Cap this is my crushing sports moment.
Cap this is my crushing sports moment.
In 1975, the heavyweight boxing world champion,
Apollo Creed, announces plans to hold a title bout in Philadelphia during the upcoming United States Bicentennial. However, he is informed five weeks from the fight date that his
scheduled opponent is unable to compete due to an injured hand and all other ranked opponents are either booked up or unable to get in shape in time. Having invested heavily in the fight, Creed decides to spice things up by giving a local contender a chance to challenge him.
Creed selects
Rocky Balboa, an Italian journeyman southpaw boxer who fights primarily in small gyms and works as a collector for a loan shark. Creed's trainer
Tony "Duke" Evers warns against Apollo challenging a southpaw, however Apollo isn't worried convinced he'll still get a quick KO. Rocky meets with promoter
George Jergens under the presumption that Creed is seeking local sparring partners. Reluctant at first, Rocky eventually agrees to the fight which will pay him $150,000. Rocky undergoes several weeks of unorthodox training, such as using sides of beef as punching bags.
Rocky is later approached by
Mickey Goldmill, a former bantamweight fighter who turned trainer and whose gym Rocky frequents, about training him further. Rocky is not willing initially, as Mickey has not shown much interest in helping him before and sees him as a wasted talent, but eventually accepts the offer.
Meanwhile, Rocky begins to build a romantic relationship with
Adrian Pennino, who is working part-time at the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop, culminating in a kiss. Adrian's brother,
Paulie, helps Rocky get a date with his sister and even offers to work as a corner man with him. Paulie becomes jealous of Rocky's success, but Rocky placates him by agreeing to advertise the meat packing business for which Paulie works, as part of the upcoming fight. The night before the fight, a sleepless Rocky visits the Philadelphia Spectrum and begins to lose confidence. He confesses to Adrian that he does not believe he can win, but strives to go the distance against Creed, which no other fighter has done, to prove himself to everyone; if he can go the distance, he won't be just "another bum from the neighborhood."
On New Year's Day, the fight is held with Creed making a dramatic entrance dressed as George Washington and then Uncle Sam. Taking advantage of his overconfidence, Rocky knocks him down in the first round — the first time that Creed has ever been knocked down. Humbled and worried, Creed takes Rocky more seriously for the rest of the fight, though his ego never fully fades. The fight goes on for the full fifteen rounds, with both combatants sustaining various injuries. Rocky, with hits to the head and swollen eyes, requires his right eyelid to be cut in order to restore his vision. Apollo, with internal bleeding and a broken rib, struggles to breathe. As the fight concludes, Creed's superior skill is countered by Rocky's apparently unlimited ability to absorb punches, and his dogged refusal to go down. As the final round bell sounds, with both fighters locked in each other's arms, they promise to each other that there will be no rematch.
After the fight, the sportscasters and the audience go wild. Jergens announces over the loudspeaker that the fight was "the greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring", and Rocky calls out repeatedly for Adrian, who runs down and comes into the ring as Paulie distracts arena security. As Jergens declares Creed the winner by virtue of a split decision (8:7, 7:8, 9:6), Adrian and Rocky embrace and profess their love to each other, not caring about the outcome of the fight.
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