70 Facts About Rocky Balboa

Rocky Balboa is depicted as a working class or poor Italian-American from the slums of Philadelphia who started out as a club fighter and "enforcer" for a local Philly Mafia loan shark.

Rocky Balboa is portrayed as overcoming the obstacles that had occurred in his life and in his career as a professional boxer.

Rocky Balboa received critical acclaim for his performance in the first movie, earning Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations.

Robert "Rocky" Balboa was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 6,1945.

Rocky Balboa was the only child in a Roman Catholic Italian-American or Italian immigrant family.

When Rocky Balboa is spoken to in the Italian language by his Italian priest, Father Carmine, it is apparent that Rocky Balboa understands Italian very well or fluently, including in a scene in which he translates Italian into English for Tommy Gunn.

Rocky Balboa trained very hard so he could grow up to be like his idol Rocky Marciano.

Unable to live on the low pay of club fights, and being unable to find work anywhere else, Rocky Balboa got a job as a collector for Tony Gazzo, the local loan shark, to make ends meet.

Rocky Balboa was proud that he never had his nose broken in any of his amateur fighting career.

Rocky Balboa's nickname is "The Italian Stallion", spawning from his Italian-American heritage.

Rocky Balboa is fighting Spider Rico in a local boxing ring called the Cambria Fight Club inside a chapel.

Rocky Balboa then delivers a vicious barrage of punches, knocking Rico out.

Later, Rocky Balboa stops by the local boxing gym and finds out that his locker has been replaced by another local contender.

However, once they get to her house, Marie assumes Rocky Balboa is trying to flirt with her, and dismisses him.

Rocky Balboa gets his dream come true when the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed, decides that he wants to give an unknown fighter a chance to fight for the title after his intended challenger, Mac Lee Green, broke his hand while training.

Rocky Balboa helps Adrian to become more self-confident and stand up for herself.

On January 1,1976, at the Philadelphia Spectrum, Rocky Balboa has his match with Creed, who did not take the fight seriously during training.

Up into the 14th round, Rocky Balboa is nearly knocked out but manages to get back up and delivers some hard body shots, breaking Creed's ribs just before the bell.

The 15th round comes to naught and Rocky Balboa manages to pummel Creed until the bell rings once more.

Creed demands a rematch with Rocky Balboa, stating that he would fight him 'anywhere, anyplace, anytime' to prove to the world that Rocky Balboa's feat was merely a fluke.

Rocky Balboa marries Adrian [who in the movie goes into a coma while giving birth to a boy] who convinces Rocky to live outside boxing.

At first, Rocky Balboa seems to be unaffected by Creed's smear campaign, but his inexperience with money causes him to run into financial troubles.

Rocky Balboa is able to get back up from sheer determination, beating the 10-count and winning the rematch by knockout, thus becoming heavyweight champion of the world.

However, in 1981, Rocky Balboa is challenged by a young power-hungry fighter named James "Clubber" Lang, who has risen to the top of the rankings.

Rocky Balboa begins having some issues with his trainer, Mickey Goldmill, due to his revelation of having faced "hand-picked" challengers that were "good fighters, but not 'killers'" which Lang seemingly is.

Rocky Balboa has the 'fire' Creed no longer has and the former champion convinces Rocky that he needs to get his fire back.

The year is 1986, Shortly after the bout with Ivan Drago, Rocky Balboa realizes while he is showering that he may have sustained some type of injury during the fight.

Once returning home, Rocky Balboa goes to say goodnight to his son, Robert Jr.

Unwilling to go bankrupt, Rocky Balboa decides to participate in a few more fights, including the one against Union Cane, but Adrian demands that Rocky Balboa should see a doctor first.

At Adrian's urging, as well as with the doctor's support, Rocky Balboa gravely acknowledges that it is time to retire and he reluctantly does so.

Rocky Balboa's only remaining asset is the now-closed Mickey's Gym, which had been willed by Mickey to Robert, making it virtually untouchable by the IRS.

One day, Rocky Balboa meets a young ruffian boxer from Oklahoma named Tommy Gunn and begins training him.

On Christmas Eve, Tommy visits the Balboa residence and tells Rocky he wants to team up with Duke, but Rocky explains that dealing with Duke would be a dirty business.

Rocky Balboa is still anxious as he watches the match with Tommy facing off against Union Cane on television with Paulie.

Visibly proud of Tommy, Rocky Balboa is surprised that Tommy credited his success to Duke instead of Rocky Balboa.

When Duke intervenes and says that Tommy "only fights in the ring", Rocky Balboa explains to him that his "ring's outside".

