- We did it, huh? - We did it. We did it.
You don't have to worry about nothin' no more. Everything's gonna be OK, Mick.
- Yeah. Rocky, we did it. - You gotta get to hospital.
You ain't as young as you used to be, OK?
You know what?
We did everything right. I did everything right?
Listen, you done everything right.
Listen, we got more to do. Mick, whatever you wanna do, we'll do it, OK?
I love ya, kid. I love ya.
Mick.
It hurts me.
(breathing stops)
Mick?
Mick!
Mick... Christ.
(sobs)
Don't go away. Please don't.
We got more to do... We got more to do. We got...
Oh, God. Oh, Jesus.
(yells)
(rabbi) Ve-al kol Yisrael...
(Rocky) Ve-al kol Yisrael...
...ve-imroo... ...ve-imroo...
...amen. ...amen.
- Oseh shalom... - Oseh shalom...
...bim-romov... ...bim-romov...
...hoo yaseh... ...hoo yaseh...
...shalom... ...shalom...
...aleynu... ...aleynu...
... ve-al kol Yisrael...
...ve-imroo... ...ve-imroo...
... amen.
This concludes our service.
(man) That's not the way to do it.
Who's that?
Why don't you hit it straight? Step into it.
- Apollo? - Right.
I waited at your house for an hour. Your wife said you might be here.
- What are you doin' here? - Business.
If the papers knew we were talkin' like this, they'd think we was crazy. Why you?
Cos I'm the best and you need somebody to teach you different.
- Why? - You can't pull it off without me.
You still didn't give me the answer. What's the real reason?
Listen. It's quiet, isn't it?
When you retire, it's too quiet.
We too young to retire, anyway.
Besides, I could promote this thing into the biggest gate ever. Bigger than ours.
Heaven knows, I don't mind being involved with large numbers, right?
I don't need this no more. I... I don't want this no more.
Look, man. When you beat me...
...I hurt all over. I didn't wanna know from nobody, not even my kids.
Every fighter knows that hurt.
We get sick inside trying to live with it, so don't back off now.
Make it right for yourself or you'll be sorry you didn't.
We held the greatest title in the whole world, babe.
You lost that fight for all the wrong reasons. You lost your edge.
All right. I know your manager dying had you all messed up inside.
But the truth is you didn't look hungry.
Now when we fought...
...you had that eye of the tiger, man, the edge.
Now you gotta get it back, and the way to do it is to go back to the beginning.
Maybe we could win it back together.
Eye of the tiger, man.
Why'd you have to come here?
I have the plan. Get back, man.
You got me curious.
You got me curious, Rock.
Clubber, do you accept the challenge for a rematch with Balboa?
I reject the challenge because Balboa is no challenge.
But I'd be happy to beat up on him some more. I always said he was nothin'.
I can't wait to see this bum fall.
What do you think of him being trained by Apollo Creed?
Apollo who? That old fool Apollo Creed?
- Shucks. One has-been... - Just keep talkin', pal.
Been runnin' off at the mouth. When I see him, I'm gonna close it.
- When will the match take place? - The sooner, the better.
I'm the champion of the world. I can't be beat and I won't be beat.
This time I'll train harder. There won't be no quick knockdowns.
I'm gonna torture him. I'm gonna crucify him - real bad.
Hard words from a hard man.
The odds against Balboa making a comeback at 34 are very long indeed.
Can he do it? Most experts doubt it.
Balboa was a fine champion, but his time has passed. I wish him luck.
- Don't listen to it, Rocky. - No, do listen to it, Rock.
When this is over, a lot of folks are gonna owe you an engraved apology.
- And you're gonna owe me a big favour. - What favour?
When it's over. Hm?
(Paulie) Rocko, come on! We're gonna be late at the airport. Let's go!
- Think we forgot anything? - I think we have it all.
- Maybe another sweater. - No. California's not that cold, is it?
OK, listen. I want you to be a good boy, OK?
- Don't give anybody a hard time. - OK.
Gimme a kiss.
- We'll call when we land. - Yeah, we'll call.
# I been told by
# Some people, and they all
# Say to take you back
# Take you back like before
# I don't call that a reason
# I just call it believin' in myself
# Believin' in myself
- What the hell are we doin' in LA? - This is where I started.
