document_title: Fecal occult blood

question_text: what is a positive stool exam for occult blood significant for

text: Fecal occult blood

text: Medical uses[edit]

text: Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), as its name implies, aims to detect subtle blood loss in the gastrointestinal tract, anywhere from the mouth to the colon. Positive tests ("positive stool") may result from either upper gastrointestinal bleeding or lower gastrointestinal bleeding and warrant further investigation for peptic ulcers or a malignancy (such as colorectal cancer or gastric cancer). The test does not directly detect colon cancer but is often used in clinical screening for that disease, but it can also be used to look for active occult blood loss in anemia[2] or when there are gastrointestinal symptoms.[3]

text: The stool guaiac test for hidden (occult) blood in the stool can be done at home or in the doctor's office, or can be performed on samples submitted to a clinical laboratory. Testing kits are available at pharmacies in some countries without a prescription, or a health professional may order a testing kit for use at home. If a home fecal occult blood test detects blood in the stool it is recommended to see a health professional to arrange further testing.[4]

text: Source of bleeding[edit]

text: Gastrointestinal bleeding has many potential sources, and positive results usually result in further testing for the bleeding site, usually looking for lower gastrointestinal bleeding before upper gastrointestinal bleeding causes unless there are other clinical clues.[5] Colonoscopy is usually preferred to computerized tomographic colonography.[6]

text: An estimated 1–5% of large tested populations have a positive fecal occult blood test.[citation needed] Of those, about 2–10% have cancer, while 20–30% have adenomas.

text: A positive test can result from upper gastrointestinal bleeding or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. The common causes are:

text:
2–10%: cancer (colorectal cancer, gastric cancer)
20–30% adenoma or polyps
Diverticular disease[7]
Hemorrhoids[7]
Inflammatory bowel disease[7]
Angiodysplasia of the colon
Sickle cell anemia

text: In the event of a positive fecal occult blood test, the next step in the workup is a form of visualization of the gastrointestinal tract by one of several means:

text:
Sigmoidoscopy, an examination of the rectum and lower colon with a lighted instrument to look for abnormalities, such as polyps.
Colonoscopy, a more thorough examination of the rectum and entire colon.
Virtual colonoscopy
Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. It is sometimes performed with chromoendoscopy, a method that assists the endoscopist by enhancing the visual difference between cancerous and normal tissue, either by marking the abnormally increased DNA content (toluidine blue) or failing to stain the tumor, possibly due to decreased surface glycogen on tumor cells(Lugol).[8][9] Infrared fluorescent endoscopy[citation needed] and ultrasonic endoscopy[citation needed] can interrogate vascular abnormalities such as esophageal varices.
Double contrast barium enema: a series of x-rays of the colon and rectum.

tag: ol

text: Stool color[edit]

text: Although red or black stools can be an indication of bleeding, a dark or black color can also be due to black licorice, blueberries, iron supplements, lead or Pepto-bismol, and a reddish color can result from artificial or natural colorings as found in red sweets (gelatin, popsicles, Kool-Aid), or large quantities of beets.

text: Colorectal cancer screening[edit]

text: Screening methods for colon cancer depend on detecting either precancerous changes such as certain kinds of polyps or on finding early and thus more treatable cancer. The extent to which screening procedures reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal cancer or mortality depends on the rate of precancerous and cancerous disease in that population. gFOBT (guaiac fecal occult blood test) and flexible sigmoidoscopy screening have each shown benefit in randomized clinical trials.[citation needed] Evidence for other colon cancer screening tools such as iFOBT (immunochemical fecal occult blood test) or colonoscopy is substantial and guidelines have been issued by several advisory groups but does not include randomized studies.

text: In 2009 the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) suggest that colon cancer screening modalities that are also directly preventive by removing precursor lesions should be given precedence, and prefer a colonoscopy every 10 years in average-risk individuals, beginning at age 50.[10] The ACG suggests that cancer detection tests such as any type of FOB are an alternative that is less preferred, and if a colonoscopy is declined, the FIT (fecal immunochemical test, or iFOBT) should be offered instead. Two other recent guidelines, from the US Multisociety Task Force (MSTF) and the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), while permitting immediate colonoscopy as an option, did not categorize it as preferred.[11][12] The ACG and MSTF also included CT colonography every five years, and fecal DNA testing as considerations. All three recommendation panels recommended replacing any older low-sensitivity, guaiac-based fecal occult blood testing (gFOBT) with either newer high-sensitivity guaiac-based fecal occult blood testing (hs gFOBT) or fecal immunochemical testing (FIT). MSTF looked at six studies that compared high sensitivity gFOBT (Hemoccult SENSA) to FIT, and concluded that there was no clear difference in overall performance between these methods.

text: The American College of Gastroenterology has recommended the abandoning of gFOBT testing as a colorectal cancer screening tool, in favor of the fecal immunochemical test.[13] Though the FIT test is preferred, even the guaiac FOB testing of average risk populations may have been sufficient to reduce the mortality associated with colon cancer by about 25%.[14] With this lower efficacy, it was not always cost effective to screen a large population with gFOBT.[15][16][17][18]

text: If colon cancer is suspected in an individual (such as in someone with an unexplained anemia) fecal occult blood tests may not be clinically helpful. If a doctor suspects colon cancer, more rigorous investigation is necessary, whether or not the test is positive.

text: In 2006, the Australian Government introduced the National Bowel Cancer Program which has been updated several times since; targeted screening will be done of all Australians aged over 50 to 74 by 2017–2018. Cancer Council Australia recommended that FOBT should be done every two years. Gradually government fund disbursement meant that some people are not yet eligible for the national program and should pay for a FOBT by themselves.[19]

text: The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that men and women age 50 and over have a FOBT at least every 2 years.[20]

text: In colon cancer screening, using only one sample of feces collected by a doctor performing a digital rectal examination is discouraged.[21]

text: The use of the M2-PK Test is encouraged over gFOBT for routine screening as it may pick up tumors that are both bleeding and non bleeding.[22] It is able to pick up 80 percent of colorectal cancer and 44 percent for adenoma > 1 centimeter, while gFOBT picks up 13 to 50 percent of colorectal cancers.[22]

text: Iron deficiency anemia[edit]

text: An extensive literature has examined the clinical value of FOBT in iron deficiency anemia.

text: Gastrointestinal disease and medications[edit]

text: Conditions such as ulcerative colitis or certain types of relapsing infectious diarrhea can vary in severity over time, and FOBT may assist in assessing the severity of the disease. Medications associated with gastrointestinal bleeding such as Bortezomib are sometimes monitored by FOBT.

text: Testing secretions for occult blood[edit]

text: The use of tests for fecal occult blood in disorders of the mouth, nasal passages, esophagus, lungs and stomach, while analogous to fecal testing, is often discouraged, due to technical considerations including poorly characterized test performance characteristics such as sensitivity, specificity, and analytical interference. However, chemical confirmation that coloration is due to blood rather than coffee, beets, medications, or food additives can be of significant clinical assistance.

