Apollo Creed is a fictional boxer from the Rocky franchise, portrayed by Carl Weathers. He appears in the first four Rocky films, serving as the main antagonist in Rocky and Rocky II, and later becoming one of the protagonists in Rocky III and Rocky IV. Sylvester Stallone, the writer and star of the Rocky series, stated that Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali were the inspirations for the character of Creed. Protagonist Rocky BalboaCreed's rival in Rocky and Rocky IIfaces underdog odds, but he views Creed with respect, pointedly refusing the prodding of a reporter to trash-talk him, even after he publicly taunts Balboa by remarking "he's great."
In Rocky, Creed cleans out his division of serious challengers but decides to fight Balboa for the fan spectacle as well as for the implied symbolism of fighting a man with an Italian background. In the sequel film Rocky II, Balboa and Creed find themselves evenly matched in the ring, becoming friends in Rocky III. Creed had many nicknames, including "The King of Sting", "The Dancing Destroyer", "The Prince of Punch", "The Count of Monte Fisto", and most prominently "The Master of Disaster".
Role in the series Rocky (1976)
Apollo Creed first appears in the 1976 Oscar-winning film Rocky as the charismatic, intelligent, and undefeated nearly 33-year-old World Heavyweight Champion. A planned bicentennial fight against number-one contender Mac Lee Green is scheduled for January 1, 1976; however, Green hurts his left hand in training, and other top-ranked contenders are either busy or claim they do not have enough time to get in shape. A frustrated Creed is unwilling to waste the time, effort, and money he's already invested in the fight, so he comes up with a novel idea he believes will generate publicityhe will offer an unknown local fighter an opportunity to battle for the title in a match in Philadelphia.
Upon reviewing the local boxers in Philadelphia, Creed is drawn to a club fighter named Rocky Balboa, an Italian with a catchy nickname, "The Italian Stallion". Creed explains his interest in Rocky by saying, "Who discovered America? An Italian, right? What better way to celebrate its 200th birthday than to get it on with one of his descendants?" Creed brushes off his manager Tony "Duke" Evers' warning that he should not fight the left-handed Rocky, pledging to knock him out in three rounds. Despite Duke showing concern when he sees Balboa in a television interview punching sides of beef in a meat-packing plant, Creed puts more effort into giving everyone a good show than training for the bout.
When the match takes place, Creed dresses up as both George Washington and Uncle Sam in the pre-fight festivities (with his matching trademark stars-and-stripes boxing shorts) and is in a jovial mood until Balboa knocks him down in the first round with a single uppercut, the first time Creed is knocked down in his career. He then endures a grueling 15-round fight with Balboa, who gets to his feet after Creed takes him down in the 14th round, which appeared to be the end of the match. This was the first time anyone had ever taken the champion the full 15 rounds. Duke suggests stopping the fight at one point, but Creed refuses.
Both fighters are beaten, bloodied, and bruised by the end of the boutBalboa with severe eye damage and Creed with internal bleeding in his abdomen. Creed gains a controversial split decision victory.
Rocky II (1979)
In the second film, despite promising there would not be a rematch, Creed demands a rematch against Balboa while in the hospital emergency room. Public opinion in the film is that Creed fixed the fight against Balboa to retain his title, which leads to Creed's intensified desire for a rematch against the pleas of Duke, who tells him to "let it go". Creed challenges Balboa to a second fight on Thanksgiving 1976. By this time, Balboa had retired from boxing after being discharged from the hospital from his first fight and had married his girlfriend Adrian. Creed, now 33 years old, uses various humiliation tactics to coax Balboa out of retirement, which he accomplishes when Balboa and his trainer, Mickey Goldmill, accept the rematch. Creed taunts Balboa at the press conference, insisting that he will "drop him like a bad habit" and telling Balboa as he leaves, "Come November, you're mine!" In a press interview during training, he also insists that Balboa "cannot last five minutes in the ring with a superior athlete like [him]." Creed trains harder than ever before with the intention of punishing Balboa for the embarrassment he caused 11 months earlier. Mickey trains Rocky to become faster, using unusual methods like chasing and catching a chicken. He also instructs him to change his boxing stance from left-handed to right-handed to confuse Creed and to protect his damaged right eye.
Unlike their first fight, Creed dominates Balboa throughout most of the second fight, thwarting Rocky's strategy of fighting right-handed. Despite this, he is unable to make good on his promise of an early knockout victory, as Rocky absorbs his punches and manages to get up both times after being knocked down. By the final round, Creed is well ahead on points but is fatigued, and it is apparent that he cannot knock Balboa out. Creed takes a beating from Balboa. Not wanting a repeat of the first fight and ignoring the desperate pleas of Duke to stay away and fight from distance, he vows to knock Balboa out rather than take the safer route by winning on points. At the beginning of the 15th round, he tells Rocky, "You're going down," to which Balboa replies, "No way." After going toe-to-toe for much of the final round, Creed is knocked down by Balboa, with Balboa falling down in exhaustion as well. Balboa gets up by the count of 9, but Creed is unable to pull himself up and is counted out, losing the match and the championship by knockout, his first professional loss.
Creed retires from boxing soon after. Despite the loss, he regains the respect of the public, as he lost in a fair fight. The fight also results in Creed finally acknowledging Balboa's ability as a fighter, rather than seeing him as a fluke.