- So? - So this is where he's startin'.
This place is disgusting. Let's stay at your place.
You're missin' the point. Let's check in and get over to the gym.
Rock, we don't need this. It's below your standards.
We gotta give it a try, Paulie. Come on, Adrian.
# I don't call that a reason
I don't even have a gun.
# I just call it believin' in myself
# Believin' in myself...
(Paulie) Fun is fun. I like those kind of things, but this, I don't like.
Look at this place. Rats even have more pride than to be caught dead here.
I mean, look at the dump. I just don't like it.
- Think of Adrian's health. - (Adrian) I'm fine, Paulie.
Check this out.
(Apollo) Yeah. Yeah...
- This is where I started. - That's your problem.
Rocko, let's leave before they leave us for dead.
Yeah. You see that look in their eyes, Rock?
When we fought, I trained hard but I didn't have that look.
You had it and you won.
Gotta get that look back, Rock.
Eye of the tiger, man. Eye of the tiger. Come on.
Come on, let's go.
Look at this place. No class in here.
- Is he always so cheerful? - I don't sweat you.
- Hey, Paulie. Don't get mentally irregular. - It's a free country.
- Just don't get irregular. - I don't need no philosophy lesson.
- It takes six years to get to know him. - I ain't got six years.
Come on, Paulie, just relax. Come on.
We're on business.
- Hey! Hey, champ! - Hey, Duke, my man!
- Hey, everything's set up. - Good. I know you know this man.
Yeah. It's gonna be good workin' with you and not against you.
- How you feel? - Pretty good, thanks.
We've been livin' modern. Now we're gonna train old.
I'm goin' over here to talk to the guys.
Hey! The champ is home.
- We gotta leave. I got a reputation. - What do you mean, reputation?
- You heard. I don't like these people. - You don't like 'em?
Well, maybe they don't like you either, Paulie.
What'd I do to them?
And they call me punchy.
- Stallion. Come over and meet the fellas. - I'll be right back.
How you doin', guys?
(# "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor)
That's it, that's it. Come on, on the toes. On the toes!
On the toes. On the toes. On the toes.
Come on, Rock.
- He ain't too graceful. - That's why we're here, Paulie.
Waste of time. He's got heavy feet.
Get on the balls of your feet. Come on, relax, Rock.
- Come on, get those feet outta concrete. - It'll take time but it'll come.
He can't train to the jungle junk music.
(Duke) Come on, relax, Rock. On the balls of your feet. Find the rhythm.
We'll start a new dance called the crawl.
You can't train him like a coloured fighter. He ain't got no rhythm.
Come on.
- How stupid do I look! - You look great.
Everything we do works out the jab. Good.
- Can he swim? - With a name like Rock?
No time to waste. Let's go! Another lap. Move it.
- Another lap. - He ain't no tuna. We belong in the gym.
He's usin' muscles he never knew he had.
Come on, Rock. Stretch now. Move it, Rock. Move it.
Nobody can change that much. He's a bruiser. He ain't no boxer.
You keep tellin' him that and he'll be nothin'.
Another lap. Come on now! Move it. Move it!
Come on. Move it, Rock. Come on! Let's go. Let's go.
That's it, stretch it out.
That's it. You gotta pull. Hard, now. Hard.
(shouting)
(glass breaks)
(police siren)
Shut up, ya Sterno bums! I'll squash ya.
There's decent people tryin' to sleep!
Shut up, you honky scum bastard mother!
Who needs this sick place? I don't.
No class.
Damn, that Clubber's strong.
15 rounds is a long time.
We gotta put him away early.
I figure with the pace we gotta set, Rock can last maybe seven or eight rounds.
Then we'll be out of steam, man.
(Apollo) We got to put him away early.
(running water)
(Adrian) At least the water's hot.
Well, we never really had a honeymoon.
It's not so bad.
You've been in worse places.
(Stu) Rocky's in trouble in round two.
He takes a right. He's been cut! Rocky's been cut!
Come on, Rock. Come on, now.
Let's go. You gotta get tougher.
Think smooth. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
On your toes, Rock. On your toes. On your toes!
