ROCKY VS ROCKY ? TIME - SPACE TRAVEL ? WHAT ? REAL ROCKY STATUE, DON'T WE HAVE 'EM 'TOO MANY' ALREADY ? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assuming Rocky's official record was 50-0, would that give a helping hand in creating some kind of a Rocky memorial much faster ? Who will appreciate all my & my group's efforts I wasted on Rocky ? What if Rocky fought Archie Moore in a rematch ? Moore could have demanded it in original contract and give Rock an easy win ? What if he fought the only other top rated 1955 heavyweight (225lbs, 6'2) fighter Bob Baker between January 1st and February 3rd 1956 at 11:59PM ? It might have been, could have been, it should have been... There were plans but nothing happened. Well, there is a fight that could be classified as 50th but it was never sanctioned as an official fight (not even as an exhibition), it happened in the mid 1950's and yes, it was with Rocky Marciano not Rocky Balboa but what if I tell you Balboa was to fight Marciano ? Would that make Rocky 50-0 :) ? Some would tell me I am nuts, well this fantasy fight almost happened... I don't know why some of the ungrateful (blue collar) Brocktonians (& others) don't like comparison of Balboa to Marciano (not all in Brockton are cold but many are indifferent, uncaring, rude individuals, especially old timers, Rocky's generation, his so called pals, instead of being grateful to us, younger generation for remembering their time, their fighters, their era, they are nowhere around when one needs them, cool then). Rocky influences in Rocky movies... certainly there are many similarities throughout the history of pugilism & there were many fighters named Rocky, usually Italian descendants, of Italian origin. But only one of them was heavyweight champion who retired with a perfect record. Yes, It's Hollywood-Rocky time boys and girls but which or whose Rocky time ? I like Sylvester Stallone as an actor but some things just dont get more idiotic. This dude never even fought once as an amateur (let's not even think of Stallone as a professional). Did I just say what I said in the title of this story ? SPACE TRAVEL, DOH, WHAT ?!? Rocky movies honchos wanted M.J. Fox to play Rocky Marciano. That's right boys and gals, dig this folks and get a load of the super goodies: Rocky Balboa of "Rocky" movies claimed Marciano as his hero. Ok, cool. I will give him that, both were rugged, tough as nails. I believe if they really fought, there would have been no KO's but RM wins on points. I believe Rocky's character resembles the combination of Marciano and Graziano (Mostly Marciano). In the first movie, the picture of Rocky Marciano hung above fire place in Balboa's chicken coop. That's all fine, nice and dandy but if I am not mistaken: For Rocky V, the working title was going to be "Rocky Vs Rocky: Back to the Days of Future Past." For argument's sake, even if this is partially true... In it, Philly street pug Rocky Balboa would find himself somehow transported in time to the early '50's, where he would fight Rocky Marciano for the heavyweight championship of the world. Does that mean Rocky would be defeated by some time traveler who thinks he can box ? First of all Marciano was 5'11 (at the Moore-Marciano fight, the announcer said Rocky was 5'11 & 1/2, that's wrong), Fox (ok actor) is like 2 feet tall, that's a total disparity. Sure, they could have casted Fox as Willie Pep, great flyweight champion for many years, active boxer for 26 years (between 1940 and 1966), later in retirement, Rocky's server, drinking companion buddy (Willie was a legend, he once won over 70 consecutive bouts, another time he won 50 straight ones). The Moody Blues were going to compose the original score in doo-wop & jumping jack style. But part of the problem was casting. That's right boys and girls, Michael J. Fox just didn't wash as Marciano. And the animal rights people demanded teenage mutant ninjas to play the pet turtles, Cuff and Link (Rocky Memorial Group sincerely apologizes to the teenage mutant ninja turtles for terse, unrepentive comments). Stallone, meanwhile, was not so sure about fighting a guy Marciano/Fox who was much more popular than himself. And frankly, he was tired of drinking rotten raw eggs and blasting & bruising frozen slides of beef. So "Rocky V" appeared to be the end of Stallone's yellow brick roadwork. The critics were relieved until Rocky VI came along, milking it all along the way. But again, the influence of Marciano is evident from the beginning. The movie idea was based on Superfight movie Rocky taped with Ali one month before he died (over 70 rounds of 1 minute bouts were combined into final project). Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune gave "Rocky V" just one star, calling it "a cynical, fourth-generation sequel too exhausted even to revive its own cliches." Roger Ebert of The Sun-Times awarded "Rocky V" two stars and said "the series has run out of steam." So, what about: ROCKY 6 ROCKY 6 was fully inspired by Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali's 1970 Superfight. Rocky's presence can be felt all over all the Rocky movies, its power and resilience is carbon copy of the RM's fighting spirit. Ali does not need any more kudos but extra praise will not hurt him. Cheerfully moronic, imbued with suggestive imbecile type racism to which Stallone and the film's enthusiasts have long purported to be oblivious, Rocky Balboa lionizes a small-time South Philly dude from da hood who somehow manages to get a bout with