Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky franchise and also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), a poor small-time club fighter and loanshark debt collector from Philadelphia, gets an unlikely shot at the world heavyweight championship held by Apollo Creed (Weathers).
Joseph Louis Barrow was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis had the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.
Rocco Francis Marchegiano, better known as Rocky Marciano, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and remains the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated. His six title defenses were against Jersey Joe Walcott, Roland La Starza, Ezzard Charles (twice), Don Cockell and Archie Moore.
Archie Moore was an American catch wrestler and professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time. He had one of the longest professional careers in the history of the sport, competing from 1935 to 1963. Nicknamed "The Mongoose", and then "The Old Mongoose" in the latter half of his career, Moore was a highly strategic and defensive boxer. As of December 2020, BoxRec ranks Moore as the third greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time. He also ranks fourth on The Ring's list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". Moore was also a trainer for a short time after retirement, training Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Bob Foster, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Earnie Shavers and James Tillis.
Floyd Patterson was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He has been named among the top 15 heavyweights of all time.
Arnold Raymond Cream, best known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1930 to 1953. He held the NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring heavyweight titles from 1951 to 1952, and broke the record for the oldest man to win the title, at the age of 37. That record would eventually be broken in 1994 by 45-year-old George Foreman. Despite holding the world heavyweight title for a relatively short period of time, Walcott was regarded among the best heavyweights in the world during the 1940s and 1950s.
Jonathan Kolia Favreau is an American filmmaker and actor. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as Rudy (1993), PCU (1994), Swingers (1996), Very Bad Things (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Replacements (2000), Daredevil (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Four Christmases (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), I Love You, Man (2009), People Like Us (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Chef (2014), and several films created by Marvel Studios.
Ezzard Mack Charles, known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion, known for his slick defense and precision. Often regarded as the greatest light heavyweight of all time, Charles defeated numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. Charles retired with a record of 95–25–1. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
During the 1950s, a couple of relatively new developments changed the world: World War II had only been over for five years when the 1950s began, and television was beginning to make a major impact internationally. In boxing, changes connected to these developments could be seen too, as boxers who fought at the 1940s conflict returned to their homes and many of them were back in the ring. Television producers were in love with sports, which provided the viewer with an opportunity to observe sporting events live, and boxing was not the exception to the rule; many television networks began to feature fights live during the weekends, and the Gillette Friday Night Fights proved to be one of the most popular boxing television series in American history.
Coley Wallace was an American actor and heavyweight boxer who once outpointed Rocky Marciano in a very close split decision three-round amateur fight.
Donald John Cockell was an English boxer. He fought for most of his career as a light-heavyweight and became the British and European champion at that weight. Later in his career he moved up to heavyweight and held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. He is best remembered for fighting against Rocky Marciano for the world heavyweight championship. Cockell defeated a number of top heavyweights in his career, including Roland La Starza, Harry Matthews, Tommy Farr, Freddie Beshore, Johnny Arthur, Johnny Williams and Uber Bacilieri. In his earlier incarnation as a Light Heavyweight he defeated top contenders such as Nick Barone, Albert Yvel, Lloyd Marshall and Albert Finch, holding regional titles in both weight incarnations.
Lou Nova also called the Cosmic Puncher was an American boxer and actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, the 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (1.92 m) Nova was the U.S. and World Amateur Boxing Champion in 1935. After turning pro, he remained undefeated in his first 22 matches, and won 40 fights in total. He was the first top rated boxer to practice yoga, and reportedly did headstands in the dressing room before his title bout with Joe Louis.
The Super Fight was a fictional boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali shot in 1969 and released in 1970. At the time, Ali and Marciano were the only undefeated heavyweight champions in history and fans often debated who would win had they met in their primes. Ali and Marciano were filmed sparring for 75 one-minute rounds producing several possible scenarios for a genuine fight, with the result claimed to have been determined using probability formulas entered into a computer.
Roland La Starza was an American boxer and actor. La Starza was a top rated heavyweight contender in the early 1950’s and is best known for his two fights with heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.
The distance, in boxing, refers to the full number of rounds in a match. It is frequently used in the expression "going the distance", which means fighting a full bout without being knocked out.
Lee Savold was an American heavyweight boxer who held the British and European (EBU) version of the World Heavyweight championship between 1950 and 1951 and was a leading contender in the 1940s and early 1950s. During his career he fought storied Heavyweight Champions Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. Savold was inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.
Dempsey is a 1983 television film based on the life of the heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey that starred Treat Williams and Sally Kellerman.
Carmine Vingo was a world ranked heavyweight boxer best remembered for his career-ending bout with future world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, cumulating in his knockout and resulting brain injury.
Heavyweight champions Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott fought two historic boxing matches in 1952 and 1953. The first fight saw Marciano, the undefeated challenger, take on the world heavyweight champion Jersey Joe in a hard-fought championship fight. The fight culminated in a 13th round knockout scored by Marciano, in a major comeback victory after Walcott stacked up a wide lead throughout the majority of the bout. The fight and the final round were ranked as 1952's fight and round of the year respectively by The Ring, and is considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship bouts of all time.
Rocky Marciano and Archie Moore fought for the world heavyweight boxing title on September 21, 1955. The fight pitted Marciano, the undefeated heavyweight champion against Moore, the light-heavyweight champion. Marciano knocked Moore out in the ninth round, winning his 49th and final fight before retiring.