Rocky Balboa tells Tommy that, even though he admires him, he actually ruined their relationship.

Rocky Balboa is then caught by a series of punches by Tommy, just as Adrian joins the crowd, but manages to parry Tommy and begins to walk him down with his devastating shots.

Rocky Balboa confronts Duke, who still continues to threaten him with a lawsuit.

Rocky Balboa is no longer depressed and broke, and is doing far better than he was in years prior.

The simulation result sees Rocky Balboa winning by knockout in the thirteenth round, which stirs up a discussion about the result if such a fight ever occurred.

Rocky Balboa responds to this with an impassioned speech of his own and the committee change their minds to renew his license.

Originally against fighting an aged Rocky Balboa, Dixon recognizes the opportunity to fight a legend and hopes to end all prognosticating about who would win as well as contentions that he has never had a truly great opponent or memorable match.

Dixon is finally recognized as being a warrior for fighting through every round and Rocky Balboa proves to the world that he is no joke, mirroring the ending of the first film.

Rocky Balboa is last seen walking away from the grave and waving goodbye one last time.

Days after his initial offer, Rocky Balboa recommends him to his friend, Pete Sporino, who currently runs Mighty Mick's Gym.

Pete, who initially wanted Rocky Balboa to be a part of his son, Leo's team, challenges Donnie to fight his son, in which Rocky Balboa shows reluctance again, but then both agree.

At first, Rocky Balboa is hesitant to the option of chemotherapy, as he remembers the pain Adrian experienced as she underwent treatment for ovarian cancer.

Rocky Balboa then tells Donnie that he wishes he had the chance to thank Apollo after Mickey died, but it doesn't match his appreciation of Donnie's tenacity that motivated him in his battle against his illness and tells him that he admires him.

Three years since his diagnosis, Rocky Balboa has recovered from his cancer and coached Donnie to the WBC World Heavyweight championship.

Rocky Balboa gives Donnie advice in proposing to Bianca and uses his proposal with Adrian as an example.

Rocky Balboa refuses to support Donnie, noting that Viktor was raised in hate and has nothing to lose, and that makes him dangerous.

Rocky Balboa decides to watch Donnie and Viktor's match, where he watches Viktor pummel Donnie repeatedly.

Viktor illegally hits Donnie while he is down, knocking him unconscious; Rocky Balboa turns off his television in horror at what he has witnessed.

Donnie and Rocky Balboa make amends, and Rocky Balboa accompanies Donnie as Bianca gives birth to their daughter, Amara.

Donnie undergoes a rigorous and brutal training regimen with Rocky Balboa, focusing on fighting from the inside and training his body to repeatedly absorb the heavy impact he knows he will receive from Viktor in the ring.

Rocky Balboa accompanies Donnie as they hold their rematch with Viktor in Moscow; Donnie withstands Viktor's blows and wins the match after Drago throws in the towel.

Rocky Balboa doesn't join Donnie's celebration, saying that it's "his time," and watches in contentment from outside the ring.

Stallone said the plot of the movie would be about Rocky Balboa befriending a young fighter who is an undocumented immigrant.

Rocky Balboa takes him into his life, and unbelievable adventures begin, and they wind up south of the border.

Rocky Balboa felt in his mind that Rocky was primarily a feature film, and he did not see it as being translated for cable, so there was a big bone of contention.

Now living completely alone again, Rocky Balboa cannot come to terms with present-day living and constantly thinks about the past.

For years, Rocky Balboa attempted to reestablish contact with his estranged son, Robert, but never went through with it.

However, after helping Adonis conquer Viktor Drago, Rocky Balboa decides to visit his son in Vancouver where they finally begin to reconcile and meets his grandson, Logan, who bears a striking resemblance to Adrian.

The name, iconography, and fighting style of Rocky Balboa was inspired by the legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano from Brockton, Massachusetts and from the 5 times world champion Roberto 'Manos de Piedra ' Duran, from Panama, where the Balboa is the official currency.

Rocky Balboa was an all-or-nothing brawler coming into his first bout with Creed; however, under the training of Mickey, he began to develop his boxing skills which he eventually mastered.

Rocky Balboa has an uncanny ability to sense weakness in his opponents, often capitalizing on every shift in momentum possible.

Rocky Balboa was named the 7th greatest movie hero by the American Film Institute on their 100 Years.

In 2007, a Rocky Balboa statue was erected in the Serbian village of Zitiste.

In 2011, Sylvester Stallone was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his work on the Rocky Balboa character, having "entertained and inspired boxing fans from around the world".