the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, and thereupon gives him the fight of his life (this fantasy does not happen in real life, so for all you fighters out there, keep on dreaming, sorry, life is not fair, welcome to the club!. The movie's champion, Apollo Creed, is an automatic motor-mouthed African-American punk who shows no respect for america or its flag; he is transparently a stand-in for 'the greatest' Muhammad Ali, who, though mostly sainted, glorified and adored now, was in those days reviled by a substantial percentage of white Americans, particularly old school Caucasian fight fans (including Rocky). Ali was right, no Vietnamese attacked or killed his people, why was he to fight white America's war ? Only after they met in 1969 Ali became Rocky's friend and supporter but he really gained respect for Ali after their 1969 filming sessions. Before the filming Rocky was a critic of many things Ali said or did. And I do not blame him. Rocky also did not like Ali's circus antics and bad mouthing, especially the bad mouthing of former champions. Rocky Balboa character was a talent thin, thuggish but gutsy. Stallone invented Rocky character (in part) based on Ali-Wepner fight but the character and the name of the movie is based on, inspiredd by Rocky Marciano and it has a little bit of Graziano ingredients (supposedly). Yup, Chucky Chuckster Wepner once spent an evening in the same ring with Ali, getting bitch smacked around and having ton of crap beaten out of him, before returning to obscurity. Wepner told his wife (or girlfriend): "Sweetie, tonight you will sleep with the champion of the world". After the fight, when he came home, his wife looked at him and said: "Well, bring me Ali, I will sleep with him." Hmmm wify wanted new partner. Wepner did not keep his word but at least he was only few seconds away from surviving the 15th round, if he had done that, well then, that would have been a different story, an accomplishment worthy of praise. The Rocky character said exactly what White America wanted to hear: They (blacks) are gifted but we (whites) work harder. Still, because the very notion of a first generation immigrant, an Italian-American, rising to the top of the boxing ladder on this or on any other planet was obviously absurd, so actor/director/screenwriter Rambo Stallone was careful not to push things too far in the film that launched the series. The last white heavyweight with genuine talent was Rocky Marciano, who retired with a perfect 49-0 record in 1956. Since that time, there was Ingemar Johansson, a (mediocre to acceptable fighter) Swede fighting in the late '50's and early '60's, who defeated Floyd Patterson in 1959 for the world championship, lost the title one year later in a rematch, then there was Jerry Quarry, a gallant late '60's punching bag. A few years later, a lumbering Great White Hope named Gerry Cooney would enjoy brief success before getting pounded into retirement by Larry Holmes. In the 1990's, Tommy Morrison, who actually starred opposite Stallone in Rocky V, who seldom learned how to pull punches in the movie, briefly held the WBO belt in 1993, while all of today's heavyweight divisions are pretty much dominated by white eastern European boxers including the 7'1ft Russian 'gentle giant' Nikolai Valuev. Recognising that a Rocky triumph at the end of the film would be ludicrous, Stallone allows his hero to win no more than a moral victory by giving Creed a major ass whopping/whipping/whooping he will never forget, setting scent for Rocky VII when at the age of 100, Rocky Balboa will come back to fight Mike Tyson in the super heavyweight wheelchair ear eating & slicing BBQ competition. Rocky will win by TKO in 13th round when Tyson throws up, he will not be able to continue, after mortally overeating himself on tasty creamy, mouth watering ears & bugs, home made juicy worms & other insect delicacies, bon appetite . REAL LIFE CHAMPION FROM PHILY There was once an ex-Marine who used to referee fights in North Philadelphia gyms. One day he had joined an organisation called Cloverlay, which would provide funding to a young man so that he could quit his job in a slaughterhouse and train for a career as a professional boxer. The young man knocked out Buster Mathis and became a (disputed) heavyweight champion of the world. Three years later, he would crown a majestic career by defeating Muhammad Ali in one of the most famous bouts in history and became the undisputed heavyweight champ. The prize fighter in question, like Ali, was young, gifted, and black, not old, somewhat talentless and white like Rocky Balboa. His name was Joe Frazier. A real-life, not made up/imagined heavyweight champion, Frazier was long vilified as the white man's champion by fans of Ali and by Ali himself, and never, got the respect he deserved. If you go to Philadelphia today, you can see the statue of Sylvester Stallone at the foot of the Art Museum steps, where sometimes it gets relocated as a fundraising gimmick. But you will not see a statue of Joe Frazier anywhere in the area. Joe was a working-class hero who fought his way to the top but who is now more or less down on his luck financially (Frazier needs to walk with a cane. In 1999 he was in a car accident, collision damaged his spine). This is a disgrace and it's unacceptable. It simply goes to show how society forgets real life heroes, it lives in a fantasy land and glorifies fake, made up characters. It's a shame that Balboa has a statue in a small, unknown town of Zitiste, Serbia, ex-Yugoslavia, he