Push yourself, Rock! Concentrate.
Let's move it, Rock. Move it now. Come on!
Have fun with it.
That's it. Easy, easy, easy.
Don't push it. Let it come.
It'll come. It just takes time, baby.
Move your head, move your head. Up and down.
Come on, come on.
In and out. Inside. Inside. Inside, baby.
- Side to side. Move your head. - Watch him. He's got two hands, right?
Damn, man! What the hell are you doin'? This guy will knock you on your ass!
Come on, Rock, it's not a game.
You wanna live in a hospital for five weeks this time?
- You thought I was tough. He'll kill ya! - All right.
Come on. Get your head on your shoulders, man. Think about the fight.
Clubber Lang's in here. He's tryin' to hurt you, Rock.
Here it comes. Jab! He's jabbin'.
He's tryin' to hurt you. You gotta fight him. You gotta move.
(Stu) He's up against the ropes. He can't get out of the corner!
He's hookin'! He's hookin'! He's hookin'!
Damn, Rock! Come on!
- What's the matter with you? - Tomorrow. We'll do it tomorrow.
There is no tomorrow!
There's one thing you gotta remember. We gotta get some speed.
You gotta get some flexibility. You gotta get some quickness. Understand?
Quickness, endurance. That's all we gotta concern ourselves with, Rock.
Mickey never had me do this.
Yeah. OK, here we go.
Ready.
Set... Go!
Come on. Come on.
Come on.
(Mickey) You can't win, Rock.
You ain't been hungry since you won that belt.
He'll knock ya into tomorrow!
(groans of anguish)
What's the matter?
It's over. It's all over.
What's the matter with you?
Can I talk to you?
I wanna ask you something important, and I want you to tell me the truth.
- What? - Why'd you come here?
I just don't want it no more.
- If it's over cos you want it to be, I'm glad. - I do.
It's just... you've never quit anything since I've known you.
I don't know what you want me to say. I mean, what happened?
How did everything that was so good get so bad?
What's so bad? Tell me. What?
I wrecked everything by not thinking for myself.
Why couldn't Mickey tell me where it was really at from the start?
He didn't have to carry me and lie and make me think I was better than I was.
- He never lied. - Those fights weren't right.
I never fought anybody in their prime.
There was always some angle to keep the title longer than I shoulda had it.
Do you understand?
You've gotta understand, he loved you! That was his job, protecting you.
Protectin' don't help nothin'. It makes things worse.
You wake up one day thinking you're a winner, but you're not. You're a loser.
So we wouldn't have had the title as long. So what?
- At least it would have been real. - It was real!
Nothing is real if you don't believe in who you are.
I don't believe in myself no more!
When a fighter don't believe, he's finished. That's it.
That's not it. Why don't you tell me the truth?
What are you puttin' me through? You wanna know the truth?
I don't wanna lose what I got.
At first, I didn't care about what happened. I'd go in the ring, get bust up.
But now there's you and the kid. I don't wanna lose what I got!
What do we have that can't be replaced? What? A house. We got cars, money.
We got everything but the truth. What's the truth, dammit?!
I'm afraid! All right?
You wanna hear me say it? You wanna break me down? I'm afraid.
For the first time, I'm afraid.
I'm afraid too. There's nothin' wrong with that.
- There is. For me, there is. - Why? You're human.
I don't know what I am. I know I'm a liar, and because of that, Mickey ain't here.
You didn't push him into anything. He was a grown man. He did what he had to do.
And you have no right to feel guilty. You don't!
You were a champion. You did what you were expected to do.
You did what everybody thought you should do.
And you wanna tell me that those fights weren't real? I don't believe it!
It doesn't matter what I believe. You've got to carry that fear inside you...
...afraid everybody'll take things away, that you'll be remembered as a coward...
...that you're not a man any more. Well, none of it's true.
It doesn't matter if I tell you because you're the one that's got to settle it.
Get rid of it! Cos when the smoke clears, and they stop chanting your name...
...it's just gonna be us.
And you can't live like this. We can't live like this.
Cos it's gonna bother you for the rest of your life. Look what it's doing to you now.
Apollo thinks you can do it. So do I.
But you gotta wanna do it for the right reasons. Not for the guilt over Mickey.
