MovieChat Forums > Creed III (2023) Discussion > Is Rocky considered the greatest boxer o...

Is Rocky considered the greatest boxer of all time

posted a year ago by Sidha108 (2379)
6 replies | jump to latest

Within the Rocky universe, is Rocky considered to be the greatest and most admired boxer of all time or is he just one of several great boxers who have been the heavyweight champion?

[–] howgamer (3659) a year ago

If you watch Rocky Balboa, there is a scene of some sport announcers discussing how great Rocky was. Apollo is probably considered the greatest of all time, he was modeled after Ali, and his only professional loss was against Rocky at the very end of his career. Rocky is probably up there somewhere amongst the greats of all time considered who has beat, even though his overall professional record wasn't impressive.

[–] fountainhead (318) a year ago

Rocky tells Adonis that Apollo was a perfect fighter and that there was never anyone better. He was only defeated by Time.

Rocky is meant to be the ultimate underdog boxer - a man who gets knocked down by stronger, faster opponents yet somehow manages to get back up and keep going after them.

[–] Lord Rake (3848) a year ago

He was beaten into a bloody pulp and killed by Drago in two rounds. We are not talking about Apollo at 80 either, he was in his 30s. Rocky is the best fighter, he beat everyone including Apollo and then beat the fighter that humiliated Apollo.

[–] Chris822cats (374) a year ago

Apollo was a much greater boxer than Rocky. The only reason Apollo lost to Rocky was he was exhausted and Rocky weathered the storm. Up until the end of the fight Apollo dominated Rocky completely and would have won easily on points. Basically, Apollo punched himself out while Rocky, just hung in there. At no time did Rocky ever dominate Apollo. Regarding his fight with Drago, Apollo was ancient for a boxer of the time. In the 80's a boxer in his 30s was considered an old man. This was before modern training methods, nutrition, and cherry picking opponents, all of which have prolonged the careers of modern boxers. Not only was Apollo old, but he also had 5 years of ring rust. It wasn't like he was an active boxer. On top of that, he arrogantly went into the match without proper training apparently thinking he was in the best shape of his life when he clearly wasn't.

[–] enriquesingh (1773) a year ago

I always thought Rocky said that to Adonis mostly out of respect and also another display of the Rocky character being naturally humble throughout the entire series - that is also what Adonis HAD to hear.

From what I recall when the first Creed came out - Sly was involved in all dialogue involving Rocky - he did not write the script for Creed - but he either (re)wrote or approved everything that Rocky said.

[–] fountainhead (318) a year ago

That's a fair point about Rocky just being naturally humble. Could be.

The way I read that dialogue was they were retconning the character of Apollo and making him the greatest of all time, giving Adonis big shoes to fill.