Rocky Training Montage: Every Sequence From Rocky to Creed III

The Rocky training montage is the stretch of a film where weeks of preparation are squeezed into a few minutes, and across the saga it shows how the series thinks about work, trainers and pride. In Rocky (1976), directed by John G. Avildsen, Rocky Balboa prepares in makeshift ways, including punching slabs of beef. By Rocky IV (1985), directed by Sylvester Stallone, the same job takes place in a remote Siberian cabin, with farm work and a harsh landscape standing in for a gym. The Creed films, from Creed (2015) to Creed III (2023), give the training to Adonis Creed while Rocky Balboa steps into the trainer's role.

So, how does Rocky Balboa train? The answer changes with each film. He starts with improvised gear in Philadelphia, runs the city streets with a crowd of children behind him in Rocky II, learns footwork and speed from Apollo Creed in Los Angeles in Rocky III, and finishes as a heavy lifting, old school fighter in Rocky Balboa (2006). The trainers change too: Mickey Goldmill in the early films, Duke Evers in Rocky IV, and Rocky himself in Rocky V, Creed (2015) and Creed II (2018), with Duke back in the corner in Creed III.

The nine films run below in release order, matching the rocky movies in order list. Each one ends with the result of its title fight, so spoilers follow.

The first Rocky training montage is also the roughest, because rocky 1976 has Rocky Balboa prepare in makeshift ways, including punching slabs of beef. Avildsen's film gives him very little time: Apollo Creed's scheduled challenger is injured about five weeks before the Bicentennial bout, and Apollo picks the local club fighter because of his Italian Stallion nickname. Mickey Goldmill, the old gym owner who once dismissed Rocky, offers to coach him, and Rocky reluctantly agrees. Paulie wants a place in the corner team and grows jealous, which Rocky smooths over by promoting Paulie's employer.

The goal of the work is modest. The night before the fight, Rocky tells Adrian he does not expect to win and only wants to last all fifteen rounds, something no one has done against Apollo. He knocks Apollo down in the first round, goes the full distance and loses a split decision, though by then he cares more about Adrian than the verdict. Bill Conti composed the score, and Gonna Fly Now by Bill Conti is among the film's notable songs. The film runs 120 minutes, and the preparation is one stage in a story about proving yourself rather than winning a belt.

The rocky 2 training montage is built around Rocky running through the streets of Philadelphia with a crowd of children behind him. Directed by Sylvester Stallone, the film opens right after the first fight. A damaged eye could cost Rocky his sight, so he retires, marries Adrian and struggles with money because he cannot read well and has no steady work. Apollo keeps taunting him in public, and Rocky's pride pulls him back toward the ring.

Mickey is wary of the risk but agrees to train him. Adrian opposes the fight, and a stressful argument leads to a premature birth and a coma after the delivery. When she wakes, she tells Rocky to go win, and that gives the training its motivation. Rocky trains in Philadelphia with Mickey, and the street run is the stretch most fans remember.

The rematch reaches the 15th round with Apollo ahead on points and set on a knockout. Both men hit the canvas in the last exchange, Rocky beats the count at nine, Apollo cannot rise in time, and Rocky becomes heavyweight champion. Bill Conti scored the film.

The rocky 3 training montage works in two halves, a showy public workout and then the real preparation, and the contrast is the point. By 1981 Rocky has held the heavyweight title for five years, and Clubber Lang accuses him of ducking real challengers. Mickey admits he chose the earlier opponents to protect Rocky. Rocky agrees to fight Lang anyway, but he trains in a crowded hotel ballroom full of distractions while Lang trains with fierce focus.

Backstage before the bout, Lang shoves Mickey, who suffers a heart attack. Lang knocks Rocky out in the second round, and Mickey dies soon afterward. Apollo Creed then offers to coach him at a gym in Los Angeles. With Adrian's help, Rocky deals with his loss, and Apollo and trainer Duke teach him footwork, speed and skill.

In the Madison Square Garden rematch, Rocky wins the first round, goes down twice in the second while wearing Lang down, and knocks out a tired Lang in the third. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor is the film's notable song, and Bill Conti composed the score. At 99 minutes, Sylvester Stallone's film moves quickly, and the training is the pivot of the story.

