Boys, let's go.
Come on, tighten up.
Single file, gentlemen.
Center of the hall.
- Come on, tighten it up. - Condition unit one!
Condition unit one, copy that.
On the ground. Show me hands, let's go.
Hands!
Code blue! Fight in progress!
Come on, let's fight, man! Let him go!
At least let me get my shoes.
Mary Anne.
Hello.
Thank you.
Adonis got into a fight today,
and he's in holding.
If you wanna see him, we're gonna have to go up there.
He's a good kid, he just...
Fights.
All the time.
- Johnson? - Yeah.
- Right this way. - Thanks.
Johnson, got a visitor.
Adonis.
Come on in.
I'd like you to meet Mrs...
Uh...
Could we have a moment, please?
Sure.
I'll be right outside.
Why were you fighting?
I'm not going to another group home.
I'm not from a group home.
You a social worker?
No.
I am not a social worker.
Nigga said something about my ma so I beat his ass.
I'm sorry about your mother.
I know what it's like to lose someone.
When your father died, I was angry for so long.
I hurt myself, pushed family away.
I don't have no father.
What did you say?
I said I don't have no father.
That's not true.
He passed before you were born, but you had a father.
You knew him?
He was my husband.
Adonis, I would like it very much
if you would come and stay with me.
Do you think you'd wanna do that?
What was his name?
Hey, James.
Don, sit down.
What you got there?
You're joking, right?
You get a promotion and you're quitting?
Look, this career just ain't for me.
What are you gonna do?
Hey, man, thanks for everything.
Just wanna talk to you about my job.
- You see your new office? - Hmm.
Yeah. But, um...
Well, what's it like?
This is a big deal, this promotion.
Did they hire your assistant?
Thank you.
Very proud of you.
Superfight Two with Rocky Balboa, the challenger
and, of course, Apollo Creed, the world champion.
And there's the bell.
Comes over in a hurry now.
He throws a couple of rights and lefts out there.
He starts to take command early here
and now he kinda moves his feet along the side of the ring.
A good right hand thrown at him.
Another right and another right thrown by the champion.
Creed is going for the knockout.
Just holding that right hand and he's just waiting for that
precise moment that he wants...
There it is! He unloaded that. But here comes Balboa!
Got him in that corner, and there's lefts and rights.
Here comes Balboa coming back out.
A left and a right to the head.
But now it is Creed coming back.
Creed with the left hand.
Balboa appears to be getting hit often.
Take it to him. Take it to the body.
There you go!
Make your time count, baby.
You know what's coming up. There you go.
Check it out.
What you doing here, man?
15 and 0, 15 knockouts.
In Tijuana? No, bro.
That's barroom brawling.
Well, I'm all in anyway.
So I figure we start out local,
just to get our momentum going,
then we can move wherever we wanna move.
- "We"? - I was figuring...
Adonis, these boys come in here, this how they survive.
They gotta fight for life.
Kill or be killed. People die in there.
Your daddy died in the ring.
This ain't no joke.
I don't know him.
Ain't got nothing to do with me.
- Okay, you real tough now. - Yup.
Nah, I ain't training you.
You know I ain't training you. Nobody training you.
I'm gonna make sure about that.
We making champs in the Delphi Gym!
We not dancing!
We not singing! We fighting!
You struggle every day, you fight for something.
You damn right!
Hey, listen up!
Adonis.
These the keys to my 'Stang right here.
Adonis, get out the ring!
All you gotta do is land one clean head shot.
What I gotta put up for it?
Put up your hands. You a pro, right?
No, no, no.
You gonna get the shit knocked out of you.
You ain't gotta prove nothing to me.
Better listen to your family, boy.
Oh, my God.
At least put on your head gear.
- No head gear? - Mmm-hmm.
It's on you.
Killer, right?
He a killer, right, Lil Duke?
Where were you at when I was in group homes, huh?
You miss a meal?
Nah!
Which one of your killers in here next?
You pick him! You pick who's next!
I'm next.
Hey, I just need one round, bro.
All right, you wanna warm up?
I don't need no warm-up. Get my stuff.
I see you got your head gear on. Good job.
Nah.
Don't run.
Told you I'd win, man.
I told you.
I tried to tell you something, bro.
You don't wanna listen.
You wanna learn things the hard way, huh?
- Hey. - Hey.
How you doing?
Doing good.
I just came home, I wanted to talk to you.
Yeah?
I quit my job.
Yeah. No...
Where did you get this? Mexico?
It's not that bad.
"It's not that bad."
I ought to knock you out myself.
You know how many times I had to carry your father up these stairs
- because he couldn't walk? - Yes.
How many times I had to wipe his ass
because he couldn't use his hands?
Is that what you want? No.
You want brain damage. Yeah, you do.
You want to be so brain-damaged, you can't form a sentence.
I can get hurt doing anything.
Apollo didn't get hurt, he got killed!
People get killed!
I didn't take you in for you to go backwards.
You're better than this.
I'm leaving soon.
I'm gonna be fighting full-time now.
So I wanted to tell you face-to-face.
You are your father's son
and you're part of him.
But it doesn't mean you have to be him.
I'm gonna call you.
Listen, you want to be in somebody's ring...
You don't have to call me.
All right, smile!
How you doing?
This was taken from the 10th round of the first fight, right?
Good call.
How'd you know that?
I heard about a third fight between you and Apollo,
behind closed doors.
That true?
How'd you hear about that?
Who won?
It's kind of a secret. What'd you say your name was?
Donnie.
The girl said you wanted to talk about something.
Yeah, I want to talk to you about training me.
Training you.
I don't do that stuff no more. Sorry about that.
Listen, it's getting kind of late, kid.
So I'm gonna close up.
How good was he?
Who? Apollo? Yeah, he was great.
He's a perfect fighter. Ain't nobody ever better.
So how'd you beat him?
Time beat him.
Time, you know, takes everybody out, it's undefeated.
Anyway, I gotta lock up.
When Mickey died, he came and talked to you, right?
Talked you out of quitting?
Took you to L.A., trained you.
Brought you back.
How do you know all this?
How do you think?
What are you, like a cousin?
He's my father.
No, he isn't. I don't believe you.
Call Mary Anne.
Mary Anne. His wife.
The house number still works.
Oh, that's right.
You haven't talked to her since the funeral.
She said you gave a nice speech, though.
Yeah.
Nice speech.
I want you to train me.
All right? I need somebody solid and who else better to go to?
You at least owe me that.
I can tell the way you talk, you been to school.
So I figure you got some brains.
Why would you want to pick a fighter's life
when you don't have to?
If Apollo was around, he would tell you that, too.
Well, he ain't around.
I been fighting my whole life. I ain't got a choice.
It's always about a choice.
I was in the ring.
I saw how it went down.
That fight should've been stopped.
I should have stopped it.
Maybe he wanted to go out like a fighter.
Maybe, you did exactly what he wanted.
I think he'd rather be here, talking with you.
There is a resemblance.
I'm usually here all the time,
so if you're ever in the neighborhood, come by,
if you need something.
I'll be at Mickey's Gym tomorrow.
I don't go there. I haven't been there in a long time.
Since we're pretty much like family
who won the third fight?
He did.
In boxing,
fighters' origins can endure
as the most sacred element of their identity,
shaping choices that can change their lives forever.
"Pretty" Ricky Conlan is a faithful son of Liverpool, England,
a place where people find hope in the tales of their heroes.
But for the undefeated best pound-for-pound boxer in the world,
the future is filled with uncertainty,
with a seven-year prison sentence looming.
I didn't plan on spending me prime years in a prison cell.
I hate letting me family down.
Now what could be his final bout awaits him at home,
in one of his city's most hallowed sporting temples.
Here, he'll welcome an opponent who's also never been beaten
and who's boxed his way from California streets
to American stardom.
Fighting out of the famed Delphi Boxing Academy,
with a trainer whose father guided icons of the past,
Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler
believes he's the sport's future.
Conlan's going away for a long time.
Now it's my turn.
I've never lost.
I've never even been knocked down, and that's not gonna change.
A champion in a dark and extraordinary predicament.
A challenger uninterested in a hero's send-off.
This is 24/7: Conlan/Wheeler.
Kick this dude ass.
No respect, man.
I'm Donnie.