Not for the people, not for the title, not for money, or me - but for you.
Just you. Just you alone.
- And if I lose? - Then you lose.
But at least you lose with no excuses. No fear.
And I know you could live with that.
How'd you get so tough?
I live with a fighter.
I really love you.
I love you.
(# Rocky theme)
No, no, no. Rock, no. Just flick it. Just flick it.
Faster! Faster!
Good. Five more laps.
Punch it!
On your toes!
# Gonna fly now
# It's all right now
# Flying high now...
Jab out! Get him!
Gotta move it faster.
Faster! Faster! Kick it!
(Apollo laughs)
Very nice!
Move your head. Beautiful!
That's right. Under! Under and over.
Send him out!
# Feeling strong now
# Nothing wrong now
Faster. Faster. Yeah!
Now! Yeah!
Hey, Rocky the fish!
Yeah! Yeah!
# Gonna fly now
# Nothin' wrong now
# Gonna fly
# Fly, fly
# Fly
Good evening. I'm Stu Nahan, with Bill Baldwin.
We welcome you to Madison Square Garden.
It's the anxiously awaited rematch...
...between former champion Rocky Balboa and the reigning champion Clubber Lang.
We now switch to our remote cameras inside the dressing rooms.
Would you comment on how you plan to fight Balboa? What's your strategy?
Don't need any. Balboa's so predictable and stupid.
The man comes straight ahead. He's tailor-made for me. He's gonna get hurt.
- That's good. - Turn 'em over. Good?
How does that look? OK?
No, I don't hate Balboa. But I pity the fool.
And I will destroy any man who tries to take what I got.
Remember where you came from.
Remember what it took to get you here.
And remember what he did to you last time, right?
Both are brawlers, with the edge and power going to Clubber Lang...
...so I would say the odds are very long against Balboa regaining his title.
Now it's your turn. It's your turn, huh?
What's your prediction for the fight?
- Prediction? - Yes. Prediction.
Pain.
Lang likes to hurt a man to the body.
And Balboa may never have psychologically recovered...
...from that vicious knockout that Clubber laid on him.
It's time.
- Here. - What?
I want you to wear these.
Come on, Apollo. These are the colours that you wore in our first fight together.
I... I can't wear your colours.
Just wear 'em.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Thanks, Apollo.
Just make sure you wash 'em before you bring 'em back.
Will do. Will do.
- Thanks, Apollo. - Hey, and remember...
...after this you owe me a favour.
What favour?
I'd have to agree. Toe to toe, Lang is devastating, and he's much too strong.
(crowd chants) Rocky! Rocky!
Listen. I wanna tell you that I'm proud of you.
It takes a helluva man to change, and you did it. Prove it to 'em, right?
- You did good, Apollo. - Thanks, Paulie.
Let's do it, Paulie.
(Stu) Here come Rocky and Apollo, the two former champions.
Look at the tenseness in his face, that taut body.
- Boy, does he look serious right now. - He does.
You know, Stu, the word is that this is Rocky's last fight - win, lose or draw.
(Stu) There he is, the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, climbing into the ring.
Boy, he looks incredibly thin. I'd say he's gotta be about 20lb lighter.
(Bill) Rocky Balboa, the iron man from Philadelphia.
This crowd is with him tonight. Listen.
(Stu) Balboa doesn't really have any boxing skills.
But I've never seen as much raw determination...
Hold it, Stu.
Here comes the champion now, Clubber Lang. Look at this crowd.
(Stu) Look at those eyes. I've never seen a guy with such sullen eyes. He is tough.
Clubber, go back where you came from!
He even belted a spectator. Did you see that? Look at that man.
Boy, awesome. Man, he's tough.
(Bill) Clubber Lang, the heavyweight champion of the world!
Hey, fool! You ready for another beatin'?
You should've never came back!
- Don't look at him. - Let's just be cool.
Hey, boy.
Hey, boy. After I crucify him, you're next.
- Just stay outta my face, chump. - Don't turn your back on me.
(Stu) We got a brawl before the bell.
- (bell rings) - This ring is ready to explode!
With the fight about to officially begin...
- I'm gonna get you! Let him go! - Come on!
Let him go! I want him!
