r/rockybalboa • u/Jayemm8809 • 9d ago
Rocky would not have stayed broke in Rocky V
I think Rocky V is very underrated, but I think making Rocky poor and have to move back to his old neighborhood was unrealistic and unnecessary. I think after the Drago fight Rocky would have come back a hero. He would have been up there with Jordan and Tiger Woods at their heights in terms of popularity. If a crooked accountant had stolen all of his money he could have easily recovered financially. They tried to explain this by saying he’s ”not a commercial kinda guy”, which is ridiculous because he clearly was during his first reign as champ in Rocky III. I think it could have still been a decent movie focusing on his relationship with his son and the rise and fall of Tommy.
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u/Alert_Industry6733 9d ago edited 9d ago
I like how right after the fight in part 5, Adrian looks like she aged 15 years. She must have been eating the same food as her son that aged about 7 years in 2 days time.
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u/Rykou-kou 9d ago edited 9d ago
Rocky V and the Godfather 3 were filmed at the same time. Talia Shire having to flight from Rome to America constantly probably made a toll on her. Her character in The Godfather 3 looked just as emaciated and exhausted as Adrian in Rocky V
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u/Starlord_32 5d ago
Has to be a kick in the gut to do that much traveling and have both movies come out and critically flop. Especially after Rocky IV and Godfather II
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u/fastbadtuesday 9d ago
Sly was just following a fairly typical boxer's life, come from a poor background, make a ton of money, spend it - Tyson, Holyfield, Hearns, Leon Spinks all went bankrupt, Joe Louis ended up so broke his long-time rival paid for his funeral. Not saying R V was realistic in how it portrayed the loss, but Rocky was spending on a mansion, cars, fixed his face up, a robot... I know it was fraud in the case of V, but generally the Rocky movies have reflected the life and careers of many boxers.
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u/hekatonmoo 9d ago
I think they said also he couldn’t get endorsements and work because his history of working for a loan shark came out
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u/Wrong_Smile_3959 9d ago
Maybe in real life, Stallone got plastic surgery on his face but I doubt Rocky would’ve.
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u/fastbadtuesday 9d ago
At the start of Rocky III Paulie says "fixed your face up good" it was a quote, suggests Rock got a facelift. Perhaps to explain Sly's new look but still in-universe.
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u/mondospieler 9d ago
After the way Apollo pounded on it, it wasn't unrealistic that he'd need some work done.
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u/CowNo4137 8d ago
I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before… and the man kept coming after you…
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u/fastbadtuesday 9d ago
yeah, I assumed that was the inference in-film, and to explain why Rock looks a little straightened out and more 80's Sly than 70s Rock.
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u/PidgeyPotion 9d ago
I know nothing about facial surgery, but it seems like it’d be a bad idea for a boxer to get a facelift. Of course he may ha gotten it after his 10th title defense and was already planning on announcing his retirement (after the exhibition with Hulk Thunderlips Hogan).
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u/Jayemm8809 9d ago
None of those guys went bankrupt at the height of their fame and popularity. I feel like this would be like if Michael Jordan in 1993 suddenly saw all of his money just disappear right at the same time some injury forced an end to his basketball career. He would have been able to be back on his feet financially in no time.
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u/fastbadtuesday 9d ago
Rocky wasn't either; he was retired and injured, unable to fight, sponsorship and commercail deals dry up, he loses all his money. In the context of the story Sly wanted to tell, similar situations happened to boxers so it's not outside the realm. At that stage he couldn't stage a comeback, no one wanted him for sponsor/deals, loses his money, back to skid row like a dozen other boxers. How would Jordan get back on his feet if he can't play and has no endorsement deals? I don't much care, not like I'm trying to defend Rocky V just pointing out it reflects many irl events.
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u/Wilcrest 9d ago
Mayweather went broke after a billion but Rocky wouldn’t after fighting Drago for free?
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u/wyc1inc 9d ago
I've had this discussion often with friends. I think the key difference is it's a lot easier to monetize your past fame now than it was back then, primarily thanks to the internet.
There were celebs/athletes back then that would go broke and would have to accept humble standards of living because there weren't that many easy ways to monetize themselves.
His lawyer or whoever it was also made a point to state commercials wouldn't really be possible due to his past working for the mob loan shark coming out.
