As Creed, he was flamboyant, charismatic and impossible not to notice — similar to Ali in the 1960s and 1970s. The character was even more difficult to hate next to Rocky Balboa in “Rocky” and “Rocky II.” It was all because of Weather's acting ability to bring an Ali-esque take to the character.
Modeled after Muhammad Ali, the Creed character demonstrated smarts and flare, offering audiences a strong and positive Black character at a time when mainstream movie roles were just starting to break out of stereotypes.
Although Apollo Creed's boxing style was based on Muhammad Ali's, Adonis uses a different style. Adonis has an orthodox stance like his father, yet Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler wanted Adonis style to be "unorthodox". They modeled Adonis' style on Timothy Bradley, a real life boxer from California.
The former NFL linebacker cemented himself in the hearts of numerous boxing fans with his performance as Apollo Creed in the 'Rocky' movies. So, when the first 1976 movie became a huge success worldwide, he and Stallone came together to celebrate a special milestone with real-life boxing legend Muhammad Ali!
Now, it's long been Hollywood lore that a boxer named Chuck Wepner -- who once gave Ali an unexpected hell of a fight -- was the direct inspiration. But Frazier's own iconic fights with Ali were a big influence and the fighter even has a cameo appearance in the first Rocky, almost as if he is haunting the proceedings.
Sylvester Stallone has said that the titular protagonist of the Rocky series is based on boxer Chuck Wepner. Stallone has also said that Wepner made it on his radar when he famously fought Muhammad Ali in 1975. Interestingly, Ali also inspired another Rocky character: Apollo Creed.
Chuck Wepner, the ham and egger professional boxer who nearly beat heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and thus inspired the Sylvester Stallone series of Rocky movies, was honored today with his own statute in his Bayonne, NJ hometown. Wepner was a game but limited fighter in his career.
Weathers was with his longtime partner Christine Kludjian from 2014 to his death in 2024. Weathers died at his home in Los Angeles on February 2, 2024, at age 76, from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Weathers' body was cremated. He is survived by his two sons, Jason and Matthew, and his grandchildren.
Despite pleas to definitively retire, Ali fought one last time on December 11, 1981, in Nassau, Bahamas, against Trevor Berbick, losing a ten-round decision.
Despite being the face of the Rocky franchise, Stallone chose not to appear in Creed III due to creative differences with producer Irwin Winkler as well as with Jordan, although he is still a producer on the film. According to Stallone, the film had a much darker tone that he didn't agree with.
Milo Ventimiglia as Rocky Balboa Jr.: Rocky's estranged son, who moved to Vancouver in the period between Rocky Balboa (2006) and Creed and is now a father himself.
Lang is a professional boxer from Chicago, Illinois, and is a one-time world heavyweight champion, having taken the title from Rocky Balboa only to lose it back to Balboa in his next fight. The character is very loosely based on a combination of Sonny Liston, Larry Holmes, and George Foreman.
Ivan Drago is an Olympic gold medalist and a boxing champion from the Soviet Union, who had an amateur record of 100–0–0 wins (100 KO). He is billed at 1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in) and 261 pounds (118 kg).
Read on. (Note: ESPN Classic will be showing "Rocky" at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.) In Reel Life: Rocky Balboa is a 30-year-old club fighter. In Real Life: Sylvester Stallone was inspired by Chuck Wepner, a 35-year-old club fighter who also happened to be the No.
The late actor's sons Matthew B. Weathers and Jason Weathers, along with his former spouses Mary Ann Weathers and Rhona Unsell Weathers, are also named as beneficiaries of the estate, which is worth $815,280.00, and a living trust in his name.
Weathers earned laughs as Chubbs, who had been a star of the professional circuit before he lost his hand in an alligator attack. Even so, his Apollo Creed character cast a long shadow. After the release in 1976 of “Rocky,” which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won three, including best picture, Mr.
Rocky IV (1985) - Rocky IV also fudges the timeline by making it seem like it starts right after Rocky III but the movie then jumps forward to 1985 when Ivan Drago arrives in the U.S. Apollo was killed by Drago and Rocky defeated the Russian in a fight held in Moscow on Christmas 1985 when Rocky was 38 or 39.
What did Arnold Schwarzenegger say about Carl Weathers?
On Instagram, Schwarzenegger posted a series of throwback pictures accompanied by a heartfelt caption that read, "Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person.
“We lost a legend yesterday. My life was forever changed for the better the day I met Carl Weathers. Rest in power and keeping punching,” Stallone captioned an Instagram video posted on Feb. 2, before sharing a longer and emotional message in his clip.
According to Stallone, during their read together Weathers joked, “If you can get me a real actor, I can perform.” After Weathers took a few shots at his head, his co-star said he was hired. “I loved him. I couldn't have done it without him,” said Stallone. “He's magnificent.”
While Apollo Creed is a beloved and iconic character in the realm of cinema, it's important to clarify that he is a fictional creation and not a real-life boxer. The character was conceived by Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the screenplay for the original "Rocky" film.
The Super Fight was a fictional boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali shot in 1969 and released in 1970. At the time, Ali and Marciano were the only undefeated heavyweight champions in history and fans often debated who would win had they met in their primes.
Sage Stallone was an American actor and film director from Los Angeles. His best known role was Robert Balboa, Jr. (Rocky Balboa's son) in the sports drama film "Rocky V" (1990). Stallone was the eldest son of actor Sylvester Stallone (1946-) and his first wife Sasha Czack.
