balboa
After the devastating end to his partnership with Tommy Gunn, Rocky decided to leave all Boxing-related things alone, and in 1995, with his wife, opened a neighbourhood restaurant which they named "Adrian's."
With the advent of new research techniques into brain damage, Rocky was found to be normal among fighters, and he was suffering the results of a severe concussion. But, as he had now been in retirement for some years, Rocky just continued to run his newly formed business.
In 2002, Adrian died from ovarian cancer, or what Rocky referred to as "woman cancer". From that point on, he would make daily visits to her grave, as well as annual visits to places that held significance to the start of their relationship.
In 2005, stimulated by passion, Rocky applied for his boxing license to the Pennsylvania commission, which had concerns about his age. Nonetheless, Rocky passed all the medical tests and while his license application was originally denied in Pennsylvania, it was eventually approved and it was also approved in Nevada.
His son, Robert Jr., was finding it difficult to get out of the shadow of his still-famous father. One day, as Paulie comes in from his old job at the meat-packing plant and turns on ESPN, he sees a computer animation about a simulated fight between the past champ, Rocky (in his prime), and the current one, Mason "The Line" Dixon. The fight has Rocky winning by knockout in the 13th round, and it stirs up some commotion. Despite being champ, Dixon is haunted by criticism claiming that he has never had a truly great opponent or memorable match. Recognizing the opportunity to fight a legend and hoping to end all prognosticating about who would win, Dixon challenges Rocky to an exhibition fight.
In the press, commentators dismiss Rocky's chances, assuring that the fight will be one-sided and embarrassing. After convincing his son he still has one fight left in him and training one last time, Rocky gets back in the ring. The fight initially seems lop-sided with Dixon dishing out all of the damage. However, the tide turns when Mason appears to break his hand while punching Rocky. This evens the playing field and allows Rocky to mount an offense. In the end, the two fighters go the distance with Dixon winning by split decision. Dixon is finally recognized as being a warrior for fighting through the broken hand and Rocky proves to the world that he is no joke, mirroring the ending of Rocky I.
Personal life
Balboa marries Adrian Pennino in 1976 (played by Talia Shire) during Rocky II. Adrian dies of ovarian cancer prior to the events of Rocky Balboa. They were married for 26 years. They are one of the longest celebrity marriages. The two have a son, Robert "Rocky" Balboa Jr who was born in 1976 (played by Sage Stallone in Rocky V and Milo Ventimiglia in Rocky Balboa).
Rocky's professional fight record
- Before fighting Spider Rico, Rocky's record was 43 wins, (37 KO), 20 losses.
- This record only contains fights seen in the Rocky movies.
|align="center" colspan=7|Total record: 57 wins (54 KO), 23 Losses, 1 Draw.
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| align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Res.
| align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Opponent
| align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Type
| align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Rd
| align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Location
| align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Date
| align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Notes
|-
|Loss
|Mason Dixon
|Split decision
|10
|Las Vegas, Nevada
|26-02-2005
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|-
|Win
|Ivan Drago
|KO
|15
|Moscow, Russia
|25-12-1985
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|-
|Win
|James "Clubber" Lang
|KO
|3
|New York City, New York
|12-01-1982
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|-
|Loss
|James "Clubber" Lang
|KO
|2
|New York City, New York
|15-08-1981
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|-
|style="background: #c5d2ea"|Draw
|Thunderlips
|Draw
|N/A
|N/A
|10-05-1981
|
|-
| Win
|Unknown
|KO
|N/A
|N/A
|29-04-1981
|
|-
| Win
|Unknown
|KO
|N/A
|N/A
|07-11-1980
|
|-
| Win
|Unknown
|KO
|N/A
|N/A
|17-06-1980
|
|-
| Win
|Unknown
|KO
|N/A
|N/A
|24-10-1979
|
|-
| Win
|Unknown
|KO
|N/A
|N/A
|09-02-1979
|
|-
| Win
|Unknown
|KO
|N/A
|N/A
|03-10-1978
|
|-
| Win
|Vito Soto
|KO
|N/A
|N/A
|16-02-1978
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|-
| Win
|Big Yank Ball
|KO
|N/A
|Las Vegas, Nevada
|13-11-1977
|
|-
| Win
|Joe Czak
|KO
|N/A
|New York City, New York
|01-08-1977
|
|-
| Win
|Trevor Faus
|KO
|1
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|06-04-1977
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|-
| Win
|Apollo Creed
|KO
|15
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|25-11-1976
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|-
| Loss
|Apollo Creed
|Split Decision
|15
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|01-01-1976
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|-
| Win
|Spider Rico
|KO
|2
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|25-11-1975
|
|}
Character origin
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 "cast iron" jaw allows him to take brutal punishment throughout his fights. With a "will of steel", 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.
During his career, Rocky defeated three previously undefeated fighters: Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, and Ivan Drago. He wore black and gold trunks for the majority of his career, but popularized the red, white and blue trunks after having been given them as a gift by Creed.
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.
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