text: Regulatory impact[edit]

text: Safety regulations from US accreditor the Joint Commission may have unintentionally decreased digital rectal examination and FOBT in hospital settings such as Emergency Departments.[23][24]

text: Marathon runners[edit]

text: Gastrointestinal (GI) complaints and low intensity GI bleeding frequently occur in marathon runners.[25] Strenuous exercise, particularly in elite athlete runners and less frequently in other exercise activities, can cause acute incapacitating gastrointestinal symptoms including heartburn, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and gastrointestinal bleeding.[26] Approximately one third of endurance runners experience transient but exercise limiting symptoms, and repetitive gastrointestinal bleeding occasionally causes iron deficiency and anaemia.[27] Runners can sometimes experience significant symptoms including hematemesis.[28] Exercise is associated with extensive changes in gastrointestinal (GI) tract physiology, including diversion of blood flow from the GI tract to muscle and lungs, decreased GI absorption and small intestinal motility, increased colonic transit, neuroimmunoendocrine changes in hormones and peptides such as vasoactive intestinal peptide, secretin and peptide-histidine-methionine.[29] Substantial changes occur in stress hormones including cortisol, in circulating concentrations and metabolic behavior of various leucocytes, and in immunoglobulin levels and major histocompatibility complex expression.[30] Symptoms can be exacerbated by dehydration or by pre-exercise ingestion of certain foods and hypertonic liquids, and lessened by adequate training.[29]

text: Ingestion of 800 mg of cimetidine 2 hr before running a marathon did not significantly affect the frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms or occult gastrointestinal bleeding.[31] Conversely, 800 mg of cimetidine 1 hr before the start and again at 50 miles of a 100-mile running race substantially decreased GI symptoms and postrace guaiac test positivity but did not affect race performance.[32]

text: Nomenclature[edit]

text: In 2007 the nomenclature of overt, obscure and occult bleeding was clarified.[citation needed]

text: Methodology[edit]

text: There are four methods in clinical use for testing for occult blood in feces. These look at different properties, such as antibodies, heme, globin, or porphyrins in blood, or at DNA from cellular material such as from lesions of the intestinal mucosa.

text: Fecal immunochemical testing (FIT), and immunochemical fecal occult blood test (iFOBT). FIT products utilize specific antibodies to detect globin. FIT screening is more effective in terms of health outcomes and cost compared with guaiac FOBT.[33] According to the guidelines of the American College of Gastroenterology, "Annual fecal immunochemical testing is the preferred colorectal cancer detection test."[34][35] A FIT test detects globin levels in feces at or above 50 nanograms per mL, the established cutoff by the World Health Organization for Colorectal Cancer Screening.

text: FIT testing has replaced most gFOBT tests as the colon cancer screening test of choice.[36][37] This methodology can be adapted for automated test reading and to report quantitative results, which are potential factors in design of a widescale screening strategy.[38] The number of fecal samples submitted for FIT may affect the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the methodology.[8] High sensitivity gFOBT tests such as Hemoccult SENSA remains an accepted option;[8] and may retain a role in monitoring gastrointestinal conditions such as ulcerative colitis;[39] however the FIT test is preferred in recent guidelines.[34]

text:
Stool guaiac test for fecal occult blood (gFOBT): – The stool guaiac test involves smearing some feces onto some absorbent paper that has been treated with a chemical. Hydrogen peroxide is then dropped onto the paper; if trace amounts of blood are present, the paper will change color in one or two seconds. This method works as the heme component in hemoglobin has a peroxidase-like effect, rapidly breaking down hydrogen peroxide. In some settings such as gastric or proximal upper intestinal bleeding the guaiac method may be more sensitive than tests detecting globin because globin is broken down in the upper intestine to a greater extent than is heme.[40] There are various commercially available gFOBT tests which have been categorized as being of low or high sensitivity, and only high sensitivity tests remain an acceptable alternative to FIT testing, which is now the best-practices recommendation in colon cancer screening. Optimal clinical performance of the stool guaiac test depends on preparatory dietary adjustment.[41]
Stool DNA screening tests look for DNA alterations that have been associated with cancer.

text: Additional methods of looking for occult blood are being explored, including transferrin dipstick[42] and stool cytology.[43]

text: Test performance[edit]

text: Reference standards[edit]

text: The estimates for test performance characteristics are based on comparison with a variety of reference methods including 51-chromium studies,[citation needed] analytical recovery studies in spiked stool samples, analytical recovery after ingestion of autologous blood, rarer studies of carefully quantified blood instilled at bowel surgery[citation needed] as well as other research approaches.[citation needed] Additionally, clinical studies look at variety of additional factors.

text: Gastrointestinal blood loss[edit]

text: In healthy people about 0.5 to 1.5 ml of blood escapes blood vessels into the stool each day.[44][45][46] Significant amounts of blood can be lost without producing visible blood in the stool, estimated as 200 ml in the stomach,[47] 100 ml in the duodenum, and lesser amounts in the lower intestine. Tests for occult blood identify lesser blood loss.

text: Clinical sensitivity and specificity[edit]

text: Fecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) can identify as little as 0.3 ml of daily blood in the stool; yet this test threshold doesn't cause undue false positives from normal upper intestinal blood leakage because it does not detect occult blood from the stomach and upper small intestine. Thus the FIT test is much more specific for bleeding from the colon or lower gastrointestinal tract than alternatives.[48] The detection rate of the test decreases if the time from sample collection to laboratory processing is delayed; processing the sample in under five days from collection is recommended.[49]

text: Stool guaiac test for fecal occult blood (gFOBT) sensitivity varies depending on the site of bleeding. Moderately sensitive gFOBT can pick up a daily blood loss of about 10 ml (about two teaspoonfuls), and higher sensitivity gFOBT can pick up lesser amounts, requires at least 2 ml. to become positive. The sensitivity of a single stool guaiac test to pick up bleeding has been quoted at 10 to 30%, but if a standard three tests are done as recommended the sensitivity rises to 92%.[50] Reduced patient compliance with the collection of three samples hampers the usefulness of this test. Further discussion of sensitivity and specificity issues that relate particularly to the guaiac method is found in the stool guaiac test article.

text: Fecal porphyrin quantification by HemoQuant can yield a false positive result due to exogenous blood and various porphyrins. HemoQuant is the most sensitive test for upper gastrointestinal bleeding and therefore may be most appropriate fecal occult blood test to use in the evaluation of iron deficiency[51] Advised to stop red meat and aspirin for three days prior to specimen collection[52] False positives can occur with myoglobin, catalase, or protohemes[53] and in certain types of porphyria.[citation needed]

text: Fecal DNA tests as of 2008 had not been well studied enough to support widespread use.[54]


document_title: List of British monarchy records

question_text: who was the shortest reigning monarch of england

root

text: List of British monarchy records

text: Reign of British monarchs[edit]

text: Longest[edit]

text: The longest reign of a British monarch is that of the current monarch, Elizabeth II (7004239850000000000♠65 years, 243 days since 6 February 1952). The second longest reign is the 63 years 216 days of Victoria between 1837 and 1901. Queen Elizabeth II's reign became longer than Queen Victoria's on 9 September 2015. The third longest reign was that of George III, who reigned for 59 years 96 days between 1760 and 1820.