Yeah?
And I just moved in upstairs.
Okay. What do you want, Donnie? It's late.
I can hear your music.
Yeah? I didn't know it was that loud.
Well, it is, all right?
I gotta wake up early and work out.
Oh. Oh, got you.
You gotta wake up early and do your, uh, jawns.
Keep your body tight. Cool.
I'll turn my music down. You won't hear a peep.
Thanks...
Snap it back!
Breathe, Leo, breathe.
Good boy.
Hey.
Can I help you?
Looking to sign up.
- Where you from? - L.A.
Hollywood!
Which gym? I know all those guys.
Don't have one. I'm more self-taught.
Self-taught?
You know Balboa?
Yes, we grew up together.
Most members just work themselves out.
For an extra $20 a month,
I can give you drills, check in on you when I can.
Yeah, that works.
Double jab.
Move your head, babe.
♪ Grip, grip
♪ Grip, grip, grip
♪ Grip me
♪ I might give a little
♪ But you can't take it all
♪ I might try to run
♪ But just to make you follow
♪ I like it when ya
♪ Grip, grip, grip
♪ Got you right where I want
♪ I can see it all
♪ Don't let me go Let me go
♪ Take me to the floor To the floor
♪ I need more I need more ♪
Boxing fans have been waiting years for the Superfight
between "Pretty" Ricky Conlan and Danny Wheeler.
But we guess the fighters couldn't wait another 24 hours.
Conlan punched Wheeler
after words were exchanged during the face-off.
Wheeler suffered a broken jaw
and has already announced plans
to sue Conlan and the WBC.
Hey, Unc!
Unc!
How you doing?
Did you call me "Unc"?
Yeah, it was either that or O.G.
What's an "O.G."?
Old-ass gangster.
"Unc" is good.
I can do that.
It's all good.
So why'd you come by? You hungry?
No, I just wrapped up at the gym.
Figured I'd stop by.
Okay.
Maybe ask you a question.
Sure. I can do all this.
Uh...
What are some drills I can do to get my hand speed up?
Some guys up there, I bet they can help you.
There's a guy there named Pete.
He's a pretty good trainer.
Yeah, but he's with his fighter most of the time.
I mostly just train myself.
They know you're a Creed?
I don't go by that.
I'm trying to make it on my own.
Name's Johnson.
- Who's Johnson? - Mom's name.
Plus, just makes life easier.
Uh-huh.
Plus, you know, if you train me
ain't nobody around here knows me.
We could fly under the radar.
- They'd never know. - Yeah.
I told you before,
I just don't wanna do it, kid.
That's cool, but maybe you could just
give me some drills.
- Drills? - Yeah, things I could do on my own.
You don't stop, do you? You're like a woodpecker.
My God.
All right. I got a few.
But that's it. Okay?
Of course.
Five rounds of jumping rope.
Three rounds on each of the bags...
When you get to the heavy bag,
just don't keep throwing your hands
because you can hurt them.
It's also about using your legs, all right?
And then five rounds of...
Shadow...
O-W.
- There's a "W." Boxing. - Boxing, yeah.
And that's it.
- All right? - Yeah.
Okay, here you go.
Oh, that is perfect.
Good luck with that.
All right, got it. Hold that real quick.
All right, man.
Wait, don't you want this?
I got it right here.
What if you lose that thing or it breaks?
It's already up in the cloud.
What cloud? What cloud?
Hey, Ma, it's me.
I was just calling to let you know I'm doing good
and I got an apartment.
It ain't much but I'm trying to make it into something.
I miss you.
I wanna hear from you,
so call me back when you get a chance. All right.
What, it's too loud?
No, I just heard you down here working.
Figured you'd wanna take a break.
Maybe get some food?
Where you from, Donnie?
I'm from L.A.
So is this how y'all ask females out in L.A.?
Just wanted to know if you were hungry.
Not a date.
Right.
You know what? It's all good.
It's okay.
Hey, yo.
I am hungry.
I only have an hour. Do you know where you wanna go?
I was hoping you could tell me.
You're from Philly, right?
Okay.
Good luck, man.
So where are we?
North Philly.
So this is Max's.
Hey, superstar! What's going on?
I'm well, thanks. How you doing?
You looking wonderful as always.
Thank you.
How you doing there, my friend?
This my neighbor and he's a West Coast boy.
Ain't never had a steak before.
Listen, I'm gonna treat him like he was my neighbor.
That's how good we gonna take care of you.
- You like pickles? - Nah.
Okay, mayonnaise.
Put extra peppers on that jawn, both kinds.
Ketchup, extra cheese.
- How much I owe you? - $9.95.
No, let me get these.
That's cool. I asked you out, right?
You said it wasn't a date, though.
It's not.
Where we eating at?
Right there.
So I heard you back there, "jawn" this, "jawn" that.
What's a "jawn"?
It's a noun.
See, these is jawns.
This is a jawn.
This restaurant we're sitting in is a jawn. You're a jawn.
You got a jawn?
Like, a dude?
No.
I got too much going on right now.
Shows and stuff?
Yeah.
I'm opening at Electric Factory next month.
What's that?
It's a big venue out here.
A lot of people got their start.
Jill, Legend, the Roots.
That's wassup.
Can I ask you something personal?
Mmm-hmm.
I got progressive hearing loss.
Just started wearing these this past year.
But I only need them in places with a lot of background noise.
For now.
So it's progressive, so eventually...
Yeah.
I'm just getting ready for it.
Like I'm getting used to these,
I'm learning sign language and stuff.
But I really can only remember bad words.
Ones that aren't that useful like...
The fuck's that?
You can't tell? This is the bull, the horns, this is...
Yeah, this is bullshit.
That's your favorite?
Uh-huh.
You don't really seem like a boxer to me.
I mean, you're in shape and all but...
I don't know. Aren't most boxers like...
- Like what? - Like street.
I'm not saying you're a square or anything,
but I'm just curious, what made you wanna fight?
My pop was a fighter.
Oh, right. That makes sense.
Did he fight pro?
Something like that.
Does he train you?
My pop died before I was born.
I'm sorry to hear that.
So what made you wanna sing?
Uh...
It makes me feel alive.
Where's your next show?
That place that you saw me at, Johnny Brenda's.
I got a residency there so we're back on Friday.
Can I roll with you?
I wanna show up, you know. Show some love.
Let me think on it.
Okay.
Here we go, Paulie.
Happy birthday, my friend.
I didn't forget ya.
Your favorite.
Miss ya, pal.
Yo, Adrian, my darling.
The best of the best.
I'll tell you, Adrian, God.
It's getting harder to walk up this hill. What does that mean?
Anyway, it's a good day today.
It's a good day, got no problems.
Bills are paid.
Only thing is, it's tough to
sleep at night sometimes. My back.
No matter what you do, it catches up to you.
Anyway, shall we see what's new in the world today?
Whoa.
Hey, Rocky!
Hey, how you doing?
- Good to see you. - How you doing?
Hey, Rock! Long time no see, brother.
- Still here? Good to see you. - Yeah.
Hey, the Italian Stallion's back.
How you doing?
- It's like a party here with everyone. - Yeah, right.
Welcome back, man. It's been a while.
Yeah, thank you very much.
- How do you feel? - Good.
- What, are you making a comeback? - No.
- Hey, champ. - Hey, Pete. What's up?
Didn't know you were coming by.
I didn't either.
I was just in the neighborhood. You've done nice here.
Place is looking good, new paint and everything.
- Very good, very nice. - I do what I can.
- Remember my son, Leo? - Of course I do.
A lot bigger since you last seen him.
- Yeah, very big. - Rocky,
he's 17 and 0.
Things are really opening up for us.
Leo! Come.
Rocky, option's still open if you wanna get involved.
Little training, little motivation.
Let me think about it.
Sure, sure.
How you doing, kid?
It's an honor to meet you, champ.
Nice to meet you, too. 17 and 0, very good.
Yeah, I was supposed to fight on the Ricky Conlan's card...
- Hey, Unc! - But it got canceled.
Unc.
- He talking to you? - Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
- You made it. - Yeah.
Just walked by. Here I am.
How you know Hollywood?
Uh, we met at the restaurant.
That's it.
Okay, Rock. Okay.
You need anything, you let me know.
