Rocky Balboa
Rocky in the theatrical poster for Rocky III. Rocky III ( 1982) is the third installment in the Rocky movie series.
Statistics
Real name	Robert Balboa, Sr.
Nickname(s)	The Italian Stallion, Philadelphia's Favorite Son, The Philadelphia Slugger, The Iron Horse from Philadelphia
Rated at	202 lbs (92 kg)
Nationality	American
Birth date	July 6, 1945(1945-07-06) (age 62)
Birth place	Columbus Grove, Ohio
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	81
Wins	57
Wins by KO	54
Losses	23
Draws	1

Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. The' Italian people' are a Southern European Ethnic group located primarily in Italy, Switzerland, France and by virtue of a wide-ranging The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Columbus Grove is a village in Putnam County, Ohio, United States. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Southpaw is a Boxing term that designates the normal stance for a Left-handed boxer (b. July 6, 1945) is a fictional athlete, portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky series from 1976 to 2006. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6 1946 is an American Actor, director, producer and Screenwriter. Rocky is a boxing Saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the Fictional boxer Rocky Balboa

He is famous for being extremely tenacious and 'fighting with his heart', as his trainer Mickey Goldmill famously intones. His style, endurance, determination, and pleasant personality greatly resemble the real life heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano, even though the creation of the character was directly inspired by Chuck Wepner. Rocky Marciano ( September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969) born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was the heavyweight champion of the world Chuck Wepner (born February 26, 1939) is a former Heavyweight boxer from Bayonne New Jersey. He embodies the rugged tenacity often associated with the people of his native Philadelphia. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə

Biography

Humble beginnings: background

Robert Balboa was born on July 6, 1945 as the only child to a Roman Catholic-Italian American family. An Italian American is an American of Italian descent and/or dual citizenship Young Rocky was always insulted by his father due to his low intelligence. His father once told him that "If you can't use your brain, use your body instead. " This advice led Rocky to take up boxing, and he trained hard so he could grow up to be like his idol Rocky Marciano (hence the nickname). Rocky Marciano ( September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969) born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was the heavyweight champion of the world 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 one place nicknamed "The Bucket of Blood". Kensington is a neighborhood located in the United States city of Philadelphia Pennsylvania. By this time, Rocky had fought in 64 fights, winning 44 (41 knockouts) and losing 20. A source of pride for Balboa was that he had never had his nose broken in a professional fight, though this would happen in his first fight with Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948) is an American actor as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada.

The breakthrough

Balboa got his big break when Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed decided that he wanted to give a local fighter in Philadelphia 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 agreed to take Balboa under his wing, and against all odds. Michael "Mickey" Goldmill ( April 7, 1905 - August 15, 1981) was a fictional boxing trainer created by Sylvester Stallone On January 1, 1976 at the Philadelphia spectrum, Rocky went the distance with Creed. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Although Creed won the fight by a split decision, it was the first time an opponent had lasted the full 15 rounds against Creed. A Split Decision is a winning criterion in several Full-contact Combat sports such as Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Mixed

The Stallion vs. The King: the rematch

In 1976, Creed desired a rematch with Balboa, hoping to dismiss some public opinion that Balboa had been the actual victor of their first fight or that Creed had fixed the bout. In organized Sports, match fixing or game fixing occurs when a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result The fight was set for Thanksgiving '76. Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American Holiday, which is a form of harvest festival. Rocky got the better of Creed this time, winning the rematch by knockout, when both Balboa and Creed fell to the canvas and only Rocky was able to get up, thus becoming heavyweight champion of the world.

The best of times and the worst of times

Over the next few years, Balboa successfully defended his title in 10 consecutive defenses against various contenders, including the German heavyweight champion. In addition, Balboa also fought an exhibition bout against the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan). Terrance "Terry" Gene Bollea (born August 11 1953 better known by his Ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Actor, and retired professional However, in 1981, Balboa was challenged by newcomer James "Clubber" Lang (Mr. T). Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 James 'Clubber' Lang (born May 21, 1957) is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa 's rival in the 1982 movie Rocky III Mr T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21 1952) is an American Actor known for his roles as Sgt 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, gravely injuring him, 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 complications from the injuries after the match, devastating Balboa. Despairing, Balboa was met by Apollo Creed, who, along with his old trainer Tony "Duke" Evers, 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.

