Do the rocky movies take after the legend boxer Rocky Marciano?

Answer 1

The rocky movies do not take their inspiration from the legendary Rocky Marciano, although the main character is named Rocky in honor of the former champ, although the characters real name is Robert. The inspiration for the film came when actor/writer Sylvester Stallone saw a televised bout between then champion Muhammad Ali and total underdog Chuck Wepner in the early seventies; Wepner was given next to no chance against the champion, but confounded all the critics by going the full fifteen rounds (as was the duration of championship fights up to the middle eighties ) with the great Ali, although the fight was not as close as the bout portrayed in the movie.

As a postscript to this information, upon release of the movie Rocky Balboa, Chuck Wepner sued Sylvester Stallone for publicly announcing that he had used him as the basis for his character Rocky but had never paid the now broke Wepner any royalties he felt was due, Stallone is believed to have settled out of court with a undisclosed sum being handed over.