- You said be cool. - That was cool.
I'm the champ! I'll beat ya like I did last time.
You won't have to look to find me. I'm here.
Boxing fans around the world...
...welcome to Madison Square Garden...
...and tonight's heavyweight championship of the world!
Out of the red corner...
...the challenger, weighing 191 lb...
...from the fighting city of Philadelphia...
...the former heavyweight champion of the world...
...the Italian Stallion...
...Rocky Balboa!
(cheering)
I tell ya, he has so slimmed down, he looks like a middleweight.
Out of the blue corner, weighing 237lb...
...the hard-punching pedlar from Chicago...
...the reigning heavyweight champion of the world...
...Clubber Lang! - (booing)
Referee... Lou Filippo.
OK, boys. Let's go.
We went over the rules yesterday. I'm gonna repeat a few of 'em.
Watch your low blows and rabbit punches.
In case of a knockdown, go to the corner I tell you to...
...and you stay there until I tell you to come out.
Is that understood? Any questions?
Let's go back to your corner now. Let's go.
- I'm gonna bust you up. - Go for it.
(Stu) Here we go. The war is on! We're just waiting for the bell.
Take my belt off. I'll get that chump.
Don't let this bum let you fight his fight. You're the best!
Hell.
Rhythm and power. Then jab him.
(chanting) Rocky! Rocky!
(Stu) It should be a great fight!
(bell rings)
Balboa goes right out of his corner and right after Clubber Lang.
He's going right to left, into Clubber's face. What a start to the fight!
(Bill) Another jab. Another jab.
And another! This is not the Rocky we expected!
Looks fantastic.
(Stu) Another right. And a right. Look at that! A right and left to the head!
(Bill) Clubber Lang doesn't know what's happening. He's being stung by this style.
Look at the shots he's taking.
- He can't corner the fleet-footed fighter. - It's absolutely unbelievable!
Come on, you oversized hick! Bring it to me! Hit me!
(Stu) That right hand is like a triphammer!
- Rock, tie him up! - Bring it to me! Hit me!
Come on, get back. Get back!
(Stu) Tough first round!
There's Rocky with a couple of rights and lefts.
Get off! Get off!
(Bill) This crowd is going absolutely wild.
(bell rings)
(Bill) We got pandemonium in the ring at the end of round one.
Lang wants more. He can't realise that the round is over!
(Clubber yells)
All right, you looked great. Just don't get crazy and we're home.
- I'll kill you, man - The man is strong.
I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him.
Now he's gonna come hard, right?
- Don't give him a chance to settle. - Counter and move. Counter and move.
(Stu) He had Lang at his mercy!
(bell rings)
(Bill) Now it's Lang coming out for Rocky.
Rocky has him in his corner and is still landing rights and lefts.
A right to the head. Another.
He's really setting him up. Five unanswered shots!
Kill him! Kill him!
- Get outta there! - Get back!
All right!
Break it up. Break it up.
- What are you doin'? - Come on, Balboa.
Get your hands up. Come on, Rock!
That right hand hurt Rocky again!
(Bill) Balboa's in trouble now.
Hold him, dammit!
- Come on, Rocky! - (Bill) This is Clubber's round.
And Balboa is down.
- Get up, dammit! - Come on.
- Five! - (Stu) He's in trouble.
Six!
Seven!
(Bill) It's Clubber again. Lang with the left hand. Another left and a right!
And down goes Balboa again.
Stop the fight.
- Six! - I got some more, so get up.
I got a lotta moves. Come on!
(Bill) Here we go again. Clubber coming into him!
- You ain't so bad. You ain't so bad. - (bell rings)
You ain't so bad. You ain't nothin!
You must be crazy. You're just a stupid fool.
- But I ain't breathin' heavy. - He's a fool. He's stupid.
How could he come back from that beating?
What the hell are you doin'?
- It's a strategy. I know what I'm doin'. - You don't know.
- He's gotta come to you. - He's nothin'. He's mine.
Stand toe to toe with this bum and he'll kill you. He'll beat your head off.
He's gettin' tired.
Don't go wasting your punches. Don't try to take him out with one punch.
Use your head. You wear him down. He's all ours.
I know what I'm doin'.