Okay. Good luck, kid. Seriously.
Thanks.
17 and 0. Kid's got a future. Tough.
Can I talk to you a minute?
I don't really know what I'm doing here
because I got other plans for my life
and this wasn't part of it.
Your father was special.
Tell you the truth, I don't know if you're special.
Only you gonna know that when the time is right.
It ain't gonna come overnight.
You're gonna take a beating, you're gonna take this,
you're gonna get knocked down, you're gonna get up
and you're gonna see if you got the right thing.
But, you gotta work hard.
I swear to God, if you're not gonna do it,
I'm out.
Rock, every punch I've ever thrown has been on my own.
Nobody showed me how to do this.
I'm ready.
Come on. Let's do this.
Step into my office.
You serious?
I am serious. This is old school.
You should be able to grab one of these birds.
30 seconds?
Yeah, in your dreams.
Come on! You call that fast?
No! Again.
I thought you were fast.
Come here!
Get them legs moving!
Little harder, little faster!
Keep up the pace! Keep going!
Control your tempo then build slowly.
More.
Build, build, build.
Go!
That bell don't mean school's out, Donnie.
Keep going.
That bell means hell.
Just go get the chicken. It's not that big a deal.
Come here! God damn it!
Oh, my God!
That's pretty good. Chickens are slowing down.
All right. Donnie, get into your stance.
Make a small target, turn sideways. Okay.
You see this guy here staring back at you?
Yeah.
That's your toughest opponent.
Every time you get into the ring,
that's who you're going against.
I believe that in boxing and I do believe that in life, okay?
Now throw a jab in the jaw.
All right, one to the gut.
Now, every time you punch this guy, what's he doing?
- He's throwing one back at me. - That's right.
So either you block it, slip it or get out of the way. Go.
I'll leave you two alone for a while.
Good luck.
- Hey. - Yo.
What's up? Is it cool?
Yes.
Smells good in here.
I don't even know what fighters drink.
Do you drink tea?
Yeah, tea's good. Thank you.
Yeah.
So this is the house.
This is it.
What you working on?
Uh...
♪ Ey
♪ Uh, uh, uh
♪ It's your boy Donnie
♪ From L.A. to Philly
♪ Philly, the home of the cheesesteaks
♪ Oh, I want a cheesesteak
♪ I'm so hungry
♪ Hungry for the title
♪ I'll settle for a cheesecake
♪ Cheesecake, the cake that you make
♪ The cake that you got ♪
- Where the beat go? - Sorry.
Hey, check you out.
Whoo.
Yeah!
One, two, three.
I like that. Very good.
Keep that balance going. Way to go.
Donnie, get up. You gotta keep moving.
It's tough but you gotta do it.
You get a "B" in tough.
Kid's looking good, champ!
Yeah, he's getting there.
Hey, Hollywood, what do you weigh right now?
I don't know, probably like 180.
Why?
Get down to a buck 75,
we'll make something happen, if you're interested.
- Hell, yeah, I'm interested. - No.
I do the talking, okay? You do the fighting.
175? That's your boy's weight. How you doing, Leo?
- What's up, Rock? - Yeah.
He could use a fight to keep warm.
- Warm? - I'm not gonna lie to you.
People will come out to see you in the corner again, champ.
We'll make it like the old days. Get the whole city there.
Make a few bucks for everybody.
No, I understand that.
But I'm just getting used to this kid right now,
and, you know, he's getting better every day
but he's gonna take a while.
He's hungry.
You gotta feed him every now and again. You know that.
Thanks. I appreciate it, chef. We'll be okay. Thanks.
- Think about it. - I'll think about it.
Rock, what we training for?
Yeah, what are we training for?
We're training to win, not get killed. You're not ready yet.
I can lose five pounds. I can lose five pounds like that.
It's nothing, it's easy.
Hit the bag.
Come on.
This kid's like a tough Philadelphia fighter.
I ain't never even seen you battle before.
Yeah, but I've been watching him,
and I'm pretty sure he'd catch my fade.
- What's a fade? - I could take him out.
Oh, okay.
All right, listen.
Let me make you an offer you can't refuse.
Are you crazy?
No, I'm serious, man. Look, we take the match.
- Right. - I got six weeks to get in shape.
Six weeks, I'll do whatever it takes. At the end of the six weeks,
you don't think it's right, call it off.
Really?
Look, this is what I'm here for, all right?
I'll go 24-7 with this shit.
Matter of fact, we can go get my stuff right now.
For what?
So I can move into your spot.
Start training camp. Old school, remember?
No, no one's been in my house in a long time
and I don't think you'd be comfortable there.
What, you walk around naked?
No.
We're good then.
You better not walk around naked either.
That's for sure.
- Last one? - Yeah, that's all of it.
Hey!
You're moving?
Yeah, today's been crazy.
I didn't get a chance to tell you,
but I'm gonna be living with my uncle for a while,
training for the next fight.
That's your uncle?
He's white.
Yeah, a long time.
He's gonna be staying with me, and when we ain't training
you're welcome to come on over.
Cool, thank you. It's nice to meet you.
Why you giving me that look?
When were you gonna tell me that your uncle's Rocky Balboa?
I'm gonna call you.
All right, I'm not gonna hold my breath.
That Bianca girl looks kind of nice.
You like her?
Yeah, she cool. What, this one?
Yeah.
Women weaken legs. You know what I mean?
My legs work just fine. Whose room was this?
- This is Paulie's room. - Paulie.
Paulie was my best friend even though he wasn't so friendly.
What happened to him?
- Passed away. - I'm sorry.
Kind of a mess. We'll straighten it up later.
It'll be comfortable.
Oh, man, this is a dope pic! That's your boy?
Yeah, that's my kid, Robert.
Did you train him, too?
I tried, but he just didn't like fighting, didn't take to it.
He still around here?
No, he moved to a place called Vancouver with his girlfriend.
And I think they're having a great old time up there
and, you know, I hear from him now and then,
but it was tough for him to live in Philadelphia.
Me and all that stuff... You know, Rocky's son.
He's happy. I'm happy for him.
Why don't you unpack, all right?
Make yourself comfortable.
And I'm gonna go to the restaurant and I'll be back.
Then we start first thing in the morning, all right?
You got it.
All right, Paulie!
Ooh.
Hey, it's time to train. This is how you start.
Get your engine going.
I'm gonna take you to this place called
the Front Street Gym up in North Philly.
- It's pretty good. - Okay.
You're gonna train there, because I don't want you
to train in the same place
as the guy that you're gonna be fighting, right?
Yeah, that makes sense.
Don, don't get in. I want you to run alongside.
- I'm kinda antique, right? - Yeah.
So I'll drive and you try to keep up.
How close is it?
It's close enough.
All right.
Hey, wait! Let me warm up real quick.
You made it. Hey.
I thought you said it was close.
Not that close.
This is Frankford. Tough place.
You wanna be a Philly fighter, this is the place to go.
Philly fighters, you know,
I think they're the toughest guys in the world.
In a lot of ways.
Maybe it's in the water, I don't know, but great place though.
What's up with all these bikes?
It's a Philly thing.
These guys are popping wheelies and making noise,
going up and down the street.
Do you ride?
No. I had a Harley once but I fell off, so I decided to use my feet.
Now, this kid, Sporino, he got something special.
He's no pushover, so you're gonna
have to work, you know what I mean?
What do you think?
Not bad, huh?
Not bad at all.
Yeah. This'll get the job done. Really will.
Uh...
Look at these guys!
Hey! The gang's all here!
Donnie, look at this.
This is a crew if I ever saw one.
Hey, Padman. Good to see you.
Hey, champ. How you doing, bro?
This guy is so good with the mitts,
he's gonna teach you a lot of stuff.
He's got a lot of knowledge. And Stitch, best cut man in Philadelphia.
Hope we don't need him.
- What's going on? - Welcome to Philly, brother.
- Pleasure. - Glad to work with you.
And over here is Elvis Grant.
He makes the best gloves in the world.
Uh-huh.
And as my present to you, starting out on the right foot...
- Nice to meet you, man. - Nice to meet you too.
He's gonna make you a pair of gloves
so that your hands don't get so bad as me.
What? Is that coffee I smell in there?
Yeah, that's coffee.
All right, you guys get to know each other.
