Mickey Goldmill
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Michael "Mickey" Goldmill (April 7, 1905 - August 15, 1981) is a fictional boxing trainer created by Sylvester Stallone and portrayed by Burgess Meredith.
[edit] Biography
Mickey Goldmill was born on April 7, 1905 to a Jewish family (this was not revealed until the third movie at his funeral in a synagouge).
He boxed professionally from 1922 until 1943, but never gained any measure of fame. Goldmill recalled that he once knocked an opponent out of the ring the same day that Jack Dempsey did the same to Luis Firpo: September 14, 1923. Goldmill claimed that the reason his feat didn't garner any media attention was that he didn't have a manager while Dempsey did. He retired in 1943.
Some time after his retirement, he opened a boxing gym in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mighty Mick's Boxing, and began to train fighters.
One of the regulars in his gym was Rocky Balboa, a local club fighter who had never realized his potential. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed gives Balboa an unlikely shot at the title, Goldmill approaches him about being his manager. Based on their uneasy prior relationship, Balboa was initially resistant but ultimately agreed to let Goldmill train him.
While Balboa lost the fight to Creed, he managed to last the full fifteen rounds, a first for any Creed opponent.
When Creed challenged Balboa to a rematch, both fighter and manager were reluctant to step back into the ring with the champion. After much consideration, though, they change their minds and accepted the offer.
For the second fight with Creed, Goldmill utilized unique training methods to help Balboa gain speed. He also converted Balboa from a left-handed fighting style to a right-handed style in an effort to both confuse Creed and to protect an eye Balboa had badly injured in the first fight.
Balboa managed to barely defeat Creed in the rematch and Goldmill had finally trained his first champion.
Goldmill trained Balboa to a series of successful title defenses before both men decided it was time for them to retire.
Controversial challenger Clubber Lang, accused the two of avoiding him. Finally, Goldmill and Balboa agreed to face Lang in a fight both figured would be their last outing.
The matchup was set for August 13, 1981. Shortly before the fight Balboa's and Lang's entourages got into a scuffle and Goldmill was knocked to the ground. He returned to the locker room and when it became apparent that something was wrong, Balboa attempted to call off the fight. Goldmill, however, would have none of it and ordered Balboa to go ahead with the bout.
Balboa lost the fight in a second-round knockout. He returned to the locker room shortly before Goldmill finally succumbed to a heart attack. He was 76.
According to the terms of his will, Goldmill left his gym, Mighty Mick's Boxing, to Rocky's son, Robert.
[edit] Trivia
- Burgess Meredith would reprise his role as Mickey in a flashback sequence filmed for Rocky V. He also appeared in archival footage used in flashbacks in Rocky IV and Rocky Balboa.
- When Sylvester Stallone hosted the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live's 1997-1998 season, then-cast member Jim Breuer appeared as Mickey during Stallone's monologue, chastising his performance and advising him to spew Rocky catchphrases, as that is all audiences care to see. The episode aired shortly after Meredith's 1997 death.
| Rocky series |
|---|
| Rocky | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V | Rocky Balboa |
| Characters |
| Rocky Balboa | Mickey Goldmill | Apollo Creed Clubber Lang | Ivan Drago | Tommy Gunn |
| Video games |
| Rocky | Rocky Legends |
| Related articles |
| Rocky actors | Rocky music | Rocky Steps |
| Related articles (Boxing) |
| The distance | The "Real" Rocky | Southpaw | World Heavyweight Championship |
