Every Real Fighter Cast In The Rocky & Creed Franchises
Every Real Fighter Cast In The Rocky & Creed Franchises
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The Rocky and Creed movies are long-running and beloved boxing franchises, and some real-life boxers have appeared in them – here’s who they are.
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The Rocky and Creed movies tell the tale of two boxers battling the odds to make it to the top, and both franchises include appearances by numerous real-life fighters. The original Rocky introduced the world to Rocky Balboa a.k.a the Italian Stallion, and Sylvester Stallone’s portrayal of him became synonymous with the story of an underdog taking a shot at greatness. Rocky returned for five more sequels, including the 2006 series revival Rocky Balboa, but that wouldn’t be the last audiences would see of him.
In 2015, the franchise spun off into a new story with Creed, which focused on Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of Rocky’s friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). With Rocky having retired, he would become the mentor of Donnie, which would continue in Creed II. The franchise is also set to continue with Creed III, which will mark the directorial debut of Jordan, while Stallone could theoretically return, too.
With the Rocky and Creed movies having the challenges of boxing as their foundation, both have also brought in numerous actual boxers in various roles going all the way back to the original Rocky. While their roles have varied, each real fighter has made an impact when they’ve been seen in the two franchises, and some have even played very pivotal characters. Here are all of the real boxers seen in the Rocky and Creed movies.
Pedro Lovell
The Rocky franchise brought a real-life boxer in the story right in the very first scene of the series with Pedro Lovell, who played “Spider” Rico, Rocky’s fighting opponent in the opening sequence of the original movie. Despite battling some health issues in his career, Lovell won eighteen of his twenty-three professional fights, with fourteen of his victories coming by knockout. These included wins over such boxers as Ken Norton and Billy Daniels, along with avenging his first career loss to Terry Kreuger. Lovell would later return as Spider Rico in Rocky Balboa, with Rico and Rocky now good friends and Rocky even employing Rico in his Italian restaurant, Adrian’s.
Tony Burton
As the manager of Apollo Creed, Tony “Duke” Evers, Tony Burton appeared throughout the Rocky series, including a minor role alongside Stallone in Rocky V. Competing in the Flint Golden Gloves Championship in the ’50s, Burton also went on to fight professionally later in the decade. Burton’s boxing career was cut short when he served a three-year prison sentence for robbery, during which time he developed an interest in acting due to classes he took while imprisoned. After his release, Burton pursued acting, eventually landing what would become his most well-known role in Tony “Duke” Evers. Burton later returned as Duke in Rocky Balboa before his passing in 2016.
Tommy Morrison
Rocky V’s wayward student Tommy “The Machine” Gunn was portrayed by Tommy “The Duke” Morrison, with his casting coming after Sylvester Stallone saw one of Morrison’s fights. In the film, Tommy seeks out Rocky’s boxing tutelage, only to fall under the influence of George Washington Duke (Richard Gant), and later become Rocky’s enemy. Morrison amassed an impressive record of 48-3-1 over the course of his professional boxing career. Sadly, his HIV diagnosis led to his boxing retirement in 1996, with Morrison passing away in 2013 at the age of 44, but he became a true boxing great in his lifetime.
Mike Williams
Also appearing in Rocky V, Mike Williams portrays the fictional World Heavyweight Champion Union Cane, who is defeated in the ring by Tommy Gunn. Williams retired from professional boxing in 2000 with a record of 22-6, with fourteen victories by knockout. Additionally, Williams has appeared in numerous other movies, such as Full Metal Jacket, Another 48 Hours, The Replacements, and The Boy’s Club.
Antonio Tarver
For Rocky’s return to the ring in Rocky Balboa, his opponent was the very formidable heavyweight champion Mason “The Line” Dixon, played by Antonio Tarver. Over the course of his career, Tarver competed in numerous divisions and retired from boxing with a record of 31-6-1, featuring one no contest and twenty-two knockouts. In Rocky Balboa, Dixon ultimately wins the fight, though Rocky leaves the ring with the respect of Dixon and the audience. Following his retirement from boxing, Tarver has since become a boxing commentator.
Andre Ward
Debuting in 2015’s Creed, Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler, played by Andre Ward, becomes a rival of Donnie when the latter challenges any boxer in the Delphia Gym to fight him, with the winner taking Donnie’s Mustang. Wheeler wins his brief match with the hot-tempered Donnie, but after establishing himself as a professional boxer, Donnie and Wheeler have a rematch in Creed II’s legacy sequel story, with Donnie winning and becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion, along with getting his car back. Outside of his roles in the Creed movies, Andre Ward retired as a professional boxer in 2017, with an undefeated 32-0 record with sixteen knockouts.
Gabriel Rosado
Fighting in multiple weight divisions, Gabriel Rosado’s forty-two professional fights includes twenty-six victories, with fourteen knockouts. Rosado appears in Creed as Leo “The Lion” Sporino, Donnie’s first opponent when Rocky takes him on as his boxing student. Rosado’s fight with Michael B. Jordan in Creed is also one of the most memorable of the whole franchise, with the entire fight captured in one shot.
Tony Bellew
Retiring from boxing in 2018, Tony Bellew holds a record of 30-3-1 from his thirty-four fights, with twenty wins coming by knockout. Bellew appears in Creed as World Lightheavyweight Champion “Pretty” Ricky Conlon, who hopes to get one last fight in before serving a prison sentence. Seeing Donnie as the perfect opponent, being the son of Apollo Creed, Conlon’s team offers Donnie the fight, on the condition that he fights under the Creed name. In the end, though Conlon is victorious, Donnie earns his admiration, with the fight announcer concluding “Ricky Conlon won the fight, but Adonis Creed won the night.”
Florian Munteanu
Creed II took the series back to the moment of Apollo’s death in the ring in Rocky IV with the return of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) along with his son Viktor, played by Florian Munteanu. Prior to Creed II, Munteanu competed as a boxer in his native Germany, while his role as Viktor put him in the ring against Donnie in a proxy rematch of his father’s defeat to Rocky in Rocky IV. Following Creed II, Munteanu was later seen as Razor Fist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and continues to make an impression in the film industry. A deleted scene from Creed II also showed Donnie offering the defeated Viktor words of encouragement, telling him that “You gotta know you’re more than just one fight.” With Creed III in the works, Viktor and Donnie could possibly make peace in the future if Florian Munteanu returns as one of the numerous real-life boxers in the Rocky and Creed franchises.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/rocky-creed-franchise-real-life-fighters-boxers/
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