Rocky Balboa

Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name the Italian Stallion) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the Rocky franchise. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in eight of the nine films in the franchise. He is depicted as a working class or poor Italian-American from the slums of Philadelphia who started out as a club fighter and "enforcer" for a local Philly Mafia loan shark. He is portrayed as overcoming the obstacles that had occurred in his life and in his career as a professional boxer.

While the story of his first film was partly inspired^{[citation needed]} by a 1975 fight between underdog Chuck Wepner and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali (which nearly went the 15 round distance despite the odds), the inspiration for the name, iconography and fighting style came from boxing legend Rocco Francis "Rocky Marciano" Marchegiano, though his surname coincidentally also resembles that of Middleweight Boxing Champion Thomas Rocco "Rocky Graziano" Barbella.

The character is widely considered to be Stallone's most iconic role and is often considered the role that started his film career. He received critical acclaim for his performance in the first movie, earning Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. When Stallone reprised his role once again in 2015 for Creed, his performance received universal acclaim and he received his first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, along with his third Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and several other accolades.

Robert "Rocky" Balboa was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the only child in a Roman Catholic, Italian-American or Italian immigrant family. Rocky appears to be fully or semi-fluent in the Italian language; when Rocky is spoken to in Italian by his priest, Father Carmine, it is apparent that Rocky understands the language very well or fluently, including in a scene in which he translates Italian into English for Tommy Gunn. However, despite Rocky's obvious understanding of Italian, it is unclear and undetermined how well he actually speaks the language, as his responses to Father Carmine are always in English.

During the scene in Rocky in which Rocky takes Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino skating on Thanksgiving, he tells her, "Yeah – My old man, who was never the sharpest, told me I weren't born with much brain, so I better use my body." This encouraged him to take up boxing. He trained very hard so he could grow up to be like his idol Rocky Marciano. Unable to live on the low pay of club fights, and being unable to find work anywhere else, Rocky got a job as a collector for Tony Gazzo, the local loan shark, to make ends meet. By the end of 1975, Rocky had fought in 64 fights, winning 43 (40 KOs) and losing 21. Rocky was proud that he never had his nose broken in any of his amateur fighting career. His nickname is the Italian Stallion, from his Italian-American heritage.

The first film begins on November 25, 1975, in the slums of the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Rocky Balboa is fighting Spider Rico in a local boxing ring called the Cambria Fight Club (nicknamed "The Bucket of Blood") inside a chapel. In the second round, Rico hits Rocky with a headbutt, leaving a gash on his forehead. Rocky then delivers a vicious barrage of punches, knocking Rico out. The next day, Rocky stops by the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop, where he meets Adrian Pennino. Adrian is very shy and scared of Rocky's tough appearance, even though Rocky is kind to her and shows her respect. Afterward, Rocky goes to collect a loan for his loan shark boss, Tony Gazzo. Even though the client, Bob, does not have all the money, Rocky does not break his thumbs, despite Gazzo ordering him to do so. Later, Rocky stops by the local boxing gym and finds out that his locker has been replaced by another local contender. Unknown to him, the gym's owner and grizzled former boxer, Mickey Goldmill, does not dislike him, but considers Rocky's potential to be better than his effort. When Rocky leaves for home that night, he sees a young girl named Marie hanging around a bad crowd and walks her home. On the way, Rocky lectures her about staying away from the wrong people. However, once they get to her house, Marie assumes Rocky is trying to flirt with her, and dismisses him. Rocky walks home, frustrated how nothing is going right in his life.

Rocky gets his dream come true when the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed, decides that he wants to give an unknown fighter a chance to fight for the title after his intended challenger, Mac Lee Green, broke his hand while training. Creed was told that no other contender was available for a fight on New Years Day. Going against his trainer's warnings of Rocky being a southpaw (left-handed boxer), Creed chooses Rocky because he likes Rocky's nickname, 'The Italian Stallion' and that the patriotic Apollo will fight on the first day of the 1976 bicentennial year with one of what calls Christopher Columbus' descendants.

After getting picked by Creed, Rocky reunites with his estranged trainer, who convinces Rocky that he can help prepare him for the match. Mickey reveals that his career never got anywhere because he did not have a manager and he does not want the same thing to happen to Rocky. At the same time, Rocky begins dating Adrian. Rocky helps Adrian to become more self-confident and stand up for herself. Rocky confides in Adrian before the fight that, although he figures that he may not win, he wants to at least "go the distance".