tag: p

text: James Stuart, the Old Pretender, was a pretender to the throne from 16 September 1701 until his death on 1 January 1766, a total of 64 years 108 days.

text: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh has been the monarch's spouse (prince consort) since 6 February 1952, for a total of 7004239850000000000♠65 years, 243 days, making him the longest-serving consort overall. The Queen consort with the longest tenure was Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who was George III's consort for 7004208880000000000♠57 years, 70 days, between 1761 and 1818.

text: Prince Charles is the longest serving heir-apparent, Duke of Cornwall, and Duke of Rothesay, with a tenure of 7004239850000000000♠65 years, 243 days, and Prince of Wales, with a tenure of 7004216230000000000♠59 years, 73 days.

text: Margaret of Scotland, Countess of Kent was heiress-presumptive to William I of Scotland, Alexander II and Alexander III for a total of about 43 years, 14 days (her tenure as heiress-presumptive to Alexander II was also the longest single tenure at 7003977100000000000♠26 years, 274 days). The longest-serving heir-presumptive (of either sex) was Robert II, who was heir-presumptive to Robert I and then David II for a total of 46 years, 353 days; he also served the longest single tenure (7004152350000000000♠41 years, 260 days as heir-presumptive to David II).

text: Shortest[edit]

text: The shortest-reigning monarch was Lady Jane Grey who ruled for 9 days from 6 July until 15 July 1553 (although she was only proclaimed queen by the Lords of the Council on 10 July). Note: Jane's reign is disputed.

text: The king with the shortest definitively known reign was Edgar the Ætheling who ruled for 2 months, 12 days in 1066 before submitting to William the Conqueror. Some records indicate that Sweyn Forkbeard reigned for only 40 days in 1013-4.[1]

text: The queen consort with the shortest tenure was Yolande de Dreux, second wife of Alexander III, who was queen for 154 days in 1285 and 1286.

text:
Elizabeth I holds the records for the shortest tenure of an English heiress-presumptive (almost 2 years as heir-presumptive to Henry VIII) and the shortest-serving English heiress-presumptive (and heir-presumptive of either sex) was Lady Jane Grey's sister, The Lady Herbert of Cardiff (13 days).
The longest single tenure for a male heir-presumptive was Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, heir-presumptive to James II of Scotland for 7003197000000000000♠5 years, 144 days; the shortest total tenure as a male heir-presumptive was George I (54 days).

text: Mary, Queen of Scots, was heiress presumptive from birth until her ascension to the throne at the age of 6 days.

text: Pretenders in Power[edit]

text: During the Middle Ages and the Mid-18th Century, a number of pretenders to the throne controlled all or a substantial portion of England:

text:
Empress Matilda: Held King Stephen prisoner from 7 April to 1 November 1141 and controlled a substantial portion of country from 1141 to 1148.
Louis VIII of France: Controlled the Southeast of England and later the whole country briefly in during the First Barons' War from 1215 to 1217.
Henry the Young King led a revolt against his father Henry II and for several months in 1173–74 controlled much of England.
James III and VIII sent his son Bonnie Prince Charlie to reclaim his kingdom and the latter controlled Scotland and Northern England for several months in 1745.

tag: ul

text: Longevity[edit]

text: Monarchs[edit]

text: Longest-lived[edit]

text: The longest-lived British monarch and ruler is Queen Elizabeth II, the current monarch, who is aged 7004334070000000000♠91 years, 169 days.

text: The longest-lived consort is her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who is 7004351830000000000♠96 years, 119 days old and is also the longest-lived male descendant of Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria's longest-lived descendant overall was Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883-1981) at 97 years 312 days (Prince Philip would surpass her on April 18, 2019, and Queen Elizabeth II pass her as longest-lived holder of a British royal title from birth on February 27, 2024). The longest-lived holder of a British royal title by marriage was Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901-2004) at 102 years 319 days (Prince Philip would surpass her on April 24, 2024; Queen Elizabeth II would pass her age on March 7, 2029).

text: The longest-lived king was George III, who died at the age of 81 years, 239 days in 1820.

text: The longest-lived male ruler was Richard Cromwell who ruled as Lord Protector (1658-1659) who lived until the age of 7004313270000000000♠85 years, 282 days.

text: The longest-lived queen consort was Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later known as the Queen Mother, consort to George VI, and mother of the current longest-lived British monarch, who was 101 years 238 days at the time of her death on 30 March 2002.

text: Shortest-lived[edit]

text: The youngest Scottish monarch to die was Margaret, Maid of Norway, who died at the age of 7 years, five months, and 18 days in 1290.

text: The youngest English monarch to die was Edward V, who was most likely murdered after he was deposed, when he was 12.

text: Heirs apparent[edit]

text: The present Prince of Wales is the oldest heir apparent at 7004251640000000000♠68 years, 327 days.

text: The oldest heir apparent to an heir apparent was George V (aged 35 years 233 days at the death of Victoria). Prince William, Duke of Cambridge is currently 7004128920000000000♠35 years, 108 days old and would surpass George V on February 10, 2018.

text: The oldest heir apparent to an heir apparent to an heir apparent was Edward VIII (aged 6 years 213 days at the death of Victoria). Prince George of Cambridge is currently 7003153800000000000♠4 years, 77 days old and would surpass Edward VIII on February 20, 2020.

text: Age of ascension[edit]

text: Oldest[edit]

text: The oldest monarch at the start of his reign was William IV who succeeded to the throne in 1830 at the age of 7004236840000000000♠64 years, 309 days. If the current Prince of Wales became the King today, he would be the oldest to do so at the age of 7004251640000000000♠68 years, 327 days.

text: The oldest female monarch at the time of her ascension was Mary I, aged 7004136660000000000♠37 years, 151 days when she became queen in 1553.

text: The oldest queen consort was Alexandra of Denmark, wife of Edward VII, who was aged 7004205050000000000♠56 years, 52 days when she became queen in 1901.

text: Youngest[edit]

text: The youngest British monarch at the start her reign was Mary, Queen of Scots, who became queen aged 6 days in 1542. The youngest king was Henry VI, who was 8 months and 26 days old at the time of his accession.

text: The youngest queen consort was Isabella of Valois, second wife of Richard II, aged 6 years 11 months and 25 days when she became queen in 1396.

text: Age differences, outgoing and succeeding monarchs[edit]

text: Greatest[edit]

text: The greatest age difference of an outgoing British monarch and successor was 54 years and 205 days between Edward III (born 13 November 1312) and his grandson Richard II (born 6 June 1367) who succeeded on the former's death on 21 January 1377.

text: Smallest[edit]

text: The smallest age difference of an outgoing British monarch and successor was 1 year and 171 days between Edward VIII (born 23 June 1894) and his brother George VI (born 14 December 1895) who succeeded on the former's abdication on 11 December 1936.

text: Marriage[edit]

text: Most marriages[edit]

text: Henry VIII was married six times, making him Britain's most-married monarch. The queen who was married the most times was Mary, Queen of Scots, who had three husbands. The most-married queen consort was Catherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII, who had four husbands.