- Amir. - All right, Unc.
- Come here. - Man, I could use some coffee.
Let me introduce you to my son. This is my son, Amir.
That's the one you're gonna be sparring with.
- Amir. - Donnie. Nice to meet you.
Mmm-hmm.
Right hand fast.
Let it go, let it go.
Push off that back foot.
Come on, Donnie, a little quicker.
Come on, Donnie. Back it up.
No, just like he's doing. Yeah.
- I can't pivot fast enough. - Yeah, just turn it.
That's your power.
Fast, pop it fast.
I'm popping as fast as I can.
I'm trying to push off my back foot like you told me.
Hey, Donnie. Come here.
I came out here to work with you, though.
This is how I work, okay?
There's some things I can't do.
I can't do this anymore.
I can never hold the pads like that.
But I'm looking at you. I'm working with you.
I'm working with this.
Lighten it up.
Am I still taking them real shots?
Slow it down. Hey, hey!
That's it. Hey, hey, hey!
This easy work, Pop.
Gotta keep moving. That's it.
Time! Bell! Bell.
Huh!
Taking real shots though!
- What you mean? - Cut it out!
Take those gloves off right now!
- This my gym! - Take the glove off right now!
Take your soft ass back to L.A.!
You ain't ready yet! This my gym!
Fuck this gym!
- Called a learning curve... - Ain't no learning.
Hey, hey, hey! You know what?
You can't learn anything when you're talking.
That's a fact of life.
As long as you're talking, you're not listening.
Go apologize. You guys are on the same damn team, okay?
There you go. Good.
You good. It's okay.
All right. Now let's go to work!
Double jab. Yup.
Go ahead over the top.
Right hook here. Over here.
One step at a time, one punch at a time,
one round at a time.
One step at a time, one punch at a time,
one round at a time. Turn right.
Come on, let's go.
Fast, pop it fast.
Right upper cut. Right up top.
Boom. Boom.
Good.
I want you to let it all out.
Now go right here.
Everyone's ever disrespected you, see them.
Anything you ever wanted
go after it.
Now's your time! Make a statement!
One step!
One punch!
One round at a time!
There it is.
Ah! You cheated!
Rock.
Hey, how you doing, Pete?
Something wrong?
Rock, I knew.
I knew there was something with this kid.
Rocky, I have been trying for years
to get you to come work with us.
Aw. It's okay.
All of a sudden, this kid from Hollywood gets you out of the shadows.
No. No shadows.
I just didn't want to do nothing in the gym, that's all.
Rocky, I made calls to L.A.
Kid's name is Adonis.
Kid has Creed's blood.
Now this fight just got big time.
I apologize.
Do me a favor. Can we keep this between ourselves?
- Oh, come on. - No.
I'm asking you as a favor. I want him to make a name on his own.
Come on, Pete.
Yeah. Secret's safe with me, Rock.
I appreciate it.
Keep going. You're looking good.
Go on, get moving.
Hey. So how's everybody feeling tonight?
I'm about to go over the ABC rules
and the rules governed by the state.
No three knockdown rule. No standing eight-count.
A fighter cannot be saved by the bell.
What we mean by "no three knockdown rule"
is basically whatever the referee
sees fit for competition...
Unc, cut my gloves off.
What's wrong?
My gloves, just cut 'em off!
I can't cut 'em off, you're ready to go fight.
Are they too tight?
I'm freaking out right now! I gotta take a shit!
Somebody gonna wipe my ass for me?
- Shit! - Cut my gloves off, Unc!
All right, relax.
I'll cut you out of these gloves. It happens.
Hey, ref, I'm gonna need some help here.
D, I'm gonna be right outside.
That's right.
Can you just stall for 10 minutes or something?
I gotta put the gloves back on.
All right, I'll step on outside, Rock.
I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
It ain't no problem. You got 10 minutes.
First for me, man.
All right, come on. It'll be all right.
Yeah.
A little nervous?
- Nerves? - Hurry up!
Blue corner, red corner.
All right, fellas,
y'all had your instructions in the dressing room.
Obey my commands at all times, protect yourself at all times.
Any questions from the blue corner?
Questions from the red corner?
Touch them up. Be ready on seconds out.
Right. It's about you.
Yep. Yep.
It's all about you. Now, you wanted this.
- Let's go, Coach. - I want you to make it happen.
- Can you do it? - Let's do it.
- All right. Come on. - Let's make it happen.
Let's go, Unc.
It's all about today!
There is no tomorrow! Let's go!
Nice!
Move and target, move and target!
Jab! It's the jab!
His face is right there! Come on! Where's the jab?
Hands up. Hands up, kid.
Breathe, kid, breathe!
Let's go, boy! Let's go, boy!
Way to get out of there.
Keep moving, Donnie!
Move your head! That's it.
Get on him! Get on him!
Break! My break!
Let's go, boy!
There you go! There you go! Good.
Back off.
Leo! Leo! Leo!
One punch on top.
Keep moving. That's right. Block left. Block left.
Relax.
Let's go, boy! Come get this shit! Come get it!
You're doing good, kid!
Keep the pressure up!
Break!
Let's go, Leo!
Come on!
Let's go.
Keep moving! Keep coming forward!
Great shot!
Come on, Donnie!
What are you doing?
Time!
Yeah.
Okay! All right.
It's okay. Take a deep breath.
Through your lungs. Deep breath. Deep breath.
Look at me.
I like what you're doing out there, all right?
You're a little tight.
You're gonna loosen up, all right?
Here's what I want you to do.
I want you to throw your left under the radar.
- That's it. - Then come up with a shovel hook.
You're gonna see an opening,
put it right on his chin, that'll drop him...
Mouthpiece in, seconds out!
Your old man did that to me. It worked.
Mouthpiece in, seconds out!
Leo! Leo! Leo!
Come on!
Tie him up! That's it. Good boy! Tie him up!
Break!
Come on!
Kid, seize it now! Now! Now!
Get up! Get up!
Come on, kid! Come on!
- One! Two! - Get up and get some!
Three! Four!
We got him, Rock!
Five! Six!
Seven! Eight!
- I'm good. - Nine! Ten!
That's it, baby!
We got one, Rock! Whoo!
We got one! Yeah, we got one!
Unbelievable!
- It's because of you! - No, you did it.
Come on, man! You did it.
You okay?
Give him some room. Rock. Rock. Rock.
Lucky shot.
Come on in! Bianca! Bianca! Come in!
Sorry! Sorry!
I'm all good.
You didn't say you had hands like that!
Why didn't you say you had hands like that, though?
Well, but girl, I'm square though. I'm square though.
You good? What we doing after this?
Let's go for it.
- Let's go tear the city up! - Okay.
- Hey. - Hmm.
I made something for you.
- Keep 'em closed. - Mmm-hmm.
Come listen with me.
- What about your uncle? - Huh.
He's asleep.
He old, man.
There he is.
- What's up, Unc? - Hey, how you feeling?
I'm good. I'm a little sore, but I'm all right.
- You want some toast? - Okay.
So you cooking or you watching?
No, I'm looking you up.
- You're doing what? - I'm looking you up.
No, don't do that. I'm right here.
Mmm.
What's up?
You got something you wanna tell me?
I didn't lie.
You might as well have.
You told me that your dad was some fighter.
You didn't say he was the most famous fighter to ever live.
People look at me differently when they know.
They look at Apollo differently, too.
Yeah, Donnie, but I'm not people.
I don't care about that shit.
I do care about you keeping it 100 with me, though.
Well, listen. You're right, okay?
No, seriously, look. You...
100% honesty from here on out.
All right. So his... His wife, that's not your mom?
Apollo had an affair with my mom.
All right? She died when I was young.
I bounced around foster care for a couple years.
In and out of juvie.
Then Mary Anne tracked me down and took me in.
Anything else?
Ask me.
How many females have you been with before me?
Anything else?
Look, Bianca, come on now, you different.
How?
When I'm around you I feel like I know you my whole life.
Mmm-hmm.
Tell me you don't feel the same way about me.
Whatever. That's passion. That's infatuation. That fades.
I can't see that happening.
- Why not? - You motivate me.
Okay, so I'm just motivation to you?
Are you gonna find a problem with everything I say?
No, I'm gonna find the real in what you're saying.
