Rocky Balboa : [Just outside doorway of Apollo's hospital room after first fight] Yo, Apollo? Apollo : [In hospital bed] Yeah, who is it? Rocky Balboa : Its just me, Rocky.
1. "It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”
Why does Rocky feel partly responsible for Apollo's death?
As fans recall, Rocky felt guilty following Apollo's death in Rocky IV. He felt as if he could have done more to prevent Ivan Drago from continuing his assault on Apollo in the ring (like throwing in the towel despite his friend's wishes), so Rocky believed Apollo's death was his fault.
Apollo Creed : Now, when we fought, you had that eye of the tiger, man; the edge! And now you gotta get it back, and the way to get it back is to go back to the beginning.
Why did Apollo tell Rocky not to throw in the towel?
Before the fight, Apollo begged Rocky not to throw in the towel. Should he do that, the match would be over, and if Apollo was on the mat, he'd be leaving his pride in the ring. Only Rocky could understand this, as he had asked the same thing when he fought against Apollo.
After three films in which he functions as little more than a means to illustrate Rocky's greatness, Apollo is offered the highest of honors: He dies to provide the franchise's white protagonist with motivation and character development.
Commentator #2 in Las Vegas : Hey guys, Ivan Drago is definitely for real! Apollo : [His last words] I want you to promise me you're not gonna stop this fight, no matter what. No matter what!
Apollo : [In hospital bed] Yeah, who is it? Rocky Balboa : Its just me, Rocky. Listen, could you answer me one question? Rocky Balboa : Did you give me your best?
Sticking just with boxing, Balboa's style was based chiefly on two real life boxers — namely the great Rocky Marciano & a lesser known boxer named Chuck Wepner (top right vs Ali).
Because of the close outcome of the fight the general public believes that Apollo did not necessarily win, and thus he gives Rocky a second chance in a rematch.
He seems to be a very pitiless and cold-hearted person as shown when he comments on Apollo Creed's death: "If he dies, he dies", indicating that Ivan feels no remorse (deep regret or guilt for a wrong committed) for his actions.
With Rocky, Duke and Paulie in his corner, Apollo was overly confident that he could dispense of Drago with ease. However, Apollo was not ready for the extreme size and strength of the Russian. After taunting the Russian and landing a number of ineffectual punches, Creed was pummelled badly in the first round.
By the time Donnie meets Rocky in Creed, he's been funneling all his money into the restaurant he named after Adrian. As a result, he only has just enough to get by, and can't live the extravagant way he did in the past.
Shire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Adrian in Rocky. The final scene in Rocky II, in which Rocky yells "Yo Adrian, I did it!", has been named by film enthusiasts as one of the most iconic quotes in sports film history.
Having given up boxing, and believing Apollo wouldn't want his son to be a fighter, Rocky rejects his offer. However, Adonis's persistence eventually wins Rocky over. He forms a strong bond with Rocky and regards him as an uncle, even going so far as to call him "Unc" and introduce him to people as such.
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.
Rocky's doctor, Presley Jensen, reveals that Rocky is suffering from a condition called Cavum septi pellucidi, which is brain damage caused by extremely heavy blows to the head. The effects are seemingly permanent and irreversible.
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.
Smelling salts have been used for centuries to keep people alert. They were once prominent in funeral homes and at blood donation drives. Athletes inhale them from the sidelines in hopes of improving their performance. Rocky famously takes a whiff of a smelling salt to get back in the ring and keep up the fight.
Apollo Creed was married to Mary Anne Creed. She was played by Lavelle Roby, later taken over by Sylvia Meals. In the Creed films, Phylicia Rashad played Mary Anne following the death of Meals. In Rocky IV, Mary Anne can be seen fearing for her husband's life when Ivan Drago beats him to death.
However, casting that aside reveals that Apollo was punch-for-punch the superior fighter. While still in their professional careers, Rocky and Apollo faced off three times– twice official bouts and once off the record. Apollo came out on top two out of the three times.
One of the characters that I really enjoyed watching was Bianca, whom we learned in the first movie is an aspiring singer who happens to have hereditary disorder that leads her to develop progressive hearing loss.
Weathers reprised his role as Apollo Creed in “Rocky II” in 1979, which saw a rematch against Balboa. He was back again for 1982's “Rocky III,” and again for a final outing in 1985's “Rocky IV”, in which Creed was killed in the ring by a Russian heavyweight played by Dolph Lundgren.
