Rocky II

**Rocky II** is a 1979 film starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith, directed and written by Stallone and produced by Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff.

The film was a financial success as it generated a profit of $28 million.

## Plot

On New Year's Day in 1976, world heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed has successfully defended his title in a split decision against challenger Rocky Balboa. He and Rocky are taken to the same hospital. Despite their mutual agreement not to seek a rematch, Apollo challenges Rocky again, but Rocky declines and retires from professional boxing. His girlfriend, Adrian, supports his choice, as do his doctors, who reveal that he will require surgery for a detached retina, a condition that could lead to permanent blindness. In a private moment, Rocky goes to see a recuperating Apollo, and wants a truthful response to his question of whether Apollo gave his all in the fight; Creed confirms that he did. After Rocky is released from the hospital, he enjoys the benefits of his life's changes: Rocky's new fame attracts an agent who sees Rocky as a potential endorsement and sponsorship goldmine, and his sudden wealth encourages him to propose to Adrian. She happily accepts, and they marry in a small ceremony. Soon after, Adrian reveals that she is pregnant.

Meanwhile, fueled by hate mail claiming he fixed the fight in order to protect his reign as champ, Apollo becomes obsessed with the idea that a rematch is the only way to prove that Rocky's performance was simply a fluke. Determined to rectify his boxing career's only blemish, Apollo ignores all pleas by his friends and family to forget about the fight, and instead demands his team do whatever necessary to goad Rocky out of retirement.

Rocky, at first, seems unaffected by Apollo's smear campaign, but his inexperience with money causes him to run into financial problems. After several unsuccessful attempts to find employment, Rocky visits Mickey Goldmill, his trainer and manager, at his gym to talk about the possibility of fighting again. Mickey declines out of concern for Rocky's health, but he soon accepts after Apollo publicly calls Rocky out on television. Adrian confronts Rocky about the danger of returning to boxing and reminds him of the risk to his eyesight. Rocky argues that he knows nothing else, so this is the only way he can provide for them. Adrian, furious at Rocky for breaking his promise, refuses to support him.

Rocky and Mickey begin training, but Rocky is unfocused due to Adrian's disapproval. Adrian's brother, Paulie, confronts his sister about not supporting her husband, but she faints during the confrontation and is rushed to the hospital, where she goes into labor. Despite being premature, the baby is healthy, but Adrian falls into a coma. Rocky blames himself for what happened, refusing to leave Adrian's bedside until she wakes up, and will not go to see his new baby until the baby can be together with his mother. When Adrian comes out of her coma, she finds Rocky by her bedside, and the couple are shown their new baby, a boy, which they name Robert "Rocky Jr." Adrian gives her blessing to the rematch, and Rocky quickly gets into shape for the fight.

On Thanksgiving, the night of the match, Apollo makes a public goal of beating Rocky in no more than two rounds to prove the first match going the distance was a fluke. Rocky, fighting right-handed to protect his eye instead of his natural southpaw, is knocked down twice by Creed and outclassed for much of the fight. Going into the fifteenth and final round, Creed is well ahead on points and only needs to stay away from Balboa to win the fight by decision. However, Creed, not wanting the fight to end like it did the first time, ignores his trainer's pleas to stay back and attempts to beat Rocky by knockout. In the final round, Rocky switches back to his natural stance, and in dramatic fashion, unleashes a series of counter punches on Creed, turning the tide. Both men, exhausted, trade punches until Rocky drops Creed with a beautiful left hook. However, both men fall to the canvas. As they struggle to regain their feet, Rocky is able to will himself up at the count of 9 while Apollo collapses from exhaustion, giving Rocky the win by knockout, making him the new heavyweight champion. Rocky then gives an impassioned speech to the crowd and holds the belt over his head with a message for his wife, who is watching the fight on TV: "Yo, Adrian, I did it!"