text: Never married[edit]

text: William II, Edward V, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I all lived and died unmarried. In addition, Edward VIII was unmarried during his tenure as monarch, though he then married Wallis Simpson after his abdication.

text: Youngest[edit]

text: The youngest monarch to marry was David II, who married Joan, daughter of Edward II when he was 7003159500000000000♠4 years, 134 days old in 1328.

text: The youngest female monarch at the time of her marriage was Mary II, who was 7003566700000000000♠15 years, 188 days old when she married William III in 1677.

text: The youngest queen consort was Isabella of Valois, who married Richard II when she was 7003254900000000000♠6 years, 358 days old in 1396.

text: Oldest[edit]

text: The oldest monarch at the time of his first marriage was William IV, who was 7004193160000000000♠52 years, 324 days old when he married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in 1818.

text: Mary I was the oldest queen at the time of her first marriage, aged 7004140370000000000♠38 years, 157 days when she married Philip of Spain in 1554.

text: When second or subsequent marriages are included the oldest monarch at the time of his marriage was Edward I, whose second marriage was to Margaret of France in 1299 when he was 7004219980000000000♠60 years, 83 days old and she was no more than 20.

text: The oldest queen consort at the time of her marriage was Maud, Countess of Huntingdon, who married David I when she was around 40 years old.

text: Longest[edit]

text: The longest marriage of a British sovereign is between Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who have been married since 20 November 1947, making their marriage 7004255240000000000♠69 years, 321 days old. The royal couple will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on 20 November 2017.

text: Shortest[edit]

text: The shortest marriage is between Alexander III of Scotland and Yolande, who were married for 4 months and 19 days from 1285-1286 until the former's death.

text: Children[edit]

text: Most[edit]

text: The British monarch with the most children was Henry I, who had 29 children (5 legitimate).

text: The queen regnant with the most pregnancies was Anne, who had 17 of which only 5 resulted in live-born children (2 of whom survived past the age of 1 year,1 reached 2 years, but all of them died before their mother). Queen Victoria had 9 children who all reached adulthood.

text: Age of parents[edit]

text: At 15, Henry IV is the youngest King to father a child, prior to his accession.

text: The youngest queen regnant to give birth is Mary II, who gave birth to a stillborn child in 1678, prior to her accession, when she was just 16. The youngest mother to give birth to a monarch was Lady Margaret Beaufort, wife of Edmund Tudor, who was months from turning 14 when she gave birth to Henry VII in 1457.

text: The oldest parent was Edward I, who fathered his last child, Eleanor, in 1306, when he was 66, almost 67 years old.

text: The oldest mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine, who gave birth to John, in 1166, when she was 44.

text: Physical attributes[edit]

text: Tallest[edit]

text: The tallest measured British monarch was Edward IV, whose skeleton measures 6'4½" (1.94 m). Records indicate that when fully clad in armour he would have been about 6'7" (2 metres), an exceptional height for any man in the 15th century.

text: Both Edward Longshanks and Richard the Lionheart were also considered unusually tall for the mediaeval period - although contrary to popular belief, 'Longshanks' was not called that due to the length of his legs, but his arms; they were over a yard long (91 cm), though there is no evidence to suggest they were particularly disproportionate to the rest of his body.

text: The tallest queen was Mary, Queen of Scots, who was around 6 feet tall, which was exceptionally tall for a woman of this time.

text: Shortest[edit]

text: The shortest British monarch (not counting those who ascended as minors) was most likely Queen Victoria, who stood only 5' (1.52 m) when in her 30s, and was possibly an inch or two shorter towards the end of her life.


document_title: Rocky Balboa

question_text: who won the fight in the first rocky

question_tokens: who won the fight in the first rocky

text: Rocky Balboa

text: Biography[edit]

text: Robert "Rocky" Balboa was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1945 (one year before Sylvester Stallone's actual birth date). He was the only child in a Roman Catholic Italian-American family. The surname Balboa/Valboa (roughly meaning "beautiful valley") originates from a Galician-speaking town in Northwestern Spain, so it is likely he had some Iberian ancestry as well. When Rocky is spoken to by his priest, Father Carmine, it is apparent that he understands Italian very well, including a scene in which he translates for Tommy Gunn; however, it is undetermined how well he actually speaks the language as his responses are always in English.

text: During the scene in which Rocky takes Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino skating on Thanksgiving, he tells her, "Yeah – My ol' 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 small 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, just to make ends meet. By late 1975, Rocky had fought in 64 fights, winning 44 (38 KO'S) and losing 20. Rocky was proud that he never had his nose broken in a professional fight. His nickname is "The Italian Stallion", spawning from his Italian-American heritage.

text: Rocky (setting 1975–1976)[edit]

text: The 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 Balboa with a headbutt, leaving a gash on his forehead. Enraged, Rocky delivers a vicious barrage of punches, knocking Rico out. The next day, Rocky stops by the J&M Tropical Fish pet store, and tries to talk to the shy pet-shop worker, Adrian Pennino. Adrian is very shy and scared of Rocky's tough appearance. Afterwards, Rocky goes to collect a loan for his loan shark boss, Tony Gazzo. Even though the client, Bob, didn't have all the money, Rocky didn't break his thumb, even though Gazzo ordered him to do so. Later, Rocky stops by the local boxing gym and finds that his locker was replaced by another local contender. Unknown to him, the gym's owner and grizzled former boxer, Mickey Goldmill, doesn't dislike him, but instead, always considered 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, she tells Rocky "Screw you, creep'o." Rocky walks home, frustrated how nothing is going right in his life.

text: Balboa gets his big break 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 no other contender was available for a fight on New Years Day, which is only a month away in commemoration for the United States Bicentennial, it was inferred by Creed, with the accompanying worldwide audience. Creed chooses Rocky because he likes Balboa's nickname, 'The Italian Stallion'.

text: After getting picked by Apollo, Balboa reunites with his estranged trainer, Mickey Goldmill, who convinces Balboa that he can help get him prepared for this match. Mickey reveals that his career never got anywhere either, because he didn't have a manager, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to Rocky. At the same time, Balboa begins dating Adrian. Rocky helped Adrian to become more self-confident and stand up for herself. Rocky confides in Adrian before the fight that though he figured he wouldn't win, he wanted to at least "go the distance."

text: On January 1, 1976, at the Philadelphia Spectrum, Balboa has his match Creed, who didn't take the fight seriously during training. In the first round, Rocky knocks Creed down, the first time he had ever been knocked down in his career, and Creed breaks Rocky's nose, also for the first time in his career. Creed soon realizes that, although Balboa doesn't have his skill, he could deliver crippling, sledge-hammer like punches, and was stubbornly determined to keep fighting. The match becomes a long and grueling battle for both men. Rocky was almost knocked out in the 14th round, but managed to get back up, and deliver some hard body shots, breaking Creed's ribs just before the bell. The 15th round finally began, and Rocky managed to pummel Creed until the bell rang. Although Creed wins the match by a split decision, it was the first time an opponent has lasted the full 15 rounds against him. Both men, battered beyond belief, agree that there would be no rematch. Rocky was fine with this as he only wanted to go the distance with Creed. After the match, Adrian climbed into the ring and embraced Rocky saying, "I love you!"

