Struggling Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) has a chance to become a somebody when heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) comes up with the Bicentennial gimmick of fighting a sure-ringer and easily winning the bout himself. But someone forgot to tell Rocky, who trains earnestly. And in the climactic fight sequence, the "Italian Stallion" gets his wish: to go the distance... against all the odds.