Rocky Balboa: Great Champion or Overrated?

Growing up, some of my favorite boxing memories include some classic battles. I remember when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield, I remember when Lennox Lewis destroyed David Tua, I even remember when George Foreman beat Michael Moorer in 1994. But most importantly, I remember when Rocky Balboa came out of retirement, travelled to Russia, and beat the heavily favored Ivan Drago and single-handedly ended the Cold War. Who doesn’t remember cheering for the Italian Stallion every time he stepped into the ring? Rocky gave us all hope and his will and determination was an inspiration to us all.

That said, Rocky was completely overrated. Completely and utterly overrated. He often showed a lack of motivation, no business savvy and he was coddled by his trainer, Mickey Goldmill. With 57 wins (54 by KO) and 24 losses, Rocky has a 70% winning percentage…not exactly stellar. Now you’re probably thinking that I’m some sort of socialist because I don’t think Rocky was great, but thats not the case. As a boxing fan, I just want to put things in perspective.

First off, let me clear the air by admitting that Rocky is one of the toughest fighters I’ve ever seen. He grew up in a tough area in Philadelphia and he was an enforcer for some low level loansharks, and fought in a small club people called “the Bucket of Blood”. Toughness is no substitution for overall skill, though. After beating Spider Rico in 1975, the then heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed needed someone to fight (due to a hand injury to the incumbent challenger, Mac Lee Green) and he chose Balboa. The first fight between these two ended in a split decision but one has to wonder if Balboa would have gotten that far against Creed if the champ had taken the fight seriously. (Quick sidenote: Apollo Creed showed great business savvy by having the fight on New Year’s Day.)

The second fight between these two wasn’t even supposed to happen. Both fighters agreed there would be no rematch but the media really went after Creed and he was pressured into fighting Balboa again. And let’s be real- the Balboa camp was fine with sitting back and doing nothing. Unfortunately, they made some bad decisions and ran out of money in the worst possible time, with a child on the way. To their credit, Mickey and Rocky trained harder than ever and took the win after a fantastic battle between two titans.
(Another sidenote: Great planning by Creed for making the fight on Thanksgiving of 1976. He just loves fighting on holidays.)

So let’s fast forward a few years. In 1981, Balboa faced newcomer James “Clubber” Lang after several title defenses against guys that aren’t exactly noteworthy. Thats a bad job by Goldmill to make these fights. How can anyone take your fighter seriously if he’s fighting guys like Big Yank Ball, Vito Soto, Joe Green and Flip Folsom? And then risking his career to take on a professional wrestler (who may have been using PEDs) in Thunderlips? I know it was for charity but you can’t take a chance like that.

I also had an issue with the way Lang chose to call out Balboa. He’s the heavyweight champion of the world. You know his wife’s name. Why are you shouting, “Hey, woman!” at her? And to suggest that you’re more of a man than her husband? Thats a low blow in my opinion. And then to make matters worse, Lang shoved Mickey out of the ring, subsequently leading to a heart attack and eventually his death. I really think this is a blemish on the face of the boxing commission for allowing the fight to continue at this point. I mean, come on…a fighter assaults a trainer and the fight continues? Despite Lang’s disgusting behavior, he beat Balboa in two rounds, knocking him out and taking his title. Had Balboa been adequately trained, the result may have been different. Which brings me to the point about Mickey being a subpar trainer.

Do you think Freddie Roach or Angelo Dundee would have allowed their fighters to become complacent? I don’t think so. Is it any coincidence that when Tony “Duke” Evers took over as Balboa’s trainer, he went 2-0 (and 1-1 in charity events/street fights)? I think Evers and Creed added a new element to Balboa’s repertoire and he was down to 191 pounds for the first time since facing Creed in 1976. He was quicker, more agile and it really shows that Lang doesn’t scout well because he was clearly not ready for his opponent and Balboa took care of him in only three rounds.

After regaining the title, its unclear what Balboa was up to (other than buying tigers and robots) until 1985 when Creed came out of retirement to face Olympic Gold medalist Ivan Drago in a charity event. Balboa and Evers were in Creed’s corner and Balboa must have picked up a few tips from Mickey because Creed wasn’t ready for Drago. Plus, he really dropped the ball when he had a chance to stop the fight as Creed was being pummeled and was eventually killed in the ring. By the way, were these the Dark Ages of Boxing? You have fighters tossing trainers into the crowd, boxers dying in the ring, and guys getting brain damage left and right.

Feeling guilty about Creed’s in-ring death, Balboa booked a fight against Drago in Russia. Thats a bad job by Rocky. Fight the guy in neutral territory. Theres arenas all over the world. Switzerland, Canada, Mexico. You choose Russia? You’re putting yourself in a tough spot. Recently, Juan Diaz fought Paulie Malignaggi in Texas and the judges ruled in Diaz’s favor. And if the setting didn’t make things worse, Balboa relinquished his title because the boxing commission wouldn’t sanction the fight.

For once in his career, Balboa trained very well before the fight and the result was a 13 pound increase in weight from his bout against Lang and an obvious increase in power. After a 15 round, Christmas Day beating (the date I assume was an homage to the late great Apollo Creed), Balboa outlasted the 6’5 Russian and gave a rousing speech that pretty much ended the Cold War. Thats right, Robert “Rocky” Balboa, Sr ended the Cold War…all by himself.

Foreign policy seemed to be one of his strong suits. What wasn’t? Financial stability. He ended up losing all of his assets because his brother in law, Paulie, was tricked into give their accountant power of attorney, and this accountant subsequently embezzled everything the former champion had…except for Mickey’s gym. Luckily for Balboa, Mickey was smart and had left the gym to Robert Balboa Jr.

Rocky’s career was pretty much over at this point, despite dabbling as the trainer for Tommy Gunn. Gunn never really got a fair shake because he was tabbed as “Rocky’s Robot.” And if the embezzlement wasn’t enough, Rocky was already heading towards bankruptcy. After years of spending money without thinking, it all finally caught up to him. What he needed with tigers and robots is still a mystery to most boxing followers. Even after his first big payday against Creed, Balboa went out and frivolously bought an I-Roc z28. Its no wonder he didn’t turn down the offer to fight Mason Dixon despite being 58 years old.

All in all, Rocky will go down in the annals of history as a great fighter. He had tons of heart and an iron chin. He wasn’t very business savvy and he was way too trusting with his money, but at the very least, he was a champion of the people.