text: Rocky II (setting 1976)[edit]

text: After the match, Creed changes his mind and demands a rematch under the stress of being humiliated by the press for failing to beat Balboa convincingly, as well as his own knowledge that he didn't give his best in the fight. Creed demands a rematch with Balboa, stating that he would fight him 'anywhere, any place, anytime' to prove to the world that Balboa's feat was merely a fluke. Rocky initially declines and retires from boxing, having surgery for retinal detachment, a condition that could lead to permanent blindness. He marries Adrian, who convinces him to live outside boxing. However, Rocky, a grade-school drop-out, soon realizes that he has no white-collar skills beyond the eighth grade, and in fact, he can barely read. The money he made in his real first match is easily and quickly frittered away, so Adrian re-claims her part-time job at the J&M Tropical Fish pet store. At first, Rocky seems to be unaffected by Apollo's smear campaign, but his inexperience with money causes him to run into financial troubles. Rocky struggles to find employment with decent pay, where he is fired from a commercial studio, turned down on an office job, and even laid off at the Shamrock Meat Packing facility. Despite Adrian's objections, after Apollo insults Rocky on national television and the newspaper, he agrees to the rematch. Without Adrian's support, however, Rocky becomes greatly discouraged, and could not draw any concentration into his training whatsoever, leaving Mick frustrated and worried. The now-pregnant Adrian goes into mental labor on the job due to over stress, and slipped into a coma after giving birth to her first child, Robert Jr. When Adrian is out of the coma, she promises her full support to Rocky. Together, Mickey and Rocky train hard, focusing on Rocky's speed and improving his right-handed punching (Rocky being a southpaw). At the same time, Apollo also focused on his training, taking this match much more seriously than the first one. The rematch is set for Thanksgiving. The match goes on for the full 15 rounds, with both Balboa and Creed falling to the canvas after Balboa lands a succession of left hands. Referee Lou Fillipo exercises his 10-count to the limit, and as both Creed and Balboa struggle to get back up, Creed falls back down in exhaustion. Rocky is able to get back up, from sheer determination and beat the 10-count, winning the rematch by knockout, thus becoming heavyweight champion of the world.

text: Rocky III (setting 1976–1982)[edit]

text: Over the next three years, Rocky has successfully defended his title in 10 consecutive defenses against various contenders, amassing fortune, and worldwide fame in the process. In addition, Rocky also has an exhibition match against the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, "Thunderlips" (Hulk Hogan), with the match ending in a draw. However, in 1981, Rocky is challenged by an intense newcomer named James "Clubber" Lang (Mr. T), who has risen to the top of the rankings. Rocky begins having some issues with his trainer Mickey Goldmill due to his revelation of having faced "hand-picked" challengers that were "good fighters, but not 'killers'" which Lang seemingly is. Mickey insists that he would step down as Balboa's manager, if he chooses to fight Lang, but Rocky convinces him to train him for one last match. However, just like Apollo in the first film, Rocky does not put his heart into the training, and this reinforces Mickey's belief, that Rocky has become too comfortable (or "civilized") as champion. Before the match, pandemonium erupts backstage, with Lang shoving Mickey out of the way during a violent exchange of words with Balboa, sending the elderly trainer into cardiac arrest. Distraught over Lang's cold indifference, Rocky requests to call the match off, but Mickey and others urge him on, so Rocky goes to fight Lang no matter what. During the match, Rocky is brutalized by Lang and knocked out in the second round, losing his title; and adding to his defeat, Mick dies of a heart attack after the match, devastating Rocky. After the funeral, a depressed Rocky wanders the streets of Philadelphia until seeing the statue at the steps. In a fit of rage, Rocky throws his motorcycle helmet at the statue, and takes off until entering the now-abandoned Micky's gym. Despairing and lost, Rocky meets Apollo Creed inside the darkened gym, who explains to Balboa that when they fought, he won because he was competitive. He has the 'fire' Apollo no longer has, and the former champion convinces Rocky that he needs to get his fire ("the eye of the tiger") back. Along with his old trainer, Tony "Duke" Evers, Apollo offers to train Rocky for a rematch against Lang, taking Balboa to Los Angeles. While training on the beach, Adrian and Rocky furiously debate, while Apollo trains Rocky to help him get him "back to basics." After a while, Rocky manages to put his doubts behind him and retain his spirits. Fighting with a style very reminiscent of Creed's own boxing technique mixed with his own style, Rocky wins the rematch against Lang by KO, dodging and absorbing Lang's best blows and still standing, regaining his world heavyweight title. After the match, Rocky and Apollo meet again in Mickey's Gym, with Creed taking his "payment" for his training services: one last rematch, just the two of them, and no spectators.

text: Rocky IV (setting 1982–1985)[edit]

text: In 1985, Apollo Creed agrees to have an exhibition match against Soviet World Amateur Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist-turned-professional fighter Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Las Vegas, with Rocky Balboa and Tony "Duke" Evers in his corner. Creed, past his prime but in the best shape, again not taking his opponent seriously, takes a serious beating by Drago in the first round, despite Rocky's orders to stop the fight. In the second round, Creed continues to be brutally beaten by Drago, falling limp in the ring and succumbing to his injuries, never to be alive again. Feeling responsible for Apollo's death and riddled with guilt by Drago's cold indifference, Balboa decides to take on Drago himself, but to do so, he has to surrender his championship. Rocky travels to the cold mountains of Russia and undergoes rigorous training. After much-needed training, his match against Drago takes place on Christmas Day in Moscow. With Evers assuming the role as his new trainer, Balboa trained hard using old-school methods within the mountainous terrain of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, while Drago trained with state-of-the-art equipment and steroid enhancement.

text: During the match, Drago gains the upper hand in the early moments of the match, but in the second round, Balboa strikes back against Drago with a haymaker to the eye, cutting him. The match goes on in a bloody back-and-forth battle, with the Soviet crowd, who originally roots for Drago, begins cheering for Balboa, while Drago's handler becomes increasingly upset over his inability to finish Rocky. In the end, Rocky's superior stamina and determination to win perseveres and defeats the heavily-favorited Russian in the fifteenth round. After the match, Rocky gives an passionate thank you speech to the crowd while receiving a standing ovation both from the crowd and the politicians in attendance, effectively ending the Cold War by catalyzing the thaw in relations that would occur between the United States and the Soviet Union.