Don't worry, it's cool.
Maybe you're just motivation to me, too.
- Oh, really? - Mmm-hmm.
I don't mind that.
What?
You do look like him, though.
Oh, my God. I hate that!
Just to get on my nerves!
Welcome to PTI, boys and girls.
We begin today with the boxing world.
Adonis Johnson, a little-known boxer being trained by Rocky Balboa
handed light heavyweight title contender Leo Sporino
a second-round TKO defeat in Philadelphia last night.
An anonymous source confirmed to ESPN that Johnson
is the youngest biological son of Apollo Creed.
A fact that was kept under wraps because Johnson
was the product of Creed's infidelity.
The boxing world is excited to have another Creed in the ring
but, Wilbon, does knowledge of this affair damage Apollo Creed's legacy?
Damage his legacy? Let's go back for a second.
A little history on Apollo Creed.
I certainly have him right up there as maybe the best of all time.
End of discussion.
He slipped. He made a mistake, like a lot of people.
This isn't gonna be the first, particularly in the boxing world!
Yeah.
But I'm not gonna say it's gonna kill his legacy.
I think it's an embarrassment
and I think the family must have felt this embarrassment
because they kept it under wraps for so long.
- But I really have one question. - What?
Can the kid fight as well as the old man?
That's a stretch.
I found us our next payday.
Check it out.
- Creed's son? - Yeah.
- Are you kidding me? - No.
He's got one fight under his belt.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know.
But he's got Balboa in his corner.
No one cares about Balboa anymore.
Kid's here because of a name alone.
You're gonna do it.
This guy doesn't even deserve a shot.
Listen to me. This is not a negotiation, all right?
You're the idiot that ran around Toxteth with a gun.
Do you remember that?
And you are the clown who couldn't control himself at a weigh-in
and lost us millions in the process. Millions, okay?
So look at it again.
I don't wanna be remembered like this.
I don't care how you're remembered.
I care about your kids having a roof
over their head when you're done.
Do you understand?
Hello?
It's Tommy Holiday. I look after Ricky Conlan.
- Yeah, how you doing? - Listen.
Is it true about the kid?
About the kid?
Uh...
Think you and the kid have got 30 minutes for a business meeting?
All right, I'll tell you what.
Yeah, if you can get over here, sure.
We'll talk with you, but it's gotta be fast
because we're training.
I can be there. Couple of days.
- Yeah. - I'll be in touch.
Okay.
Oh, man.
Thanks for taking the time. I'll get right to it.
My guy needs to fight in the next six months
and we've beaten everybody.
You want me to fight Conlan?
I think it would be a very wise move.
You've been down in Mexico doing pro fights, eh?
I've got you as 15-0 down there.
And with the Sporino fight, that makes you 16-0.
Now, nobody needs to know these fights
were in some hole in the wall, do they, eh?
You think I'm ready?
Donnie, this man came here because he knows you're a sure thing.
Right? It's a sure victory.
That is not true.
Yeah, it is.
Okay, listen.
All right.
This could be my guy's last fight.
And I wanna make it count.
Now, on that note,
we would need you to change your name to Creed.
It's just a formality.
And what if I say no?
Well, then there's no fight.
Without the name, there's no fight.
It's a non-starter.
Okay. Okay.
Why don't you both take a day, talk about it
and we'll, uh, see what you say, okay?
It's a good deal.
Can't do it.
Nah, it's not my name.
And plus, I wanna make it on my own merit anyway.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
You got a funny way of showing it.
What's that supposed to mean?
I mean, weren't Apollo and Rocky like best friends?
It feels like you're trying to tap into whatever it is he left behind.
I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of, you know?
What are you afraid of?
Uh, what are you afraid of?
I don't know.
I mean, this hearing shit don't scare you?
Uh...
I always knew it would happen eventually
so my plan has always just been
to do what I love for as long as I can.
I think that's all we ever do. You know?
So, what are you afraid of?
I'm afraid of taking on the name and losing.
They'll call me a fraud. Fake Creed.
Why don't you think about what's true?
You love to fight, right?
Yeah, it makes you happy, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, and you are Apollo Creed's son, right?
Yes.
So then use the name.
It's yours.
Hey, Unc, you down there?
Yeah.
I know you don't want me to do this, right?
I can think of better things to do, Donnie.
But if we did do it
how we get it done?
Mmm.
Well...
He's taller than you. He has a reach on you.
Definitely has a lot more experience than you.
And he's faster than you are.
He's the champion.
And since he's the champion,
you gotta bring the fight to him, like I did.
You gotta go to the body. Dig. And in doing that
you're in a very dangerous place
because you can get laid out.
It ain't easy for me to be in your corner, kid.
I don't know if you're ready for it.
I don't know if I'm ready for it.
But I'll do what you wanna do.
If it was anybody else in my corner
I wouldn't do it.
But I got you.
So make the call.
All right.
I'm fighting Ricky Conlan.
I'm fighting "Pretty" Ricky Conlan!
Don't work him too hard, Rock.
- Yeah. - He's still a puppy.
Come on, come on.
Close the distance. That's it.
Yeah. One, two.
Good.
Come on. Body, come here.
Oh, yeah. Got a good hit.
Okay.
Come on.
Dig deep. Body, body, body. Good.
You up to moving around?
Take a break.
Oh. Hey, Unc, you all right?
- I'm all right. - You okay?
I'm all right. It's out.
I'm all right.
All right.
Just let me walk.
Just... I'm good.
- Sure? - Yeah.
Hey. What's wrong with you?
I don't know. I don't know.
Come here.
Just let me walk.
No, we got to call someone and get you to the doctor, okay?
- Okay. - All right, come on.
- Off the rope. - Easy.
Come on, I got you. Hey, Stitch!
- I'm sorry. - No, no. What?
- No, I'm really... - Hey, somebody help!
Hi.
- Hi. - Donnie.
Dr. Kathari.
Mr. Balboa, how you feeling?
I'm feeling good, real good. I could go now.
Heard you fell down. Was that the first time you've fallen?
Well, without being punched.
I'm gonna give you some more fluids.
That should help you feel better.
And we're gonna run some tests in the morning
- and get you out of here. - Can you do this fast?
Because we got a lot of stuff to do.
Just relax. All right? Go to sleep.
- I'll check on you later. - Thank you.
Gotta do it fast. We have to...
Donnie, we gotta train.
Yeah, go to sleep.
You guys need any more help?
- No! We're good. - No, we're good, thank you!
- You got it? What you need? - Nothing.
Thought you got lost for a minute.
I have not seen food that look like this in this house ever.
Yeah?
Yes. You know, usually everything
I have has sauce or something on it.
Get some of these collard greens.
All right. You just...
- Just a little bit? - Yeah, a little bit.
Bianca, you're beautiful
and I think you'll be a great singer.
I think you're gonna be a great champ, like your father.
Maybe even better.
And for me, who's lucky enough to be knowing both of you guys.
Here we go. Cent'anni. 100 years.
I'm honored.
Lucky me.
Keep working on that shovel hook.
Ah.
Right, that's it.
Now, I wanna throw the hook on the same side.
So you come up on the right, you throw on the right.
Very good.
A little more vicious than that, little more power.
Overdo it. Yeah! Very good.
Hey, Rock.
Yeah.
Good. You're looking good.
Are you getting jealous?
Yeah, a little.
- It's for you. - Thanks.
Hello? Yeah?
Yeah.
Yeah, okay.
All right, thanks.
Mr. Balboa.
Thanks for coming in on such short notice.
Well, we went through your test results
and your biopsy came back showing signs
of large cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
What's that do?
Well, it's a form of cancer.
I know that sounds scary,
but the good news is we caught it early.
However, we will have to remove the tumor in your lymph nodes
and start chemotherapy immediately.
My wife tried that.
Mr. Balboa, as far as options for treatment,
this is the best plan of action.
No, I understand, but my wife tried that,
and I don't think I wanna do it.
Didn't turn out so good. But it's okay.
With treatment, you'll still have
a very good chance of recovery.
Without it...
I'm okay with it, really.
Well, at least take these.
It has information on your diagnosis and options for treatment.
- We can start... - Thank you very much.
Listen, I'd appreciate if you wouldn't say nothing to nobody, okay?
