This weekend, the Boxing Hall of Fame will welcome a new class. Among a group of inductees that includes all-time greats like Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., one stands out as a seemingly peculiar choice: Sylvester Stallone.
If only taken at face value, Sly seems to be the odd man out. But in reality, Stallone is a proxy for a different man. In 2011, the Boxing Hall of Fame will welcome the man who defied the odds and went the distance with Apollo Creed, the man who made the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum a tourist attraction and the man whose statue graces those same steps.
Yes, the Boxing Hall of Fame will be inducting Sylvester Stallone, but in doing so they will also be recognizing the greatest boxer who never lived: Rocky Balboa.
Forget the sequels, the real story of Rocky Balboa begins and ends with the eponymous film, “Rocky.” In 1975, a relatively unknown actor and screenwriter named Sylvester Stallone brought the character of Rocky Balboa to the big screen. When the film was released, movie audiences were granted a look into the brutal and unforgiving world of boxing. The film highlights the sacrifices, both physical and personal, fighters must endure. It shows the emotional highs and lows fighters can experience. It speaks on determination and self-satisfaction. In doing so, it acts as a love letter to, and a commentary about, all things boxing.
Loosely inspired by Chuck Wepner’s 15-round effort against Mohammed Ali, “Rocky” tells the story an unknown boxer given one chance at greatness. The unknown boxer, Rocky Balboa, is, in many ways, less than an everyman. He is good-hearted but slow-witted, miserable and angry and mostly surrounded by selfish people. As a boxer, he is a man who never quite reached his potential. As his trainer Mickey reminds him, he “could have been great.” He continues to train and continues to dream even though he knows his time has passed.
When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed’s intended opponent is injured, he and his management don’t seek out a worthwhile challenger. Instead, they look for an easy fight with marketing potential. In Rocky, they find exactly that. He’s not a great fighter, just a local bum with a catchy nickname. Although the fight is billed as a “chance of a lifetime,” everyone knows it’s nothing more than a gimmick — everyone except Rocky.
Apollo is a stereotype of many of the things wrong with boxing, but he’s no villain. He is a fighter who is cursed by his own dominance and arrogance. He has become so accustomed to winning, he is more interested in promoting his image than honing his craft. Apollo has lost interest in being challenged, and because of that, he is a man who has forgotten what makes the sport of boxing great.
Rocky, on the other hand, represents the struggles all fighters experience. His training, whether it’s using raw beef as a punching bag or just waking up early to run the streets of Philadelphia, offers a glimpse into the dedication needed to fight. In order to fight, he must train. His unorthodox but intense training combined with his apparent simplicity makes him a hit with the media. But unlike Apollo, he doesn’t train for show. He trains to win. He trains when he’s tired and he trains when life throws distractions his way. And like any real person, Rocky has a life outside of the ring.
He has a best friend who is more concerned with exploiting his success than facilitating it. He has a budding relationship with a woman uncomfortable with his life as a fighter. Rocky’s desire to be a fighter is in constant conflict with the rest of his life. Yet, his passion for boxing wins him the support of not only his friends, but of a nation looking to root for an underdog.
Unfortunately, boxing is a sport where passion rarely supersedes talent. It’s not an uplifting truth, but it’s one that “Rocky” doesn’t stray away from. In one of the most important scenes in the film, Rocky wakes up in the middle of the night and confesses to his girlfriend, Adrian, that he knows he won’t win. He tells her that all he wants is to go the distance with Creed. In a lesser movie, like the numerous sequels that would follow, Rocky would have overcome the odds and beaten the champ. Instead, he does exactly what most underdogs do: he loses.
The fight between Rocky and Apollo perfectly captures both the brutality and beauty of the sport. All the outside factors (the hype, the trash talk, the money) no longer matter once the fight is underway. Instead, the audience gets to witness boxing for what it really is: a battle between two competitors. Although Creed is clearly the better fighter, Rocky’s sacrifices, coupled with Creed’s neglect, make the fight competitive. Both men get cut, both men take violent hits, both men get hurt; neither man ever quits.
In the end, Rocky survives to the final bell. He loses the fight, but earns his own self-respect. In addition, Rocky’s determination and heart earns him the respect of boxing fans around the world. Meanwhile, Creed learns a valuable lesson about the dangers of complacency.
When Stallone officially becomes a member of the Hall of Fame, he does so in place of Rocky Balboa. Rocky may not be real, but the insights into the world of boxing that his story offers are. Boxing isn’t about gimmicky match making and over the top promotion. Boxing is about sacrifice. Boxing is about two men who have trained their hardest doing battle. Boxing is about the quest for respect, and respect is earned by exhibiting the heart of a fighter, working hard and refusing to quit.
Rocky’s story has not only brought boxing to the awareness of generations of movie fans, but has likely served as an inspiration for untold numbers of athletes. Rocky Balboa is Hall of Fame-worthy, and he would not exist if not for Sylvester Stallone.
