While filming the final fight scene of Creed, star Michael B. Jordan got knocked out for real. The original Rocky was a low-budget boxing drama that – much like its underdog title character – defied expectations to become a major critical and commercial success. It was never intended to turn into a franchise that has spanned decades either, but when star and creator Sylvester Stallone’s follow-up projects failed to gather much attention, he returned for Rocky II, which he also directed.
Despite each Rocky sequel ending on the notion of it being the character’s final bout, it wasn’t until 2006’s Rocky Balboa – the sixth installment – that he finally hung up his gloves. While Stallone felt he’d said all he could say with the character, director Ryan Coogler lured him back for spinoff Creed in 2015. This starred Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, son of Rocky’s former rival turned friend Apollo who was killed in the ring in Rocky IV. Creed trains under Rocky and intends to build a legacy of his own.
Creed turned out to be one of the best entries in the series and was grounded by great performances and punishing fight sequences. Adonis’ main opponent in the film is British fighter “Pretty” Ricky Conlan, played by real-life boxer Tony Bellew. This lends an air of authenticity to the final fight, but it turns out that during filming of the scene Jordan actually got knocked out cold by a punch from Bellew.
Sylvester Stallone provided footage of the moment Michael B. Jordan got knocked out filming Creed, before praising the star for getting up and continuing the scene. Tony Bellew has since retired from professional boxing, but made headlines in 2017 where during a bout with heavyweight David Haye Bellew won the fight after knocking his opponent right out of the ring.
Michael B. Jordan trained hard to appear credible as a boxer for Creed and admitted to taking his fair share of real punches during shooting. He returned once again for 2018’s Creed 2, which saw him fight against Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the boxer who killed his father in the ring. Stallone appears to have stepped away from the Creed series following the sequel, though he has mentioned possibly returning for another Rocky movie where he acts as a mentor to an illegal immigrant. Meanwhile, Michael B. Jordan is set to return for the upcoming Creed III and is reportedly going to direct the movie too.