has couple of statues in museums and in other places around the world but people like Frazier and Marciano only have empty memories to look back on. There is one awkward, small statue of Marciano in Italy where his father was born. This finding has been discovered by the author of this article, almost nobody knew of this statue. Ripa Teatina is a small village in the Abruzzo region, located in the middle of Italy. The town awards Rocky Marciano Prize annually to the best athlete & boxer. Rocky's spirit definitely lives there. Both of Rocky's parents came from Italy. Rocky's dad came from Italy to USA in 1916, he was honorably discharged from US Army. He took part in hellish WW I battles. He was a good fighter. Sometimes there was a fight over 2 inches of land that lasted for weeks. Imagine the psychological and physical toll of that ordeal ? It was very hard fighting in smelly ditches, prospering was possible only by gaining enemy's territory. Use of chemical agents was a norm. Mustard gas was used within his platoon, it affected his lungs. When he returned to the states, working in shoe factory did not improve his health. He died in 1973 from lung complications. Rocky's mother died in early January 1986, few days shy of her 83rd birthday. There is a high school football field named after Marciano in Brockton, some time after it was built, high school staff put a commemorative plaque nearby. Why all the wait ? It must have been hard work. It's as if teenage punks would care where they play at, I wonder how many of them read the plaque. At least a head-bust should have been built in a Brockton parl, long, long time ago. But Rocky's statue does not belong in Brockton only. Both Marvin Hagler and Rocky deserve a bust, only. The last bout Hagler had against Sugar Ray Leonard should have been drawn, I'd give an edge to Leonard but not enough to claim full victory (this happened around time when 15 rounds were shortened to 12 for health reasons but I dispute shortening of rounds improved boxing safety). Fights like this one are controversial, in such situations draws should be mandatory, like it or not. It's best in the interest of all parties involved. Among many other things I wrote about it in my Boxing Manifesto. In the old days, many great fighters had many draws, for example undefeated champ Jack McAuliffle. Many did not deserve draws but judges gave them benefit of the doubt. in Stallone's Rocky movies, Balboa passes ball with his running partner, this was the main ingredient in Marciano's training routine his trainer Allie Colombo instituted, another Rocky influence, comparison to Marciano. This enhanced Rocky's unique skill in 'fending off' & 'picking off' some of the punches of taller & longer armed opponents, giving him split second opportunities to work his way in with his jabs, uppercuts & overhand rights. Few realized the initial purpose of carrying the football was to keep Rocky's true ambitions from his overprotective mother. Rocky & men in the family wanted Lena(Pasqualina) to think Rocky is traning for football career but she became wise, they did not fool her for long. She never wanted her son to be a fighter, she was partially right. Rocky almost killed another good Italian-American fighter named Vingo on December 30 1949. Rocky prayed for Vingo's health in church. He said if Vingo died, he'd permanently retire from boxing. Thankfully, Vingo regained health but was never same again. Rocky's mother never watched or listend to his fights. She was proud her son was world champion but she did not want anybody to get seriously hurt, I guess she was overprotectivee just like many mothers. Another similarity to Marciano & Balboa were steep steps used for training. Al always encouraged Rocky to run as fast as he could up the Field Park's steep "Tower Hill." He then had him do slow "back pedals" down the hill & charge right back up, over & over again. Rocky often said that such training was the key to the surprising endurance of his legs, especially as evidenced in his "brawl" with Ezzard Charles when he went 15 rounds distance, the only time in his professional career. Rocky movies were arguably good for boxing, good for entertainment, good for those who created it (profitable) but these movies only belong in make believe, fantasy world. Boxing as a sport is largely entertainment but I would not recommend it as a profession, especially to those who are not conditioned or strong physically & psychologically to take disappointments of defeat or brutal consequences from bodily injuries. Rocky was made for boxing, he finished his career without any permanent injuries, he was lucky. - By: John Lary L.J.L (who alone made Rockyy Statue Dream reality) & The Rocky Memorial Group; Written on Dec 7 2006, Updated on 11/2007 & 11/2008 - All Rights Reserved! Note to readers: Only a very few lines in my story have been borrowed from a newspaper story on Frazier & on Rocky movies. Satire & humor is all mine, I tried to put things into historical perspective which reflects our modern delusional reality based on "power" of dollar, capitalist hungry dysfunctional societies run by corrupt cold hypocritical ignorant individuals! Some of Author's Related stories: -Rocky vs Baker, Bob BB Baker, the top challlenger in 1955 & 1956 the fight was ready to go on, but what happened ? -Rocky's real amateur record was 9-4 not 8--4, now a common mental image misconception -ESPN 2006 6 hour Rocky Special, idea submiitted to ESPN solely by John Lary, how was it made, faster too ?