Oh, man! There's so much traffic, you wouldn't believe it.
That senior bus was running late, huh?
Hey, that's a cheap shot.
- It's the truth. - Get in the ring.
- Hurry up and get ready. - I've been ready.
Good.
I've been waiting on you.
Oh, come on, just put your gloves on and stop talking so much.
We got a few things to do.
It's all about you.
Mmm-hmm.
I already had my career. I did okay.
What's your excuse? You got no excuse.
Now is the time for you to rise to the occasion there.
- Just gonna put my... - I can do it.
Okay, all right.
Now...
I want you to always, always, always
pay attention to yourself first.
Right.
If I'm not here to start with, just start moving around.
All right. Mouthpiece.
Know what I'm saying?
Too many punches to the head, huh?
Yeah, whatever, Coach.
All right, get going there, champ.
Bell.
Come on, Creed!
Be first, Donnie. Come on!
All right, Amir.
All right, champ. Don't work too hard.
This shit for real?
Doesn't matter.
What you should be thinking about is that fight coming up.
That's the only thing that should be on your mind, nothing else.
What you mean, don't think about this? When you starting treatment?
I'm not doing no chemotherapy. No.
If you don't jump on this quick, you're gonna end up dying.
I know.
And you're all right with that?
I am.
Man, you sound crazy, man. Give me the keys.
I'll take you to the hospital right now.
I'm not crazy at all.
If I could take everything that was good
and put it into a bowl or something
and say, "Hey! Here. I'd like to"
"buy one more day with my wife,"
I'd do it.
I would die a happy man, right then.
Not gonna happen.
So, everything I got has moved on and I'm here.
But you know what? It's okay.
Because I said to myself,
"If I break, if I'm hurt, whatever."
"I ain't gonna fix it. Why bother?"
And I'm just some bum just living in your crib,
just nothing.
You're a good kid, a good fighter.
But you got your whole future ahead of you.
Mine?
Back there, like all them guys on that wall.
In the back, in the past.
We're going nowhere.
I am to you just an old trainer.
That's what brought us together. You know?
We're not a real family.
That was just in our heads, kid.
Oh, what'd you do? What'd you do?
Why'd you say that?
Hey, what's up, Lil Creed?
It's good.
- Oh, hey! - What's up, bro?
- Hey! - What up?
Hi!
You okay?
Yeah. How you doing? You good?
Yeah, I'm good. I'm a little nervous.
There's just a lot of people here, not really my crowd, you know?
Yeah, I can see.
Look, it's the boxing boy, Lil Apollo Creed.
I know his girl.
What's up, Bianca?
Hey.
You don't know nobody no more?
Nah, I said hello to you when I walked past.
You didn't say nothing to me.
Yeah, I bet you did. Stop acting light-skinned.
Hey, man, why don't you come over here and grab this pic
with me real quick for the 'Gram?
Yeah, that's cool.
Come on, man. You know he busy, man.
Welcome to my city, champ.
- There it is, Abbie. - Believe dat.
Hey, good looking, Baby Creed.
Don't call me that.
Don't call you that? Don't call you what?
You just called me "Baby Creed." I said, don't call me that.
Hey, fam, dig this. I was showing you love, man.
You ain't got to come off like that.
Yeah, that's cool, that's cool, that's all love.
I know it's cool. You definitely know it's cool.
When you talking to me, you talking real tough, you feel me?
Better talk to your little pretty boy boyfriend, man.
Get a VIP pass next to your pop, talking to me like that.
No!
Hold up, nigga!
Donnie! Donnie! Donnie!
Donnie! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!
I'll kill your ass!
Donnie! Donnie!
How's he doing?
He's all right now.
- You know what happened? - We had to separate him.
He was fighting with the other inmates.
Oh, no. Anybody get hurt?
Nah, nothing life-threatening.
- All right, thank you. - No problem, champ.
Yeah.
Hey, Donnie.
How you doing, son?
I know a lot of cops and they said,
"Your friend's locked up."
Friends? You're just a trainer to me, right?
I'm sorry about what I said to you, back at the gym.
That was just me talking. I didn't mean it.
You just stay away from me.
Listen, Donnie...
- Man, don't touch me. - Come on, what...
Get your hands off me, old man!
Get your sick ass out of here!
Leave!
You here talking like you my family! You got my real family killed!
I ain't leaving
till I tell you what's on my mind.
You hate me, that's what it is.
Or maybe you're mad with somebody
who ain't here, Donnie, who can't defend himself.
You know?
Now, I understand what you're going through, young man.
I've been there.
And I know what it's like to feel abandoned,
and be mad at everything.
And you're a better person than that.
Forgive him. Because there's nothing you can do about it.
It's taking a toll on you.
You're still caught in his shadow.
You got to move, Donnie.
Just leave, man.
Let's go, Johnson.
Bianca!
Yo! Stop knocking on my door like the police.
Can you at least let me apologize?
No, it doesn't work like that.
You apologize when you spill a drink on someone's shirt.
But you assaulted the headliner to my show,
a show I worked really hard to get.
What if I came to your fight acting like an ass?
Would that be cool with you?
Nah, I didn't think so.
How'd you do though? You kill it?
Yeah, we did good.
I messed that up and I gotta live with that, all right?
But I never meant to let you down.
Then what did you mean to do, D?
Just have a little ego contest?
Rocky's sick.
He's got cancer.
I ain't trying to make excuses for anything that I did,
but I found out right before your show.
How bad is it?
They want him to start chemo but, you know, he's too macho to do that.
Jesus.
Well, maybe you can talk some sense into him.
I don't think he'd wanna hear anything I got to say.
Yeah, well, give him my love.
Hey, Bianca, don't close me out right now.
Look, we both got a lot going on right now
so I think you should focus on yours
and I'm gonna focus on mine.
I'm sorry.
What's that mean?
I get it, I messed up.
I trusted you! Can you please not shut me out?
I'm sorry, okay?
I need you right now.
Nigga, what's up?
What's up?
Hey, I heard you Apollo Creed's son.
Yeah.
That's what's up.
Look like you lost five pounds.
You ought to sit down and eat.
I mean, what I look like?
Letting you train me while you sit around and die?
Just like any other fight.
This fight? I seen it before.
It gets as bad as it can get
and most of the time, you don't win it.
Yeah, but I don't care.
I ain't training if you don't get the treatment.
So if I fight, you fight.
- Hey. - What's up?
You been to the gym?
Nah, I've been here.
Okay. Here you go. Remember this?
Get up.
- Ready? - What's...
I want you to shadow box.
This is a nice room, let's see you move around.
You're serious?
Want me to do it for you?
No. It's all good.
- Yeah, ready? - Come on.
Time!
There you go.
We used to do that with one hand.
I don't wanna say anything though.
Two...
Don't hit the lady.
She'll probably drop you.
All right. Come on, almost there.
Come on, Unc.
Oh, God.
Come on, let's go.
Yeah, yes!
That's your thing, yes! More! Yes!
One. Two? The deal was two!
I can't, no.
I'm dizzy.
Double jab.
Step on right under there.
Good.
At least we got the speed.
We just need him to sit down so when he hits something, he breaks it.
Good.
Step with it, you gotta step with it. Come on!
Little bit more.
Little bit more, dig down. Good.
Good. Keep it right.
Yes!
Look, he's doing the same thing.
Yeah, he does, it looks that way.
But I think he's got something up his sleeve for you.
Wow, beautiful.
Yo, you going to see Rock?
Yeah, let's go! We got you! Let's go!
Make history, Creed! Let's go!
What up? Come on, y'all! Let's ride! Come on!
That's what I like, man!
Let's go see Rock on Front Street! Ride with me!
You wanna say hello?
Place looks like a church.
Yeah, feel like an art museum.
Yeah, beautiful.
The fight starts in about two minutes.
As soon as he shows up, he's gonna start on you.
Okay.
Don't let him get to you.
Okay, great. Thank you all for coming.
Let's get straight into questions.
Uh, young lady to the left.
Conlan, can we expect any more fireworks at the weigh-in?
I've been doing some anger management classes
and trying to control that temper of mine.
I just gotta make sure he forgets it all by Saturday night.
Okay, next question.
Young man in the glasses.
What about the contrast between you two?
You, the overnight success versus.