text: Rocky V (setting 1985–1986)[edit]

text: After the bout with Drago, Rocky realizes that while he is showering, he has sustained some type of injury from the fight. His hands tremble relentlessly, and he tells Adrian that he is tired and wants to go home, but accidentally addresses her as Mickey. Upon returning to the United States (in a Soviet airplane), his press conference is interrupted by promoter George Washington Duke and Union Cane. They challenge him to a title fight called "Lettin' it Go in Tokyo." Rocky hints about retirement and leaves without accepting the challenge. Once returning home, Rocky goes to say goodnight to his son, Robert Jr., but once Rocky goes downstairs, he overhears Adrian and Paulie arguing, which turns out to be a dramatic life-changing situation. Paulie unknowingly had Rocky signed a power of attorney over to Rocky's investment accountant, who had embezzled and squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour. In addition, the accountant had failed to pay Rocky's taxes over the past six years, and his mansion was mortgaged by $400,000. Unwilling to go bankrupt, Rocky decides to participate in a few more fights, including the one against Union Cane, but Adrian demands Rocky to see a doctor first before doing so. Balboa’s doctor, Presley Jensen, performs computer-simulated examinations, which reveals that Rocky is diagnosed with a condition called Cavum septum pellucidum, which is brain damage caused by extremely heavy blows to the head. The effects are seemingly permanent and irreversible. With such a condition, it would make it impossible for Rocky to continue boxing in any state. At Adrian's urging, as well as the doctor's support, Rocky acknowledges that it is time to retire, it which he reluctantly does so.

text: His only remaining asset is the now-closed Mickey's Gym, which had been willed by Mickey to Robert, making it untouchable by the IRS. After selling their mansion and auctioning some of their belongings, Rocky and the family now return to the old neighborhood, moving back into Adrian and Paulie's old house in South Philadelphia. Rocky reopens Mickey's Gym as a means of income, while Adrian returns to work at the J&M Tropical Fish pet store, where she was employed when she first met Rocky. Rocky asks Adrian, "Did we ever leave this place?" One day, Rocky meets a young ruffian boxer from Oklahoma named Tommy Gunn, and begins training him. Tommy slowly becomes an excellent fighter, but suffers some from being constantly put in Rocky's shadow; he is nicknamed "Rocky's Robot" by the media. As Rocky is training Tommy, he becomes so distracted, he ends up neglecting Robert. By Christmas Eve, Duke visits the Balboa residence, but Rocky explains that dealing with Duke would be dirty business. Late at night, Tommy regrets being Rocky's protégé, and leaves him for good. Adrian attempts to comfort Rocky, but Rocky's frustration boils over. After they reconcile, Rocky meets Robert, and they finally pick up the pieces.

text: Rocky is still anxious as he watches the match with Tommy facing off against Union Cane on television along with Paulie. As the match starts out small, Rocky begins to emote through the first couple of seconds of the fight as Cane becomes effective in hurting Tommy. As Tommy begins to make his adjustments as Rocky taught him, Rocky then mirrors his punches on a punching bag, which disturbs his family. Tommy wins the World Heavyweight title from Union Cane by knockout. Visibly proud of Tommy, Rocky is surprised that Tommy credited his success to Duke instead. However, Tommy is booed and ridiculed in the press—since he had never gone against a "real contender," he is not regarded as a real champion or heir to the belt. This motivates Tommy, with prodding from Duke, to publicly challenge Rocky to a fight.

text: While Rocky is at a local bar, Tommy steps in and insults Rocky. Paulie responds by sucker punching Tommy with, Rocky rapidly confronting Tommy, and challenging him. Rocky explains to Tommy that his ring is in the alley right outside. As both fighters head to the alley, Duke tries to persuade Tommy to not fight a street fighter, but Tommy squares up on him, saying that he does not own him, and wants his respect. Rocky then starts to beat Tommy quickly without giving him a chance, knocking him down. Rocky tells Tommy that, even though he admired him, he actually ruined their relationship. With Rocky's back turned, Tommy sucker punches him, and also starts attacking some of the bystanders on the side. Tommy gains the upper hand and tackles Rocky through a steel door into the street. The two engage in a street fight, which quickly garners attention of the media, which catches Robert and Adrian's attention as well. As the neighborhood gather around to witness the fight, Tommy's punches begin to slow down Rocky in his tracks due to his condition, and is knocked down, disoriented with Paulie at his side. Tommy is then restrained back from finishing Rocky off. Glimpses of Ivan Drago, his loss to Clubber Lang during his first fight with him, and Mickey's burial start to cloud his mind until he hears Mickey's voice, telling him that he is the champion and to get up. As Tommy walks away, convinced that he finally got what he wanted, Rocky rises up and calls him out for one more round, to which Tommy happily obliges. An adamant Duke reminds Tommy that if he loses this, he will terminate their partnership. In a turn of events, Rocky uses his brawling abilities to punish and humiliate Tommy. With his back toward a gate, Rocky dodges several hooks from Tommy and manages to push him towards the gate, shove him with brute force, and a powerful left hook to knock Tommy down again. Duke, who threatened to sue Rocky if he touched him, becomes infuriated at Tommy, which he gets up and tackles Balboa to the ground, and later lifting him up. Just as Robert joins the crowd, Rocky breaks free from Tommy's grip, performs a reversal that sends Tommy spiraling into a pile of trash cans. Both men now exchange punches with Rocky being the aggressor, making Tommy miss his shots. Rocky is then caught by a series of punches by Tommy, just as Adrian joins the crowd, but then manages to parry Tommy, and begins to walk him down with his devastating shots. Seeing the opportunity, Rocky goes to Tommy's body, then lands perfect headshots, and finishing with a right uppercut that sends Tommy to the grill of a bus, defeating his former protégé. As Adrian and Robert tend to him, Rocky tells Adrian that she was right. The neighborhood's cheer is then silenced by Duke as he tries to sarcastically commend Rocky. He confronts Duke, who still continues to threaten him with a lawsuit. Clenching his fist, he uppercuts Duke to the gut which lifts him off the ground, sending him to the hood of his own limousine, telling him "Sue me for what?" Rocky, Adrian, Robert, and Paulie walk away in good spirits as the neighborhood continue to cheer him on.

text: Sometime later, Rocky and his son run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Rocky gives him a valuable possession of Mickey Goldmill's, that had been passed on to him by Rocky Marciano. The two make up for the tensions of the past few years, and head into the museum together.

text: Rocky Balboa (setting 2006)[edit]

text: In 2006, 20 years after the events of Rocky V, Rocky, now in his late fifties, lives a quiet live as a widower. He runs a small but rather successful restaurant called 'Adrian's', named after his wife who, on January 11, 2002, died of ovarian cancer. Rocky is no longer broke, and doing far better than he was in the years prior. Rocky visits Adrian's graveside regularly and each year, on the anniversary of her death, takes a tour of the old places, where their relationship began and blossomed: the now-closed J&M Tropical Fish pet shop where Adrian worked, the former site of the ice skating rink where they had their first date, and Rocky's old apartment, where they fell in love. Rocky's son, Robert Jr., is now working as a struggling mid-level corporate employee, and grows farther apart from his family over the years, but reluctantly joins Rocky to commemorate the anniversaries of his mother's death.