The rocky 4 training montage sets a Siberian cabin against a Soviet laboratory, and it is the most deliberately two sided sequence in the saga. Apollo Creed dies in the ring against Ivan Drago, so Rocky decides to fight him himself, on Christmas Day in the Soviet Union, with his own money on the line. He leaves Adrian and his family behind and trains in a remote cabin with Duke, using farm work and the harsh landscape. Drago trains in a modern lab, watched over by his handlers.

What is the training montage song in Rocky 4? The soundtrack lists Living in America by James Brown, Burning Heart by Survivor and Heart's on Fire by John Cafferty among its notable songs, and Vince DiCola composed the score. The soundtrack album is titled Rocky IV: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

In Moscow the fight is brutal, and Rocky takes heavy punishment early. The Soviet crowd begins to cheer for him, Drago tells his handlers he fights for himself, and Rocky knocks him out in the final round. The film runs 91 minutes, and Box Office Mojo reports more than $300 million worldwide, the largest figure of the six Rocky films.

Rocky 5 is the first film where the training goes to someone else, because Rocky is told he has a brain condition and must stop fighting. Directed by John G. Avildsen, the film then takes his fortune, since his accountant has embezzled it, and the Balboas return to their old Philadelphia neighborhood. Rocky reopens Mighty Mick's Gym and trains a promising young boxer named Tommy Gunn.

Tommy rises to contender status while Rocky pays too little attention to his son Robert, who is being bullied at school. Promoter George Washington Duke lures Tommy away, and Tommy wins the heavyweight title under Duke, only to be dismissed as a paper champion. He challenges Rocky to a fight in the street, and Rocky wins it with help from his family and the neighborhood.

The ending was different in an early draft. Avildsen said in 2014 that Rocky was meant to die, and that the studio changed the ending about two weeks into filming, according to CBS News. Bill Conti composed the score, and the soundtrack album, Rocky V (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture), includes The Measure of a Man by Elton John.

The training in rocky balboa 2006 is a rougher, old school routine built on heavy lifting, which fits a fighter who now runs a restaurant. Directed by Sylvester Stallone, the film finds Rocky mourning Adrian and watching a television simulation in which a young Rocky beats the unbeaten champion Mason Dixon. Public debate follows, Rocky gets his boxing license back, and Dixon's team offers a charity exhibition in Las Vegas.

His son Robert first objects, but Rocky gives him a talk about perseverance, and Robert joins the training. Rocky trains with the help of his old trainer Duke's former colleagues, and the work is physical rather than clever.

The fight goes the full ten rounds. Dixon controls the start but injures his left hand, Rocky rallies and drops him, and Dixon wins a split decision while the arena gives Rocky a standing ovation. ESPN reported that the fight scenes began shooting on December 4 in Las Vegas, after Stallone broke a foot. Bill Conti composed the score, and the notable songs include High Hopes by Frank Sinatra and It's a Fight by Three 6 Mafia. The film cost $24 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Creed (2015), directed by Ryan Coogler, is where the training montage changes hands, and it carries a second storyline: the trainer is sick. Adonis Johnson walks away from a desk job after a win in Tijuana, but a Los Angeles gym turns him down and Danny Wheeler beats him in a sparring session. So he heads to Philadelphia and asks Rocky Balboa, the man his father once fought, to take him on. Rocky hesitates, then agrees, and the two work out of a local gym.

The preparation runs alongside the business of a name. Adonis boxes as Hollywood until the press learns he is Apollo Creed's son, and champion Ricky Conlan's camp then offers a title fight on the condition that he uses the Creed name. Rocky collapses and is diagnosed with lymphoma. Adonis tells him he will not fight unless Rocky starts chemotherapy.

The bout at Goodison Park in Liverpool lasts twelve rounds. Adonis puts Conlan on the canvas but loses a split decision. Filming took place in Aston, Pennsylvania in March 2015, according to NBC Philadelphia. Tony Bellew, who played Conlan, has said the Goodison Park crowd was shot for real. The film ends with Rocky, frail but recovering, joining Adonis on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Ludwig Göransson composed the score, and the sequence rests on that music rather than on a licensed song.

