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 Entertainment | January 2007 
Boxing has Image Problem, Says "Rocky" Stallone
 Catherine Bremer - Reuters
| | Actor Sylvester Stallone poses for photographers during a news conference in Mexico City January 4, 2007. (Henry Romero/Reuters) |
Boxing today is suffering from an image problem, "Rocky" star Sylvester Stallone said on Thursday, as he visited Mexico to promote the fictional fighter's return to the ring in a new film sequel.
"It's a horrible image. It's worse now," he said when asked about the damage done to the sport by bad-boy fighters like convicted rapist and ear-biter Mike Tyson and a scarcity of world-class fighters and out-sized personalities like boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
"I don't know if it's just bad management or whatever, or the cream is not rising to the top, but you'd have to think that boxing is a reflection of the promoters," Stallone said.
Aged 60, but retaining his muscular body, Stallone defied critics by bringing his much-loved character Rocky Balboa out of retirement for a sixth Rocky movie, titled simply "Rocky Balboa," 30 years after the first one became an international hit.
"I wanted to create an awareness for boxing again because it had gone downhill a little bit," he told a media briefing.
Heavyweight boxing has been in decline for years. One reason fewer young athletes may be taking it up is that critics complain the sport can cause devastating brain damage.
Stallone's original 1976 movie tells of a lovable small-time boxer in Philadelphia dubbed "The Italian Stallion" who, in one of Hollywood's favorite underdog stories, gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to prove himself by fighting a heavyweight champ.
It became a surprise smash hit, winning an Oscar for best film and making Stallone, who wrote the story and played the lead, a star. Four other Rocky movies followed before Stallone set aside the character for a spell.
ONE LAST FIGHT
In the sixth film -- which uses a retired fighter as Rocky's young opponent and real fans for the crowd -- an aging Rocky decides he has enough punch left for one last fight. He ends up in the ring with the reigning heavyweight champ.
Next to some of today's gentler movie heroes, the scenes of sweat-drenched brutes thumping each other as the crowd chants "Rocky!" are a flashback to the late 1970s and 1980s.
But it's not about thoughtless aggression, Stallone said.
"Rocky Balboa" is a mature film aimed at people his age who can empathize with Rocky's need to purge himself of old demons.
"Yes it's brutal, but you know that they're going in there on an even pace. It's not a strong man attacking a stranger," he said of boxing in general, which he admits his wife hates.
And for fans of the first film who have taken a few of life's lessons on the chin over the years, Rocky represents an everyday guy and his opponent represents life, he said.
"Life is stronger than us. It beats on you and you fight back and you get knocked out and at the end you're bloody but still standing. That's really the relevance of this movie."
Stallone is also working on a comeback sequel of his other 1980s hulk-like character "Rambo."
Sylvester Stallone Border Fence in Mexico
AP
Sylvester Stallone defended boxing, praised the hard work of Mexicans and dished out some jabs against U.S. plans to build a wall on its southern border, as the 60-year-old actor visited Mexico City to promote his sixth prizefighting film, "Rocky Balboa."
Stallone said Thursday that his latest episode of the Rocky saga shows an ordinary man fighting back against life's difficulties represented by his stronger ring opponents.
"It's like bullfighting or certain sports where you understand the brutality," Stallone told reporters. "The thing is you have two men who are prepared; two men who have trained for this and know exactly what they're doing. It's not like two strong men attacking strangers."
In "Rocky Balboa," the aging scrapper is running a restaurant when a computer-simulated bout inspires him to put the gloves back on. In one scene, his character defends his restaurant's immigrant cooks and waiters against slanderous comments.
"I support Mexicans who work in my country," he said, adding that the United States depends on the hard work of Latinos to keep running.
In comments to Mexican media later, the man who formerly played U.S. war hero Rambo, criticized plans to build1,100 kilometers of fence along the border as an immigration-control measure.
Such a fence was "crazy" and "ridiculous," Stallone said, arguing nations should be able to interact without being divided by walls.
The Mexican government has railed against the fence with former President Vicente Fox comparing it to the Berlin Wall. |
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