My buddy Shawn*:
“Have I talked to you about the idea the Apollo Creed was probably the best
boxer of all time? And would you watch a prequel about him?”
No you have
not, and yes I would.
Creed was 33
when he fought against Rocky Balboa in 1976. The 6’2” undefeated, undisputed
heavyweight champion had been in 46 professional bouts, winning each by knockout.
These are
incredible numbers, of course. Creed was a masterful fighter, an incredible
showman, and an accomplished businessman. He had few weaknesses and many
strengths. Clearly he was a once-in-a-generation fighter. But he wasn’t
perfect.
He must have
been a prodigy and accomplished amateur. Let’s assume he fought in the 1960
Olympics in Rome (Aug. 25-Sep. 11), just days after turning 17. He lost** and
began fighting as a professional later that year. He then averaged three
fights/wins/KO’s per year for the next 15 years.
He had
millions of fans and was probably the most famous athlete in the world. He was
cocky, outspoken and wealthy. But he was humble, he never dodged a fight, he knew
where he came from and gave young fighters a chance. He had a great career and was
a great man; but was he the greatest?
Part of
determining if he was the greatest boxer of all-time is deciding which boxers
don’t exist*** in the Rockiverse. Obviously, Ali**** (That [sort of] rhymes). Based on
his performance against Balboa, when the Dancing Destroyer should have been in
the prime of his career, he would have had no chance against Frazier OR
Foreman.
Frazier was
relentless. The only thing that could keep him at bay was length and Creed had
none of that. The King of Sting had power, but Frazier had granite chin. No
contest. Frazier by knockout, so Frazier never existed.
If there’s
one thing we know about Creed, it’s that he can’t handle southpaws. If there
are two things, the second is that when he gets hit in the mouth, his game plan
goes out the window, he flips into survival mode, he drops his hands, and
he throws punches like a hummingbird. “Master of Disaster” was not a nickname
he earned. If Foreman landed one shot, he would land his next 10. Then Creed
would drop dead. Foreman did not exist.
Leaving all other fighters and their records untouched, and pretending those three fought in a parallel universe, we can begin to make comparisons.
His record
ranks near the top, with his KO totals pushing him into elite company. But how
would he really be remembered? What is his legacy?
___
When Joe
Frazier died a few months ago, 4,000 people went to his funeral. When Creed died,
there were only a few dozen in attendance. In less than a decade since his
first defeat, his legend and legions had disappeared. If he was truly such a
great fighter, as his record seemed to show, why was he forgotten so quickly?
In Rocky
III, Creed brings the Stallion to train at the Tough Gym in LA. Though Apollo
is welcomed, he is mostly ignored by his African-American peers. They respect
him, but they keep him at a distance.
I’ll go a
step further: Creed was disliked by the African-American community and
treasured by white America.
In the first
Rocky film, Creed is clearly a national figure. He is cheered everywhere he
goes, welcomed to appear on TV whenever he pleases and sets the boxing
schedule. But is this just white America? His manager is white. The fight
promoters are all white. Most of the crowd is white. When he’s given a chance
to pick his underdog, unknown opponent, he chooses “the Italian Stallion”
instead of using the opportunity to promote a new black fighter. Before the
first fight, he dresses as George Washington instead of Abraham Lincoln or a
historically prominent African-American.
During Rocky’s
training, he is cheered and showered with praise. Chants of “you can do it,
Rock” rain down upon him from all races. The African Americans in his
neighborhood wanted a white guy to
beat Creed.
Ali is
regarded as the finest boxer of all time because he was a phenomenal fighter,
and because he had such a complete and diverse fan base. He appealed to
everyone, and everyone loved him. Creed does not have this appeal. White
America loved him, until he lost, and black America tolerated him.
Surely he’d
had an impressive rise to the top, but who did he step on to get there? In an
era just after the civil rights movement, why were all of his handlers white?
He had a
great career, but he was far from the best. And I would totally pay to find out
why not.
*Henceforth
known as MBS.
**Probably
before the medal round, as his amateur accomplishments are never mentioned as
part of his resume.
***For
comparison sake, their careers exist, but the concept of fighting Creed was unimaginable.
****This
would have been a solid fight, but I think Ali would get the win. He has a
significant reach advantage, even if he was only an inch taller. The fighters
were similarly quick, and Creed must have had fairly good power if he was able
to knock out 46 professional fighters, so we’ll call that a push as well. Ali
was known for his ability to win the fight before he entered the ring, but
Creed was an impressive showman himself, so to me there’s no clear advantage
there either. The difference would be Ali’s defensive skills. Creed managed to
avoid some of Balboa’s wild haymakers, but struggled for much of the fight,
particularly when he began to tire. Young Ali was untouchable, and Old Ali had
a knack for wearing his opponents down without absorbing catastrophic damage.
The fight wouldn’t end quickly, but it would end with Ali on top.
