Creed hits theaters nationwide Wednesday, extending the iconic Rocky series to a new generation.
But this time around, Rocky Balboa — once again, played by Sylvester Stallone — isn't fighting. Long retired, the former champion gets sought out by Adonis Johnson (played by Michael B. Jordan), the son of late boxing champion Apollo Creed, who died before Adonis was born.
With nothing further to lose, young Adonis asks Balboa to be his mentor and trainer, marking a full circle from the point that Rocky asked Creed to do the same. After falling to Creed in the original 1976 Rocky, Balboa earned enough of the champ's respect to be granted a rematch.
That rematch, in Rocky II, had the underdog earn a thrilling knockout over Creed to hoist the world title in a made-for-the-movies celebration. But after reading too many of his own headlines and perhaps even forgetting where he came from and the hard work that got him to this point, Balboa falls victim to Clubber Lang (played by Mr. T) in Rocky III, at which point Creed re-emerges to train and mentor Rocky.
The Italian Stallion rebounds enough to defeat Clubber convincingly later in the same film. But the series takes a dramatic turn, when Creed participates in a charity match against Russian Ivan Drago ... and not only loses the match, but loses his life in the ring in Rocky IV. Balboa avenges Creed's death by defeating Drago in Russia.
While there would be two more Rocky films in the series, the Creed name being reintroduced breathes a different kind of life into the iconic boxing saga. The fact that he's played by Jordan, one of the youngest, most-talented actors on the scene, only adds to the future of the series.
To celebrate the new film and hopefully more from the series to come, we decided to get in the film room and rank the best bouts from the Rocky movies.
10. Rocky Fights Spider Rico In Original Rocky
An opening scene from the original 1976 movie, the dim-lit, smoke-filled hole-in-the-wall fight between Rocky Balboa and Spider Rico aptly depicts the scrappy fighter's uphill climb in the boxing circuit. It doesn't get any more basic than this bloody brawl.
9. Street Fight With Tommy Gunn In Rocky V
Is this what Rocky Balboa gets for taking a young boxer under his wing? Rocky V has Tommy Gunn (played by late boxer Tommy Morrison) begging the retired champion to mentor and train him, only for the young gunner to choose a conniving promoter and turn his back on Balboa, altogether. It culminates with this street fight between teacher to student ... and let's just say, the teacher didn't teach his pupil all of his tricks. Although the film isn't near the top of the series, it did a good job of taking Rocky back to his origins — the streets.
8. Charity Match Gone Wrong In Rocky IV
It was supposed to be a simple charity match and it looked to be just that with Apollo Creed dancing his way out to the ring to "The Godfather of Soul," James Brown. But you just knew something was wrong when a smiling Creed went to tap gloves with Ivan Drago and the Russian's fists didn't budge, as he warned grimly, "you will lose." That warning carried sinister weight, as Drago mauled Creed, beating him to death, paving the way for Rocky to challenge him and avenge his friend's death later in the same film.
7. Rocky Falls To Clubber Lang In First Fight Of Rocky III
In May 1982, Mr. T was a bonafide Hollywood attraction — not to mention, a true American bad ass in every sense of the phrase. That's what made him portraying the slick-talking, hard-hitting Clubber Lang in Rocky III so memorable.
The snarling up-and-comer took advantage of a Rocky Balboa, who traded in the grit of punching frozen meat for the Hollywood treatment of music and an open-gym filled with media and even models. The first fight between Balboa and Lang wasn't that impressive, but more than conveyed the point that Clubber was meaner and more hungry to be the champ.
6. Rocky Knocks Out Clubber Lang In Rocky III
After enlisting the mentorship and training from Apollo Creed, a re-focused Rocky took it to Clubber in their rematch, memorably knocking his head back and telling him, "you ain't so bad," right in the middle of the ring. Rocky let Clubber hit him with everything he had, until the winded puncher had nothing left to give, as the Italian Stallion took advantage with a rousing knockout.
5. The Itallion Stallion Takes On Thunder Lips In Rocky III
The Italian Stallion versus The Ultimate Male, Thunderlips — Sylvester Stallone and Hulk Hogan. How can you go wrong? Dubbed as a charity match in Rocky III, Hogan disregarded all the rules and trashed Balboa early, only for the boxer to rip off his gloves and even things a bit to the point the bout ended as a draw. Who said pro wrestling is fake?
4. Rocky Defeats Ivan Drago In Rocky IV
With revenge on his mind, Rocky more than avenged the death of Apollo Creed, agreeing to fight Ivan Drago in his native Russia. A rigorous training amid the cold winter snow in Russia led to Rock knocking out Drago, who was juicing on steroids. Even with an advantage, Drago couldn't defeat Rocky.
3. Rocky Versus Mason Dixon in Rocky Balboa
The fight between Rocky and Mason Dixon (portrayed by actual boxer Antonio Tarver) in 2006's Rocky Balboa might have been the most authentic boxing match that the movie series ever produced. A retired, aging Rock shows all heart against Dixon, who's in his prime, with the bout ending the way it would had the same transpired in real life — with the younger lion winning.
2. Rocky: Original Fight Against Apollo Creed
An underdog picked out of a fighter's directory, Rocky Balboa took his one-in-a-million shot against the polished champion Apollo Creed and made the most of it. Although Creed was the more complete boxer, peppering Rocky at will with jabs and combinations, the Italian Stallion made the fight a lot closer than his opponent might have thought with some legit, real-deal power shots. Out of all the fights that Rocky has had over the course of the series, this one remains the most classic.
1. Rocky II Rematch Against Apollo Creed
With the first fight being such a hit, Apollo Creed grants Rocky a rematch. The Italian Stallion once again takes it to Creed, memorably lifting the champ off the mat with a series of left uppercuts, before landing a left hook — with nothing but bad intentions — which drops not only Creed, but Rock, too. Perfect for the movies, the match ends with Rocky rising off the mat at the nine count, earning the knockout win. Could there ever be a better ending for a boxing movie?
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