The training in creed 2 sends Adonis to the desert to learn how to take punishment and fight from close range, and it answers a specific problem. Directed by Steven Caple Jr., the film has Adonis win the heavyweight title and propose to Bianca. Ivan Drago, now broke in Ukraine, prepares his son Viktor to challenge him. Rocky refuses to be in Adonis's corner, so Adonis trains with Tony 'Little Duke' Evers and moves to Los Angeles with Bianca.

Adonis takes the first fight underprepared, is badly beaten, and keeps the title only because Viktor is disqualified for an illegal blow. He falls into a slump, and his mother Mary Anne persuades Rocky to help. Rocky and Little Duke then train him in the desert for the rematch.

The Moscow rematch is brutal. Adonis absorbs heavy damage, knocks Viktor down twice in round ten, and Ivan throws in the towel to protect his son. The album is titled Creed II: The Album and lists The Mantra by Pharrell Williams and Kendrick Lamar and Do You Need Power? (Walk Out Music) by Bon Iver. Rolling Stone reported that Mike WiLL Made-It curated it. Filming began on March 15, 2018 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Creed III (2023) puts the training in the hands of Duke Evers and Viktor Drago, and the build up to Dodger Stadium is the only montage in the saga with its own title on the soundtrack. Michael B. Jordan directed, and Sylvester Stallone took part only as a producer, so Rocky is absent from the corner for the first time since Creed (2015). Donnie Creed, now retired and running the Delphi Boxing Academy, comes back to the ring after Dame Anderson, his old friend from prison, wins the heavyweight belt and exposes how the past still hangs over them.

Bianca pushes him to return. He prepares with Duke and a recovered Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago, so the man who once beat him in the ring becomes a training partner. The Battle of Los Angeles ends with Donnie floored in the last round, beating the count and knocking Dame out. The AJC reported in 2021 that production was based in Georgia.

The soundtrack album, CREED III (Official Soundtrack), includes Adonis Interlude (The Montage) by J. Cole, alongside Ma Boy by J.I.D and Lute. Joseph Shirley composed the score, and Film Music Reporter says it came out as a separate album on March 3, 2023.

In my opinion, the best Rocky training montage is Rocky IV, because it is the only one built around a contrast the audience can see: a cabin and farm work against Drago's laboratory. This ranking weighs how clearly each sequence shows what the fighter is missing and how it pays off in the fight. It is opinion, so other fans will order it differently.

1. Rocky IV (1985). Rocky leaves his family to train with Duke in Siberia while Drago is watched in a lab, and the two methods collide in Moscow. The pay off is a knockout in the final round and a crowd that changes sides. It could be argued that this is the cleanest idea in the series.
2. Rocky III (1982). The ballroom workout shows a champion who has gone soft, and the Los Angeles gym shows what it takes to fix it. Apollo teaching footwork and speed is the franchise's best use of a former rival. Mickey's death gives the work real weight.
3. Rocky (1976). Punching slabs of beef is the image that every later montage borrows from. The stakes are small, finishing fifteen rounds, which makes the work feel honest.
4. Rocky II (1979). The run through Philadelphia with a crowd of children is warm and public, and Adrian's order to go win gives it purpose. It ranks below the three above because the training is less specific than theirs.
5. Creed II (2018). The desert work answers a real tactical problem, taking punishment and fighting close, after Adonis was beaten underprepared. Perhaps it sits mid table because the lone fighter, trainer and rematch pattern was already set by Rocky III.
6. Rocky Balboa (2006). Heavy lifting suits an older fighter, and Robert joining in gives the work an emotional point. Dixon wins the split decision, so the pay off is pride rather than victory.
7. Creed III (2023). Training with Duke and Viktor Drago closes an old rivalry, and a track called Adonis Interlude (The Montage) shows the film knows what it is doing. The sequence serves the Dame story more than the sport.
8. Creed (2015). The work matters less than the cancer subplot, and Adonis loses the split decision. The steps climb at the end is the part that sticks.
9. Rocky V (1990). Training Tommy Gunn turns the montage into someone else's story, and the fight ends in a street brawl rather than a ring.

If you want to see the pattern for yourself, watch Rocky III and Rocky IV back to back, then follow with the other films in release order. For the music, see the rocky soundtrack page, and for a full film ranking, see rocky movies ranked. Creed 4 has no official date, and the latest on it sits on the creed 4 page.