ROCKY AND THE RING By Tom Gray Y ou know the scene in Rocky (1976). The character of Apollo Creed, played by the late Carl Weathers, searches through a book for an opponent to challenge for his heavyweight championship … and the rest is movie history. What you might not know is that this was the first time – but certainly not the last – that the Ring brand would feature in the franchise. The
Canelo versus (clockwise from upper left) Austin Trout, Sergey Kovalev, Gennadiy Golovkin and Callum Smith.
Promoter: what exactly are you looking for, apollo? Apollo creed: (pointing at a profile in a book) this is what i’m looking for. The italian stallion! Promoter: rocky balboa? Never heard of him. Creed: look, it’s the name, man. The i-talian stallion. The media will eat it up. Now who discovered america? An italian, right? What would be better than to get it on with one of his descendants?
book used in the movie is The Ring Boxing Encyclopedia and Record Book 1975 . Given that I’m penning this story for seasoned boxing fans, I trust that you won’t make the same mistake my wife did and ask if Rocky’s name is really in there. In all seriousness, I loved that connection and managed to purchase a copy of the 1975 edition at the IBHOF Memorabilia Day for a grand total of $2. In terms of brand identification, The Ring was and remains the most well-known and historically significant boxing publication in the world. Filmmakers have utilized The Bible of Boxing in such works as The Godfather Part II (1974), JFK (1991), and Pulp Fiction (1995). However, it’s the Rocky/Ring Magazine alliance that is best remembered. Rocky II (1979) was the first movie to feature what would
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