Conlan's rags to riches background.
Nothing happened overnight.
I've been fighting for some time now...
That's exactly how it happened for this guy.
He's an overnight success, never had a damn fight in his life.
He's got this shot because he found that name last night.
One more. There's a lot of talk about legacy in this fight.
Johnson, can you speak to that?
Yeah, I've been working on trying to build my own legacy.
Legacy? Are we at some kind of comedy club?
The guy next to him,
now that's what we're talking about legacy.
- And I'm cut from that cloth. - Don't fall for it.
My father worked on the docks.
His father was heavyweight champion of the world.
People like Silver Spoon over there...
You don't know nothing about me.
I know enough about you.
- I'm here now though. - You found yourself here.
- I'm here now. - You a false Creed.
All right, I'll show you right now. My pops ain't here.
Sit down!
You wanna fight here? I'll do it right now!
I can do it right now, bitch! We can do it right now!
"Creed" my asshole!
Keep it down!
Yo, you okay? Good?
Yeah, I'm all right.
Okay, we'll see what's up.
I'm gonna knock that smile off your face.
Yo, Donnie, it's Rock.
Unc, you okay?
Yeah, I'm good. Just couldn't sleep.
Yeah, me either.
Is it okay I sit down?
Course.
Donnie...
I'd like you to do me a favor when all this is over.
- Yeah, anything. - Okay, good.
It's not important but just...
I wanna lock it in, okay?
Yeah, you got it.
There you go.
You okay, huh?
Yeah, why?
No, you keep looking at the door.
No!
Mmm-mmm.
Do you hear something?
No.
Who is that?
I don't know.
How you doing, Bianca? What are you doing here?
Y'all two are killing me.
Oh, and listen. Would you guys just keep...
We know.
- Leg thing. - Yeah.
- The legs, yeah. - It's important.
Got you.
You wanna come in?
Yeah.
Please.
- I got it. - Good.
All right.
A lot of room.
Didn't we have enough surprises for one weekend?
That's not me.
Very nice colors.
Why don't you take 'em into the other room and see how well they fit.
Yeah.
Hey, champ.
All right, Donnie. I'm proud of you.
That's gonna bring him luck.
You never been in front of this many people before, right?
That don't matter.
You've never been this far away from home.
That don't matter.
What matters is what you leave in that ring
and what you take back with you.
You know what that is?
Pride. And knowing that you did your best.
And you're doing it for yourself.
Not for me, not your father's memory, but for you.
I can see in your eyes
you're gonna do it.
Let's go now.
Padman.
Fight's right here.
Let's go.
Yeah.
Left hook combination.
- Yeah. - Come on, man. There you go!
Go up top.
All right, guys, it's time.
Let's go win a championship!
- It's time, baby. - Let's go, guys.
Come on, man.
Let's go.
I'd always get nervous during times like this,
but that's normal, and it's gonna give you energy.
Pretty normal. Very normal.
Go up there and show him who you are!
Conlan!
This is what you wanted, and what you got.
And I want you to enjoy it, okay? Do that.
Conlan! Conlan!
Hello again. I'm Jim Lampley. Here comes Ricky Conlan.
100,000 on their feet for what may conceivably be
his last walk to the ring for a professional fight.
Max Kellerman, what chance does the young American have?
He's got the name. That's why he's here tonight.
Does he have the game?
He's Apollo Creed's son, he's got Rocky Balboa in his corner.
But all the legends in the world
can't help him tonight if he can't fight.
The question is, can he fight?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Goodison Park
here in Liverpool, England,
where tonight this is the main event.
Twelve rounds of boxing
for the light heavyweight championship of the world.
For the thousands in attendance
and the millions watching around the world,
ladies and gentlemen,
let's get ready to rumble!
In the red corner, wearing the stars and stripes,
his professional record, 16 fights 16 victories.
The challenger,
Adonis "Hollywood" Creed!
And fighting out of the blue corner,
wearing black with blue,
with 36 fights,
28 KOs,
he's the light heavyweight champion of the world,
"Pretty" Ricky Conlan!
- Okay, let's go. - Mmm-hmm.
How you doing, lads? You know what I expect of you both.
We talked about it in the locker rooms.
I want you to protect yourselves
and obey my commands at all times.
No low blows, no silly business.
Keep it clean, will you? Understand?
Touch gloves.
Nice shorts, boy.
Too bad your daddy ain't here to fight in them.
You know what?
You're gonna close his big mouth, okay?
- You know what to do. - Mmm-hmm.
One step, one punch, one round at a time.
You got this.
Round one begins.
"Pretty" Ricky Conlan in the black trunks,
and Adonis Creed in the red, white and blue.
Conlan is significantly taller
and thinks it will be easy to use his jab
to keep young Creed at bay.
You can see right away, Jim,
how much more relaxed Conlan is. He's been there before.
Move your head!
Keep your left up!
That kind of nervous energy
can wear you out as the fight goes on.
Hard left hook by Conlan. Creed backs off.
It's not easy to just jump right into
the major leagues like this,
having never fought an opponent like Conlan.
Of course, there aren't many fighters like Conlan.
Creed trying to get close to Conlan, against the ropes.
Conlan easily puts distance between them again.
Creed lands a jab, Conlan grins at it.
Conlan fires a hard body punch,
hits him hard with a right cross
and backs Creed into the ropes.
- Break! - Ref, come on!
Keep it clean!
And he gets a warning from the referee.
Creed kinda woke him up with that shot
and Conlan really made him pay for it.
Creed ready to let his hands go.
Creed misses and gets hit in return.
To your corner! One!
Perfect uppercut on the inside.
- Down goes Creed. - Two!
- Three! Four! - I'm good. I'm good!
- Five! Six! - I'm good!
Shake it off!
But already a knockdown for Ricky Conlan.
- Are you okay? - Mmm-hmm.
- Are you sure? - I'm good!
Fight!
Conlan lands a shot after the bell,
and round one was all Ricky Conlan.
Real for you now, boy? Real for you now?
- How's the eye? - Little bloody.
All right, look. Don't get rattled.
I'm gonna knock his ass out.
Do it in the next round. Don't wait.
You keep making mistakes like that,
we're gonna pick you up with a vacuum cleaner, okay?
Adonis was lucky there wasn't another 30 seconds in that round.
Come on, baby. What you doing?
Here's what I want you to do.
He's gonna jab and throw the right.
When he leaves it out there, drop that right hook and smash him, okay?
Stay focused.
So round one was a forbidding experience for young Adonis Creed.
And now, after a discussion with Rocky Balboa between rounds,
he comes in for more.
Conlan showed his power with the uppercut at the end of round one,
goes back to boxing to begin the second.
Be first!
Keep the pressure on, Rick!
Logic says Creed needs to find
a way to get inside of Conlan's long arms
and create pressure on the inside.
Come on! Come on!
So far, it's still mostly Ricky Conlan.
Hard left hook for Conlan, uppercut.
Keep your hands up!
Drives Creed into the corner again.
Tie him up!
Creed wraps him up and pulls him in to stop the onslaught.
You the champ, right, huh?
You the champ?
Show me. Come on!
There's a perfect right-hand shot by Creed!
- Yeah! - Yes!
Creed misses wildly, and they are going toe-to-toe.
Rapidly becoming a phone booth fight!
Go! Go!
Trading punches, right hand, left hand!
Both guys landing!
This is unbelievable action!
Double hook! Come on!
Hard right hand by Creed.
You bleed just like me!
Go to your corners! Come on!
You bleed just like me!
Man! That ain't shit!
He loves it! If Conlan thought
he had a pushover, he knows better now!
He bleed like me!
You belong in here!
They don't know what you've been through
and they sure don't know what we've been through.
I don't want you trading blows with him.
I want you to protect yourself.
Keep your distance!
I'm gonna smash this kid to bits.
Now he knows you're for real.
You gotta believe you can do it.
That was such a big round for Creed.
Not just on the scorecards but psychologically going forward, Jim.
You woke up a sleeping giant.
He's gonna come after you with everything he's got.
Adonis, looking more and more comfortable against the champ
seems to have found his rhythm.
Go finish him off.
This has devolved into a slugfest!
One punch at a time!
Come on, D!
Conlan trying to punish Creed at short range.
Finish him now!