text: An episode of ESPN’s program, Then and Now, airs featuring a computer animated fight simulation between Rocky (in his prime), and the current champion, Mason "The Line" Dixon. The simulation result sees Rocky winning by knockout in the thirteenth round, which stirs up discussion about the result if such a fight ever occurred. Inspired by the simulation and feeling he still has some issues to deal with ("stuff in the basement"), Rocky decides to return to the ring, and applies to renew his boxing license. Though Rocky passes the required physical with flying colors, the licensing committee denies his application, citing his advanced age and their moral duty to protect him from himself. Rocky responds to this with an impassioned speech of his own, however, and they change their minds to renew his license.

text: The brain damage Balboa is diagnosed with in Rocky V is not addressed in this film, but in interviews, Stallone has said that the storyline explanation would have been that Rocky's brain damage was within the normal range for boxers. When tested for brain damage in Rocky V, Rocky was suffering the effects of a severe concussion as a result of the Drago fight, but he never sought a second or more informed opinion because he intended to retire anyway.[2]

text: Rocky's intentions were originally just to compete in small, local fights for fun and charity, but with the publicity of Rocky's return right on the heels of the embarrassing computer simulation, Mason Dixon's promoters convince Rocky to challenge the champ in an exhibition match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Originally, also against fighting an aged Balboa, Dixon recognizes the opportunity to fight a legend, and hopes to end all prognosticating about who would win as well as contentions that he has never had a truly great opponent or memorable match. In the press, commentators dismiss Rocky's chances and the merits of the fight, assuming that it will be one-sided due to Rocky's age, despite their original excitement with Rocky's return to the ring, and their doubts regarding Dixon's ability.

text: As news of the bout spreads, Robert begins to feel more pressure from being Rocky's son, and makes an effort to discourage Rocky from fighting, blaming his own personal failings on his father's celebrity shadow, but Rocky rebukes him with some profound advice: to succeed in life, "it ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward," and that blaming others won't help him. The day after this debate, father and son meet over Adrian's grave and reconcile, which is when Robert announces that he has resigned from his job to be at Rocky's ringside. Rocky also reunites with his old trainer, Duke, and both men quickly realize that age and arthritis have sapped Rocky of any speed he once possessed. They decide to focus on his one major remaining weapon: power.

text: When the match finally begins, it appears to go as lopsided as everyone predicted, with Dixon's speed allowing him to punish Rocky at will, knocking him down twice early on. However, the champion soon realizes Rocky will not back down, and that the elderly Rocky "has bricks in his gloves". The tide turns when Dixon injures his hand while punching Rocky. This evens the playing field and allows Rocky to mount an offense, knocking Dixon down for the first time in the latter's career. During the subsequent rounds, Dixon's injury numbs up, which enables him to throw much harder punches and thereby pose a threat to Rocky. In the final round, it starts out slow for both combatants. After a brief exchange of punches, Dixon catches Rocky with a strong blow, knocking down Rocky for the third time. As Rocky takes the knee, he looks to Robert in the corner and has flashbacks of his time with Adrian, remembering what she said to him about never giving up. As he slowly gets up, the crowd, along with Marie, starts to chant his name, and he rises to Dixon's surprise. As the final thirty seconds unfold, Dixon manages to catch Rocky with quick punches; however, an emotional Rocky retaliates with devastating punches of his own. The two exchange punches, but Rocky gets the final blow before the bell rings. In the end, the two fighters go the distance and show their appreciation for each other. Before the winner is announced, Rocky and his entourage make their way out of the ring in celebration. As Dixon is announced the winner by split decision (Dixon wins in the theatrical release, Balboa wins in an alternate ending [3]), Rocky thanks each and every one of his group, and with Robert and Paulie by his side, they turn Rocky around and raise his arms as the audience gives him a heartfelt standing ovation. Dixon is finally recognized as being a warrior for fighting through every round and Rocky proves to the world that he is no joke, mirroring the ending of the first film.

text: After the fight, Rocky visits Adrian's grave and puts flowers on top, telling her, "Yo, Adrian, we did it", which is a play on the second film's line, "Yo, Adrian, I did it!". Rocky is last seen walking away from the grave and waving goodbye one last time.

text: Creed (setting 2015)[edit]

text: Since Rocky's very last fight, his brother-in-law, Paulie has died in 2012. In addition, his statue has been re-installed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the bottom of the steps. Three years later, Rocky is visited at Adrian's by Adonis "Donnie" Johnson Creed (Michael B. Jordan) – Apollo's illegitimate son, who grew up serving time in a juvenile detention center in Los Angeles. When Donnie grew up, he once worked as a securities firm, but eventually resigned to be a boxer, and moved to Philadelphia. Donnie meets Rocky at Adrian's restaurant, and requests him to train him, but is reluctant to come back to the sport of boxing after his severe brain trauma and a one-off comeback. Days after his initial offer, Rocky recommends him to his friend, Pete Sporino (Ritchie Coster), who currently runs Mighty Mick's Gym. After deep thought, Rocky finally agrees to takes Donnie as his new protégé.

text: Wanting to train in the old-school style, Donnie moves in with Rocky, staying in Paulie's former room. While Donnie notices an old picture of Rocky and his son, Robert (an actual picture of Sylvester Stallone and a young Sage Stallone), Rocky reveals that Robert had moved to Vancouver with his girlfriend, because of the difficulties he faced trying to be independent in Philadelphia, but does check on his father every now and then. Pete, who initially wanted Rocky to be a part of his son, Leo's (Gabriel Rosado) team, challenges Adonis to a fight his son, in which Rocky shows reluctance again, but then both agree. Instead of training at Mighty Mick's Gym, Rocky takes Adonis to train at Front Street Gym, where he surprises Donnie with a corner team and apparel. Before the fight, Pete pulls Rocky aside to address the rumors of Donnie being Apollo's son, which Rocky confirms and tells him that he should not speak of it to anyone else. After Donnie's win, the media heavily publicized the story of Apollo's infidelity, which catches the eye of Tommy Holiday (Graham McTavish), who is looking for the final person to fight his trainee, light-heavyweight champion "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew). While training, Rocky suddenly grows weak, vomits, and collapses in the gym. After doing a string of test ordered by the doctors at the emergency room, Rocky is diagnosed with an early case of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, making him confront his own mortality; the deadliest fight he's ever been in. At first, Rocky was hesitant to the option of chemotherapy as he remembers the pain Adrian experienced as she underwent treatment for ovarian cancer.

text: After a bitter argument with the former heavyweight champion, Donnie, greatly impacted by his coach's diagnosis, makes a pact with Rocky that they would fight their battles together, as Donnie prepares for his bout with Conlan and as Rocky undergoes treatment. As Donnie moves on in training, the effects of treatment begin to weaken Rocky, and because of this, Donnie acts as a caregiver to Rocky while helping him get up and go to the restroom and uses the medical facility to his advantage; shadowboxing in the corridors and running up the stairs, passing doctors and nurses. With the match taking place in Liverpool, a calm Rocky teaches Donnie the hysterics that would ensue during the pre-fright press conference when Conlan tries to play mind games, and later helps in Donnie's girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson) surprising Donnie in his hotel room. During the match, Balboa stands in Donnie's corner along with Bianca. Before the final round, Rocky grows concerned about the injuries that Donnie has sustained and tells him he's stopping the fight. However, Donnie wants to prove that he is "not a mistake", which emotionally impacts Rocky. He then tells Donnie that he wishes that he had the chance to thank Apollo when Mickey died, but it doesn't match his appreciation of Donnie's tenacity that motivated him in his battle against his illness, and tells him that he admires him.