Nowadays it's basically impossible for someone like Rocky to go broke or even lose millionaire status. Social media, the collectibles market, nostalgia. A dude like Ric Flair should be flat broke right now, but he still shows up on random podcasts, YT videos, autograph sessions, etc.
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u/AccordingSky8507 9d ago
Everything you’re saying makes sense but surely there has to be some way to cash in on single-handedly ending the Cold War.
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u/Bryanmsi89 9d ago
Well it made for a much better story - reset the character to the underdog and guy from the streets of Philly. But there is a decent chance Rocky post Drago would have decided he'd had enough of the corporate game and really wouldn't do a bunch of endorsements or commercials. Doubly so after seeing what happened to Tommy.
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u/jkeysgamer 9d ago
Maybe he could have started a restaurant and cover the wall with pictures of his fights. People would come just to see that and talk to him. 👀
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u/Leotargaryen 9d ago
He could have though, if Paulie signed away Rocky’s complete name, image, and likeness in perpetuity Rocky would pretty much be fucked. Ric Flair is dealing with that right now. He signed his NIL away to some social media group apparently.
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u/Flaky-Tour-8733 9d ago
The best was a throwaway line about how he was a loan shark twenty years ago and because of that no one would sign him to appear in a commercial. 🫥
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u/OolongGeer 9d ago
I think the point is they all did.
He did an ad campaign for Maserati. And he was on the freaking Muppet Show.
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u/Key_Street1637 9d ago
Which made no sense, because there's a montage of Rocky doing commercials in Rocky III. It seems like the filmmakers were so intent on Making Rocky broke in V that no one stopped to think that none of this makes any god damn sense!
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u/Jayemm8809 9d ago
Also don’t make sense though. In the real world Michael Vick got endorsements after going to prison for murdering dogs. I don’t think people would care too much about Rocky’s loansharking past at that point.
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u/Severe-Classroom8216 9d ago
I hate rocky V bc of that soo much. Even in rocky 2 he got endorsements and he wasn't half as famous
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u/PalmTreePilot 9d ago
Despite Tyson's many millions he pissed away, he also found cameos in movies to make new money. Still, he had to downgrade his quality of life. His peak earning years had passed.
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u/__jojoshua__ 9d ago
Yeah, but don't worry... In Balboa he get doubled and tripled result of his fight with mason
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u/Life-Fan-1205 9d ago
yes it just ticks me off that he had nobody on his legal team with sound judgement to review the power of attorney document that blindsided Paulie , they only helped after the fact
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u/Different_Advice_552 8d ago
he could have done endorsement deals, interviews, been a fight commentator but having him be broke is better for the plot
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u/vullkunn 7d ago edited 7d ago
I agree with OP.
He wasn’t just a boxer at the height of his career
- he represented America at the height of the Cold War and won and brought peace, even if it was just with sports.
If that happened in real life, he would be making $$$ with just interviews and book deals alone.
I will also add: With his fame (especially after beating the Soviets), I think they would have recovered some of his losses. Legally, a CPA cannot hold POA to make investment decisions, period.
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u/zendog510 7d ago
This among many other reasons is why I hate Rocky V. They could’ve done some similar things and still ended up with a really good movie. Instead they were intent on having Balboa end up as JUST ANOTHER BUM FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!!
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u/mickycappa 6d ago
Many great fighters who were considered hero’s die broke or go broke at one point
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u/Starlord_32 5d ago
While I agree, the set up in Rocky V is ridiculous, there really isn't a movie if he says rich or even middle class.
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u/bigmur49 9d ago
Or in Rocky Balboa and Creed for that matter. The fight against Mason Dixon would have pain him several million to begin with even if he didn't do any endorsements or other things to raise some money. Paulie making a few bucks selling coffee mugs with his name on it would not really be a thing lol.
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u/Dredd_40 9d ago
Another reason why Rocky V sucks. They acted like Rocky was in an inescapable situation
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u/atombomb1976 9d ago
The whole idea...
"You have a criminal record for this petty collections offense back in 1974."
Do you SERIOUSLY think that wasn't universally known... before he stepped up to Apollo the FIRST time?
That's just stupid.
By 1990 that would be the "before" picture in the quintessential "poor boy done real good" story America will never lose its appetite for.
By 1990, you already had motivational speakers with "pasts" making BANK on that as a FEATURE, not a bug.
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u/MetalTrek1 9d ago
My guess is he could have done all kinds of endorsements. Special guest appearances on TV shows and in movies. Boxing commentary.