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. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) 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, played by Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Ivan Drago (Иван Драго is a fictional character born 1962 in the film Rocky IV (1985 Dolph Lundgren (born Hans Lundgren on November 3, 1957 in Stockholm, Sweden is a Swedish Actor, director Rocky IV is a 1985 Boxing film the fourth and most financially successful movie of the Rocky franchise The fight started off in a lighthearted manner, with Creed dancing on stage with James Brown performing "Living in America. James Joseph Brown Jr (May 3 1933 – December 25 2006 commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" the "King of Funk" and "The " Living in America " is a 1985 Song composed by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight and performed by James Brown (Hartman also provided backing vocals " 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. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

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. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending 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 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. KGB ( Transliteration of "КГБ" is the Russian abbreviation of Committee for State Security ( Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty 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. In the context of Unarmed combat or Melee, a punch is "a thrusting blow esp 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.

Hard times

In 1986 his doctor discovered that Rocky had suffered significant brain damage, caused by repeated blows to the head. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) 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). This article is about the Rocky character For the pornographic actor of the same name see Tommy Gunn (porn actor. Amateur career From the age of 13 to 19 Tommy entered every toughman contest he could winning 49 fights out of the 50 with 49 by Ko that he participated in 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. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) 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. Rocky V is the fifth film in the Rocky film saga It was released on November 16, 1990. Balboa initially declined, but their tension culminated in a street brawl in which Balboa defeated Gunn.

Looking forward to the future

The movie Rocky Balboa picks up Balboa's story after his wife Adrian has died from ovarian cancer, or what Rocky referred to as "woman cancer" in 2002. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Rocky opened a neighborhood restaurant in 1995, which he named "Adrian's. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 "

By 2005, stimulated by passion, Rocky applied for his boxing license to the Pennsylvania commission, which had concerns about his age. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nonetheless, Rocky passed all the medical tests (the brain damage cited in 1986 apparently having disappeared or been misdiagnosed), and while his license application was denied in Pennsylvania, it was 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. Hoping to save face by proving that he can easily beat the former champion, 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. Early in the fight, Rocky went toe-to-toe against Mason; in later rounds Rocky shocked the public as the 60-year-old fighter exchanged punches with a much younger fighter (even knocking Mason down once in the early rounds). In the end Mason won by split decision, but not in the public's opinion, and Rocky leaves the ring for the last time with the crowd on his side.

Personal life

Balboa is a good friend of Paulie Pennino, whose sister, Adrian Pennino married Balboa from 1976 up to her death in 2002 after dying of ovarian cancer. Rocky is a boxing Saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the Fictional boxer Rocky Balboa Rocky is a boxing Saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the Fictional boxer Rocky Balboa Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from an Ovary. The cancer most commonly forms in the lining of the ovary (resulting in epithelial Rocky and Adrian also had a son, Robert Balboa, Jr. , in 1976, a complicated birth that left Adrian in a temporary coma.

Family

• Adrian Balboa - Wife (deceased)
• Paulie Pennino - Brother In Law
• Robert Balboa. Jr - Son

In total, Rocky Balboa was involved in "complete" fights against seven opponents:

• 1975: Spider Rico (Win-KO)
• 1976: Apollo Creed (Loss-SD)
• 1976: Apollo Creed (Win-KO)
• 1977: Joe Czak (Win-KO)
• 1977: Big Yank Ball (Win-KO)
• 1978: Vito Soto (Win-KO)
• 1981: Thunderlips (Wrestling vs. Boxing exhibition) (Draw)*
• 1981: James "Clubber" Lang (Loss-KO)
• 1982: James "Clubber" Lang (Win-KO)
• 1982: Apollo Creed (Private Sparring/Rematch) (Unknown)
• 1985: Apollo Creed (Private Sparring match) (Unknown)
• 1985: Ivan "The Siberian Bull" Drago (exhibition) (Win-KO)
• 1990: Tommy "The Machine" Gunn (unofficial street fight) (Win-KO)
• 2006: Mason "The Line" Dixon (Loss-SD)

* wrestling vs. boxing

Fight record

• Before fighting Spider Rico, Rocky's record was 43 wins, (40 KO), 20 losses. Rocky is a 1976 Film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G
• This record only contains fights seen in the Rocky movies. Rocky is a boxing Saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the Fictional boxer Rocky Balboa

Character origin

Boxing style

Though right-handed, Rocky fights as a southpaw (left-handed). Someone who is right-handed will prefer to use this hand for everyday activities such as writing, maintaining personal hygiene, Cooking and so forth 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. James 'Clubber' Lang (born May 21, 1957) is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa 's rival in the 1982 movie Rocky III 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". Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but identifies a large group of Ferrous Alloys which solidify with a Eutectic. 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. Ivan Drago (Иван Драго is a fictional character born 1962 in the film Rocky IV (1985 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. ^[2]

References

1. ^ Total Rocky : ROCKY (1976)
2. ^ Boxing News : Is a Character like Rocky Still Relevant to Boxing?

External links

• Rocky Balboa HD Trailer
• Rocky Balboa at the Internet Movie Database
• AUDIO: Sylvester Stallone on boxing and faith