Big combination to end the third by Conlan
and Creed does not know where he is,
walking to the wrong corner there.
His arm is long.
Because you're playing his game, Donnie.
Be patient.
One step, one punch.
- One round at a time. - There you go.
One step, one punch,
one round at a time.
Round five of a scheduled 12 and already it's a far different fight
than most experts expected.
He's just a pretender.
He's lucky to be in the same ring with you hitting him.
Remember that.
Adonis Creed has succeeded in
pressuring Ricky Conlan and making him fight.
Creed has proven plenty in this fight.
He's taken it, he's given it back.
But he does not look like a match
for the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
You're going through hell out there
but you're hurting him, too.
I can see it in his eyes.
You're not as far behind as you think.
Shorten that jab, shorten the distance,
get underneath him, and you'll be able to rip him.
You gotta push him back.
Most critics didn't think Creed could make it this far.
Donnie, step under!
- Yes! - Come on, Ricky!
There are moments when Creed is assertively taking over.
But there's a hard counter right,
drives Creed back into the corner.
Just when it appears Creed might be taking control.
Conlan comes close to knocking him down.
Use that pressure.
You are the one that's in the driving seat.
He's not used to this level, all right?
Get 'em on the rope.
Get 'em on the rope! Deep breath.
Boy's fast.
Hey! It's you against you.
- Me against me. - That's right.
- He's just in your way. - Got it.
Get him out of the way! Let's go!
Not only is young Adonis Creed still in the ring,
he may be in the fight.
Hard left hand by Creed.
Conlan was an overwhelmingly heavy favorite
pounding young Creed with right hands as you saw right there.
Bring back everything that's ever hurt you.
All the pain you had inside, everything that held you back.
Put it in both fists, and I want you to drive it through his body
and I promise you, his head will fall.
We're into the part of the fight
where all your instincts come into play.
Most experts expected that Conlan
would avoid trading shots with Creed
but he's trading willingly.
Creed fires a hard body punch.
Conlan in trouble!
- Hard left hand to the body. - Oh, yeah!
The champ is in bad shape, Jim.
Creed realized he has a better chance
of hurting Conlan to the body than to the head!
- What an uppercut! - No!
And Creed staggers back.
Body! Body!
To the body, trading shots!
Pawing with his jab,
Creed looks to land one big shot.
Move your legs!
Donnie, get up!
Get up, D!
Come on, baby.
Stitch!
Creed just got up
- like a man possessed. - You okay? Look at me!
- He was out! - Donnie!
Down but not out. Conlan thinks he's celebrating a knockout.
Get down! He's getting up!
But the referee is dusting Creed's gloves.
You're good.
Creed beats the count and the action begins again.
That's the heart of a champion.
He has his daddy's heart, I'll tell you that much.
Donnie, be ready!
More work to do for Conlan. Body shot. Body shot.
Trying to set Creed up one more time.
Tie him up, for Christ's sake!
Stitch has done a great job over that right eye
but now the left eye looks like it's almost shut.
Closing up.
- Rock, is he okay? - You have to go back to...
Stay there, Bianca, it's okay.
I'm cool, man, I'm cool!
I'm good.
- You're good? - Yeah, man, all right?
- You sure about that? - I am. I'm good.
He's taken a lot of punishment to both the body and the head.
Left eye completely closed.
- I'm gonna stop this thing. - No!
Let me see the eye.
Time! Doc, give him a look!
All right. Show me your eye.
Show me your eye, Adonis!
How many fingers?
How many, Adonis?
- Four. - And again.
Two.
Time in!
All right. Breathe through your mouth.
Deep breaths, kid, deep.
You are up on the cards, you're winning this.
You are gonna win this!
But just keep smart and keep away from him.
He's going to sleep this time. He's going out this round.
I should've stopped the fight with your father.
I'm stopping this one now.
Don't, okay? Let me finish.
- I gotta prove it. - Prove what?
I'm not a mistake.
Look at me. I never got a chance to thank Apollo
for helping me out after Mickey died.
But it's nothing compared to what you've done.
You taught me how to fight again
and I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna fight this thing.
But if I fight, I want you to fight, too.
I want you to go across this ring
and knock that son of a bitch down.
Can you do it?
Say it.
I'm gonna knock that son of a bitch down.
I know you are. You know why?
Because you're a Creed and I love you, kid.
- I love you too. - Go on.
All right, baby, let's go.
Go get him, Donnie!
Round 12 begins.
Virtually no one outside of Adonis Creed's family and group of friends
would ever have expected to see him
in a 12th round against "Pretty" Ricky Conlan
and trading shots as they come to these last three minutes.
And there's a hard left hook upstairs.
Yeah!
Every time you wanna say it's the beginning of the end
the other guy comes through with a shot you can't believe.
Hard right hand by Conlan.
Come on! Don't sit there!
They're trading shots
in the kind of back and forth action
that most of us didn't expect to see.
Creed getting hit
with some hard shots but landing some of his own,
and Adonis is firing back!
Another pitched battle between the two warriors.
- Ricky, nail him! - Come on, kid!
Creed spins, puts the champ in the corner!
Body! Body!
Throwing body shots like he's Rocky Balboa!
Going upstairs like he's Apollo Creed!
Knock his ass out!
Closing seconds of the fight!
Ricky!
That's what I'm talking about!
Conlan is down!
That is the first time in his career he's been on the canvas.
You cannot be saved by the bell in the 12th and final round.
- Ricky, get up! - Stay down!
- Six!
- Dramatic count in Liverpool. - Seven! Eight!
He must get up to preserve his chance to win the fight.
- Are you all right? - I'm okay.
- Look at me! - I'm all right!
- He's up! - What?
The bell sounds,
so Conlan survives the 12th round!
What a finish!
If that round goes another 30 seconds, we may have a new champion.
An unforgettable fight on an unforgettable night!
He's no longer just the namesake of Apollo Creed,
he's the living embodiment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
a round of applause for these two warriors in the ring!
To the winner by split decision
and still the undefeated champion of the world...
You did great, kid.
"Pretty" Ricky Conlan!
Donnie, you were robbed.
If this fight had been 10 seconds longer...
10 seconds longer...
Creed.
You go and get it, chum.
You the future of this division.
You wear that name with pride.
Respect.
Congratulations, Adonis, on a sensational effort.
I just wanna thank my mom. She's at home. I love you.
Even though I know she's mad at me for doing this.
Hopefully I made her proud.
You almost gave me a heart attack but I'm proud of you.
I got my family right here.
Without them, none of this would've been possible.
Rocky, Apollo Creed's son looks at you and says family.
What does that mean to you?
It means I'm a lucky guy. What can I say, right, kid?
He's a real fighter, and he's helping me fight a few things,
so I appreciate it. I really do.
Adonis, I know you never met your father.
But if he was here tonight, what would you wanna say to him?
I'll just tell him that I love him
and I know he didn't leave me on purpose.
And I'm proud to be a Creed.
Thanks, Adonis, and congratulations
on a sensational performance. Jim.
Creed! Creed! Creed!
Go on.
Talk to them. Go on!
This crowd is up on its feet.
No one wants to leave the arena.
Everyone in here knows they've seen something special.
A fight they'll never forget.
Ricky Conlan wins the fight.
Adonis Creed wins the night.
This is it?
Yeah.
I just wanna see if I can get up these steps.
When's the first time you came here?
I was 12.
I think it's my favorite place.
When you get to the top
you think you can fly.
Almost there.
You got this.
Come on, young man.
Just let me catch my breath.
Come on, no breaks. We rest at the top.
Just a minute.
Nah, this is what you asked for, right?
Let's go. One step at a time.
Yeah.
Come on.
One step at a time. Who told you that?
Some old guy.
You know I meant that for you, not for me.
I think they added a few more steps.
I don't know.
Almost there.
I'm gonna take these last two.
One more step.
How you feeling?
Oh, good. Really good.
You all right there, old man?
Yeah.
Nice view.
If you look hard enough, you can see your whole life from up here.
How does it look?
Not bad at all. And you?
Not bad at all.
You see this guy here staring back at you?
That's your toughest opponent.
Every time you get into the ring,
that's who you're going against.
I believe that in boxing
and I do believe that in life, okay?
Nobody showed me how to do this.
I'm ready.