text: The film concludes with Donnie taking a frail, but rather improving, Rocky back to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in which he says is his "most favorite place." Both look toward the Philadelphia skyline, remaining positive about their futures.

text: Personal life[edit]

text: Balboa resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and married Adriana "Adrian" Pennino in 1976. They were married for 26 years. The two have a son, Robert "Rocky" Balboa Jr., who unlike his father goes by Robert.

text: After Adrian's death in 2002, Rocky and his brother-in-law Paulie live together for a short time, then Paulie moves in with an unnamed girlfriend. Now living completely alone again, Rocky cannot come to terms with present-day living and constantly thinks about the past. With the help of Paulie and reunited long-time acquaintance Marie, Rocky begins to move on with his life and in the process restores his relationship with his only child, his son Robert. Rocky's relationship with Marie is established as platonic in the film, but a hint of a romantic interest is revealed with a kiss on the lips the night before the last fight of his life.

text: Character origin[edit]

text: The name, iconography, and fighting style of Rocky Balboa were inspired by the legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano from Brockton, Massachusetts and from the 5 times world champion Roberto 'Manos de Piedra (Hands of Stone)' Duran, from Panama, where the Balboa is the official currency. Balboa was also inspired by other fighting legends: Joe Frazier, for his Philadelphia origin, training methods and victory against Muhammad Ali (the inspiration for Apollo Creed), and Jake LaMotta, for his Italian-inner city roots, ability to absorb many blows and his rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson, which heavily resembled Rocky and Apollo's. However, it was the not-so-legendary Chuck Wepner who inspired the movie and Balboa's underdog personality.

text:
“
Early in my acting career I realized the only way I would ever prove myself was to create my own role in my own script. On my 29th birthday, I had $106 in the bank. My best birthday present was a sudden revelation that I had to write the kind of screenplay that I personally enjoyed seeing. I relished stories of heroism, great love, dignity, and courage, dramas of people rising above their stations, taking life by the throat and not letting go until they succeeded. But I had so many ideas in my head, I couldn't focus on any one. To cheer myself up, I took the last of my entertainment money and went to see the Ali-Wepner fight on closed circuit TV. Chuck Wepner, a battling, bruising club fighter who had never made the big time, was having his shot. It wasn't at all regarded as a serious battle. But as the fight progressed, this miracle unfolded. He hung in there. People went absolutely crazy. Wepner was knocked out in the 15th and final round, almost lasting the distance. We had witnessed an incredible triumph of the human spirit and we loved it.
That night, Rocky Balboa was born. People looked on him as the all-American tragedy, a man without much mentality and few social graces. But he has deep emotion and spirituality and good patriotism. And he has a good nature, although nature has not been particularly good to him. I have always seen him as a 20th Century gladiator in a pair of sneakers. Like so many of us, he is out of sync with the times. To all this, I injected doses of my own personal life, of my frustration at not getting anywhere.

”

— Sylvester Stallone[4]

tag: table

text: Boxing style[edit]

text: Rocky Balboa fights as a southpaw (left-handed). In the second film, against Apollo Creed, he comes out orthodox and Mickey intends for him to switch back to southpaw late in the last round, but Balboa refuses saying "no tricks, I ain't switching". Mickey tells him that Apollo is ready for him (if he continues using his right) and so towards the end of the round, he does indeed lead with his left. The real reason for this is Sylvester Stallone tore his pectoral muscles in training,[citation needed] but the idea was probably taken from the great left-handed boxer "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler who would sometimes come out orthodox to confuse opponents.

text: Rocky was an all-or-nothing brawler coming into his first bout with Creed; however, under the training of Mickey, he began to develop his boxing skills ahead of the rematch, which he eventually mastered. During his reign as world champion, he became a world class hybrid fighter, possessing the qualities of an inside fighter, brawler, and swarmer. With the exception of his rematch against Clubber Lang (where he fights as an outside fighter), he often advances quickly upon his opponents, driving them into the ropes in order to attack the body. Balboa's best attribute is without question his near-superhuman ability to absorb a multitude of the hardest hits without falling — an attribute he often employs on purpose to wear down his opponents, sacrificing defensive strategy to land his own punches. Because of this rare talent, Balboa can afford to keep his hands in position to strike rather than up high to block. Because he takes more punches than he throws, it is easy to overlook his incredible punching power. Rocky also has an uncanny ability to sense weakness in his opponents, often capitalizing on every shift in momentum possible. He is acknowledged as having the most devastating body attack in the sport, with his body blows causing internal bleeding in Creed and breaking Drago's ribs. After going two rounds with Balboa, Ivan Drago told his trainer (in Russian), "He's not human, he's like a piece of iron." Mason Dixon once remarked about Balboa: "that guy's got bricks in his gloves." These qualities, in concert, helped land him a high percentage of KO victories over the course of his career.

text: Honors[edit]

text: Rocky Balboa was named the 7th greatest movie hero by the American Film Institute on their 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list.[5] Additionally, he was ranked #34 on Empire Magazine's compilation of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters.[6] Premiere magazine ranked Rocky Balboa #64 on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.[7]

text: The Rocky character is immortalised by a bronze statue erected near the Rocky Steps in Philadelphia recalling the famous scene from the original Rocky movie.

text: In 2011, Sylvester Stallone was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his work on the Rocky Balboa character, having "entertained and inspired boxing fans from around the world". Additionally, Stallone was awarded the Boxing Writers Association of America award for “Lifetime Cinematic Achievement in Boxing.”[8]

text: A poll of former heavyweight champions and boxing writers ranked Balboa as the best boxer in the film series.[9]

text: In 2014, Rocky Balboa was the Inaugural Induction to the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame.[10]

text: Merchandising[edit]

text: Hasbro intended to license Rocky and make him a member of the G.I. Joe toyline, as they had with wrestler Sgt. Slaughter and began negotiations with Stallone's representation. Marvel Comics' G.I. Joe: Order of Battle profile book came out during the negotiations and included Rocky as a current Joe member, specializing in hand-to-hand combat training and an example of what it means to persevere under seemingly impossible odds. Balboa also appeared on the cover of the issue. In the meantime, Stallone's agents made a deal with Coleco to produce Rambo figures in order to compete with the G.I. Joe line. Hasbro, who was working on a toy prototype[11] at the time, decided to end negotiations at that point. Marvel ran a retraction in the third issue of the limited-run series indicating that the character was not, and never had been, a part of G.I. Joe.[12] The trade paperback edition of the series, published in July 1987, omitted the page featuring Balboa altogether.

text: Between 2006 and 2008, Jakks Pacific released six series of figures, each focused on one of the movies in the film series. Additionally, two "Best Of" series were released, as well as several collector's box sets, boxing ring playsets, and limited edition exclusive figures.[13]