Not So Far Fetched...

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2002)

I have heard people question the plausibility of this film and I had to say something. Back when this film was made, there was mostly one boxing champion in each weight division. There was, for example, one middleweight champion, one heavyweight champion. The days of numerous sanctioning bodies each claiming their own champion had not yet come. In this sense it was a matter of PRESTIGE for a fighter to hold a championship. And before the days of guaranteed multi-million dollar contracts, a champion might have taken on "all comers" to try and cement his reputation. A case in point would be when Joe Louis fought Tony "Two Ton" Galento, a short stout and overweight beer salesman. Galento was a 30-1 underdog although he did manage to knock Louis down before getting cut to ribbons. Muhammad Ali often defended his title against no-namers like Jean-Pierre Coopman and Brian London.

Now back to the film. Although the fight scene is remarkably over-the-top (if you want to see realistic fights, go see "Girlfight"), it goes against the grain of your typical underdog movie, because Rocky LOSES. It appears that Apollo is the better overall fighter but Rocky's got the heart to go the distance. This adds credibility to the film (which the sequels destroy) even though it isn't REALLY a boxing film.
Also the Rocky character is based on two real-life fighters. Obviously, Rocky Marciano, who used to train in meat lockers, and Chuck Wepner who was served up to Muhammad Ali so he could have two or three easy rounds. Wepner (a liquor salesman who "wanted to go the distance") gave Ali 15 tough rounds before getting knocked out literally at the last minute.