Rocky III (1982)
In the third film, a 39-year-old Apollo Creed appears at the first fight between James "Clubber" Lang, 28, and Rocky Balboa, 35, as a guest commentator. Before the match, the former champion Creed steps into the ring to greet the fighters. When he offers Lang a handshake, the latter slaps away Creed's hand and mockingly insists that he "don't want no has-been messin' in my corner." Lang further taunts and laughs at Creed, prompting him to tell Balboa to "give everybody a present and drop this chump." Following the match, in which Lang wins by a second-round knockout, Balboa's manager, Mickey, dies in the locker room. Determined in part to put Lang in his place, Creed finds an apprehensive and bereaved Balboa at Mickey's gym. Despite hesitating at first, Balboa agrees to let Creed train him for a rematch against Lang, who laughs off the prospect of "one has-been teaching another" during a television interview.
The pair subsequently travel to the Tough Gym in Los Angeles, where Creed used to train, in preparation for the rematch alongside Duke. Creed encourages Rocky not to ignore the naysayers who say he is too old but to refocus instead. During this talk, he states, "Now when we fought... you had that eye of the tiger". This quote is referred to throughout the movie, including the film's theme song, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. Creed mentions that Rocky will owe him "a big favor" once he wins. Rocky's training is geared toward making him quicker and more agile to counter the larger, stronger brawler. Creed even teaches his own fighting style to Rocky. Rocky has trouble concentrating during his training, suffering from guilt over Mickey's demise and self-doubt. Adrian helps Rocky recognize this as a simple fear of losing again and convinces him that he can't let fear control his life and that he has to fight again, not to prove a point, but to live without fear. Creed helps Rocky rediscover the motivation, which he had lost in the time leading up to the Lang fight, that had won him the title. Creed calls this motivation the "eye of the tiger."
Before the match begins, Creed expresses his confidence that Rocky will win. He gives Rocky his signature colorshis stars and stripes boxing trunksto wear during the fight. Just before the fight, Lang mocks Creed again and shoves him, nearly starting a brawl. Re-energized with Creed shadow boxing in his corner, Rocky regains his title with a three-round knockout of Lang. After his victory, Rocky honours Creed's favor: a third fight together, this time not as a bloody fight between bitter rivals, but a private sparring match between friends, which Rocky happily accepts. The film ends as they each throw punches at the same time, symbolizing the equality of their greatness. The result is not revealed until the 2015 film Creed, in which Rocky tells Creed's son, Adonis, that his father won the fight.
Rocky IV (1985)
In 1985, Creed, now 43 years old, comes out of a five-year retirement to fight mammoth Soviet Olympic boxer Ivan Drago, who has come to the United States on behalf of the Soviet Union to enter the world of professional boxing. Not wanting the Soviets to appear superior to American fighters, Creed challenges Drago to an exhibition match and calls out Drago at the press conference that sets up their exhibition bout in the Jubilee showroom at the first MGM Grand in Las Vegas, on August 31, 1985.
Highlighted by a pre-match rendition of "Living in America" by James Brown, Creed enters the arena from a descending scaffold overhead, dancing to the music in a red, white, and blue Uncle Sam outfit. With Rocky, Duke, and Paulie in his corner, Creed is overly confident that he can dispose of Drago with ease, but he is not ready for the extreme size and strength of the Russian. After taunting Drago and landing a number of ineffectual punches, Creed is pummeled badly in the first round. Rocky wants to stop the fight but Creed refuses, telling Rocky not to stop the fight "no matter what!"
At the start of the second round, Drago pummels Creed with ease. Rocky again tries to stop the fight by throwing in the towel, but hesitates too long, giving Drago a chance to deliver a fatal blow to Creed, who dies in Rocky's arms in the middle of the ring. An enraged Rocky then sets out to avenge Creed's death by challenging Drago himself and agrees to an unsanctioned 15-round bout in the Soviet Union. Rocky again wears Creed's stars-and-stripes boxing trunks. He succeeds as the film ends with Rocky winning the fight by knockout in the last round, with the Soviet premier and the Politburo looking on.
Rocky V (1990)
With his character's death, Carl Weathers departed the franchise after Rocky IV. In Rocky V, the fifth installment of the series, immediately after Rocky defeats Drago, Creed's trainer Duke praises Rocky on his victory, saying that he made everyone proud, especially Creed, by holding up his red, white, and blue trunks. Creed is thereafter only mentioned briefly in the past tense, including a flashback scene between Mickey and Rocky before Balboa's first fight with Creed, in which Mickey says, "Apollo won't know what hit him." Rocky's pupil Tommy Gunn claims to have been a fan of Rocky since his first fight with Creed. Gunn is eventually allowed to wear Creed's trunks. There was a poster of Creed and Rocky during the events of Rocky II in Rocky Jr.'s bedroom before the Balboas went bankrupt. During Gunn's fight with Union Cane, Rocky comments that it is like his own first fight with Creed. Later, during Rocky's street fight with Gunn, he begins to hallucinate and sees images of Creed's death at the hands of Drago, believing that he is about to suffer the same fate. However, a vision of Mickey telling him to get up gives Rocky the strength to win the fight.