Apollo Creed

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Apollo Creed
Statistics
Real name	Apollo Creed
Nickname	The Dancing Destroyer The Master of Disaster The King of Sting The Count of Monte Fisto
Weight	Heavyweight
Nationality	American
Birth date	1948
Birth place	Los Angeles, California, USA
Style	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	48
Wins	47
Wins by KO	46
Losses	1
Draws	0
No contests	0

Apollo Creed was a fictional character from the Rocky film series, initially portrayed as the World Heavyweight Champion. He was portrayed by Carl Weathers.

[edit] Role in the series

Creed initially was Rocky Balboa's target in his quest to become champion. After their two fights together, they embrace as friends. Apollo then steps in to train Rocky after Mickey's death in Rocky III.

[edit] Rocky

Creed first appeared in the 1976 Oscar winning film "Rocky" as world champion, taking a fight with lightly regarded Rocky Balboa. Creed treated the fight as more of a show than an actual fight until Rocky knocked him down, the first time Creed was ever knocked down in his career. He went through a grueling 15-rounder with the game Balboa, which he won by split decision. He declined a rematch.

[edit] Rocky II

In the second film, Creed's initial resistance to a rematch with Balboa softened when it became clear that the prevailing public opinion was that Creed had either gotten lucky or had carried an inferior opponent the length of the match. Eager to change minds, Creed challenged Balboa to a second fight on Thanksgiving Day, 1976.

Unlike their first fight, Creed dominated Balboa throughout the second fight. By the final round, he was well ahead on points, but did not want a repeat of the first fight, and vowed to knock Balboa out. After going toe-to-toe for much of the final round, both were knocked down by a left from Balboa. Rocky was able to get up by the count of 9, but Creed failed to make the count and lost by KO, his first professional loss.

[edit] Rocky III

In the third film, Creed took over as Balboa’s manager and trainer, following Rocky's loss to Clubber Lang and the death of Mickey. Creed helped focus Balboa on rediscovering the fire inside that he had in their fights and which he had clearly lost in the time leading up to the Lang fight. Creed called this fire the "Eye of the Tiger". Re-energized with Creed in his corner, Balboa regained his title with a three-round knockout of Lang.

[edit] Rocky IV

In Weathers's final appearance in the film series, Creed himself returns to the ring to challenge Soviet champion Ivan Drago to an exhibition at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Drago was much younger and in peak physical condition. Creed trusted his ring generalship to make quick work of Drago, but the younger man pummeled him to his death. Rocky later avenges this by defeating Drago in Russia.

[edit] Fighting Style

Because the original film was released in 1976 during the reign of Muhammad Ali, it is reasonable to assume that, with Ali being considered the quintessential boxer by having defeated some of the best of the time, Creed was based largely on him.

Like Ali, Apollo was an outside fighter, relying on his speed and power to get through fights. His jab-cross-hook combination were his mainstay, and also just like Ali, Creed's defense was heavily contingent upon his speed. Apollo was able to bob and weave and frustrate his opponents.

But just like Ali, Creed was susceptible to taking alot of damage during fights because of the level at which he held his hands, a fact which ultimately proved to be his undoing.

[edit] Trivia

• Creed is based on the acclaimed heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.

• Apollo Creed was born in Los Angeles, California in most likely the Watts neighborhood, as suggested in Rocky III. It is mentioned that the two fighters will go back to where he (Apollo) started which appears to be a South Central boxing gym.

• In The Simpsons episode "The Springfield Files", Homer Simpson claimed that Apollo Creed was the first man to land on the moon. Homer confuses the fictional boxer with the Apollo spacecraft, which was used in the 1969 moon landings.

• Apollo Creed was also mentioned by Michael Scott, the fictional boss in The Office television show on NBC, as a black man he would trust more than Jesus, in the Season 3 episode, "The Convict."

• In the last "The Wayans Bros." episode, "Rope-A-Dope", Marlon and Shawn steal Roy Jones Jr.'s duffel bag when Marlon is training in the same gym as Roy; he calls Jones' trainer Apollo Creed.

• The premise for the Drago-Creed fight is similar to the Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling fights in the 1930s. Louis was African American and Schmeling's home country Germany was then under the control of the Nazi regime led by Adolf Hitler, leading him to be viewed as the enemy.

• Creed's death at the hands of Drago is similar to Frankie Campbell's death at the hands of Max Baer.

• All of Apollo's championship fights were scheduled for the 15 round distance. Championship fights did not convert from 15 rounds to 12 rounds until 1987.

• Balboa is often wrongly credited with popularizing the red, white, and blue trunks (shown in the picture). Creed was the first person to wear them.

[edit] Links