Rocky V might be the worst Rocky movie, but it accomplished one of Sylvester Stallone’s major goals for the series. 1976’s Rocky made the Italian Stallion’s fight with world heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) into the quintessential underdog story. Rocky’s success led to the birth of the Rocky franchise, and its 21st century Creed spin-offs, but the series hit a bump in the road in 1990 with Rocky V, with even Stallone himself deriding it as the weakest Rocky movie
Despite the shortcomings of Rocky V, it did fulfill Stallone’s longstanding desire to bring an actual boxer into the Rocky franchise, with Tommy Morrison playing Rocky’s student-turned-opponent Tommy “The Machine” Gunn. Per Stallone in an Instagram post, he had originally wanted to bring boxing great Joe Frazier into Rocky III, with Mr. T ultimately playing the villainous Clubber Lang. Meanwhile, Morrison’s role in Rocky V does show how thoroughly Stallone accomplished his original goal in Rocky III with Morrison’s presence.
RELATED: How Many Fights Rocky Actually Won In His Boxing Career
Tommy Gunn’s Boxing Career Compared To Tommy Morrison
Tommy Gunn’s official boxing record is a quite impressive undefeated streak of 23-0-0. Technically speaking, however, he has suffered at least one loss, albeit outside the ring in his final street match with Rocky at the end of Rocky V. As a Rocky movie villain, Tommy Gunn’s loss was a particularly hard hit for him after being Rocky’s boxing trainee for so long.
The real-life fight record of the late Tommy Morrison stands at 48-3-1, with 42 of Morrison’s wins coming by knockout. Morrison fought up to just a few years before his untimely passing in 2013, with Morrison winning his last fight against Matt Weishaar by TKO. Though Morrison was just 44 years old at the time of his tragic passing, he leaves behind a truly memorable legacy in his professional boxing career.
Why Rocky V Didn’t Work
The mistakes of Rocky V are many, and they can largely be boiled down to the Rocky franchise losing much of its essence in the film. Shifting Rocky and Tommy to enemies from their mentor-student relationship really harmed the path of Rocky’s arc, leaving Rocky V with the least compelling story of the franchise. 25 years later, Creed learned well from the mistakes of Rocky V in seeing the value in Rocky becoming a mentor to a dedicated student, specifically Apollo’s son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan).
With the Rocky franchise’s return with Rocky Balboa and the Creed movies, so Rocky V’s reputation as the movie that killed the series has been lifted from its shoulders. For as lackluster as Rocky V may be, it is still important to give credit where credit is due. While Rocky Balboa and the Creed films brought real-life boxers into the Rocky franchise years later, for better or worse, Rocky V beat them to the punch with Tommy Morrison.
NEXT: Rocky V Needs A Stallone Fix More Than Rocky IV Ever Did
Key Release Dates