Don't tell me what you think! Go out there and do it. Eye of the tiger.
(buzzer)
Knock his head off. He's just a man.
Be more man than him. Go get him. Eye of the tiger.
(bell rings)
(Bill) Round three - tough round to call. This is a little slower...
It's my round.
I'm gonna take ya this time.
You're mine. You're mine.
- Come on. Come on. - I'm gonna get ya.
Get outta there.
Get outta there!
- Come on. - Stick him.
Come on!
Again, again!
- He's gettin' killed - No, no, no, he's not. He's gettin' mad.
The whole world's watching. Knock me out.
Harder! Can you hit hard? Hit me harder!
Get outta there!
Rocky!
Yeah!
My mother hits harder than that. Come on!
A little harder. Hit me on the face.
Come on, champ. You ain't so bad.
You ain't nothin'.
Rocky!
(chanting) Rocky! Rocky!
(Stu) I might believe the strategy now. He's making Clubber miss!
He drew him in. Now Rocky's throwing the punches. Look at the punches.
He's lifting him right off the canvas with those punches!
He's completely psyched out!
Lang is confused by all of this!
(cheering)
Come on!
(wild cheering)
The place is going bananas!
- Get up! - Five!
Six!
Seven!
Eight! Nine!
Ten. You're out.
(cheering)
(Stu) There he is, the new heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Balboa!
Rocky is exhausted.
(MC) Ladies and gentlemen, the winner by knockout...
- Are you all right? - Never better. Never better.
...the heavyweight champion of the world, the Italian Stallion...
...Rocky Balboa!
(cheering)
- (Apollo) We made a deal. - I know, but this is extremely crazy.
Yeah. Mentally irregular, right?
But it makes sense. You owe me a favour.
I know, but, uh... When did you think of this?
- About three years ago. - This is very crazy, Apollo.
Stallion, when you won that last fight, you beat me by one second.
That's hard for an intelligent man to handle.
- Didn't you say you learnt to live with it? - I lied.
- Oh, you lied! - (Apollo laughs)
- So now you gotta prove it to yourself? - No TV, no newspapers. Just you and me.
Nothin'. Just you and me. Age before beauty.
- Anything you say. - I'll do all the work, OK?
You better go slow cos you ain't as young as springtime any more.
I'm still young enough to whip your butt.
Yeah? How you gonna do that? You taught me everything you know.
Almost everything. You gotta remember, you fight great, but I'm a great fighter.
- You ready? - Absolutely.
You know, Stallion, it's too bad we gotta get old.
(laughs)
Ah, just keep punchin', Apollo.
You wanna ring the bell?
All right.
Ding-ding.
Come on, Stallion.
(laughing) Come on, come on.
Boy, you really move good for an older guy.
You're lookin' good. I taught you well.
I think you taught me too good. Look at him fly.
Look out now. No, no, you don't want any of this. Come on.
- Maybe I'm in here with the wrong guy. - Watch yourself. Ready?
# It's the eye of the tiger It's the thrill of the fight
# Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
# And the last known survivor Stalks his prey in the night
# And he's watching us all with the eye
# Of the tiger
# Risin' up
# Back on the street
# Did my time, took my chances
# Went the distance Now I'm back on my feet
# Just a man, and his will to survive
# So many times, it happens too fast
# You change your passion for glory
# Don't lose your grip
# On the dreams of the past
# You must fight just to keep them alive
# It's the eye of the tiger It's the thrill of the fight
# Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
# And the last known survivor Stalks his prey in the night
# And he's watchin' us all with the eye
# Of the tiger
# Face to face
# Out in the heat
# Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
# They stack the odds Still we take to the street
# For the kill with the skill to survive
# It's the eye of the tiger
# It's the thrill of the fight
# Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
# And the last known survivor Stalks his prey in the night
# And he's watchin' us all with the eye
# Of the tiger
# Risin' up, straight to the top
# Had the guts, got the glory
# Went the distance Now I'm not gonna stop
# Just a man and his will to survive
# It's the eye of the tiger
# It's the thrill of the fight
# Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
# And the last known survivor Stalks his prey in the night
# And he's watchin' us all with the eye
# Of the tiger
# The eye of the tiger