Sylvester Stallone is no stranger to social media, as the veteran actor loves taking to his various platforms to update fans on his new projects and share a few nuggets of history from his past work. The 75-year-old actor has a particular tendency to post behind-the-scenes photos from his work on the Rocky franchise. He’s dropped in a number of cool snapshots in the past, but his latest may be one of the most interesting. The photo depicts his iconic fight with Hulk Hogan in 1982’s Rocky III, though you may start looking at the fight a bit differently after seeing the image.
The Rocky film series features a number of memorable bouts, and the wild exhibition match between Sylvester Stallone’s Balboa and Hulk Hogan’s Thunderlips is definitely one of the best. One of the most entertaining aspects of the fight is that it pits the boxer against an opponent much bigger than himself. Though the difference in size between the two isn’t as massive as you’d imagine. Check out what Stallone’s behind-the-scenes Instagram image revealed:
It’s true that the two actors aren’t the same size. The actor stands at 5’10”, while the former wrestler was listed as being 6’7” during his prime. Still, it seems that Sylvester Stallone, the director of the film, wanted his in-ring challenger to look even more imposing. The means of pulling that off may seem simple, but the small trick ended up making all the difference on the big screen. Most can probably still remember that iconic shot of the two coming face to face. Or should I say face to chest?
This actually isn’t the first time the Rambo actor has reflected on his legendary movie fight with Hulk Hogan. In a previous post, he shared a still from the film and reflected on the strategies the wrestler used in the ring. He made note of the clean punches Hogan threw and also referred to him as a true athlete. Considering the WWE icon’s body of work, most wrestling fans would probably agree with that assessment.
More recently, many of Sylvester Stallone’s social media posts have been related to Rocky IV. The filmmaker has been working on a director’s cut of the film for over a year now and had previously been sharing updates on its production status. This past week, the official trailer was released, and it looks like it’s going to be well worth the wait.
So could an alternate cut of the franchise’s third installment also arrive at some point in the future? I’d personally say that it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility. I’m sure there are scenes that were left on the cutting room floor that could stand to see the light of day. There could even be additional footage from the fight between Rocky and Thunderlips. I don’t know about all of you, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the two throw down even further.
Though in the meantime, I’m absolutely down to see more of Balboa’s fight with the vicious Ivan Drago. You can actually see the Rocky IV director’s cut on the big screen (for one night only) on November 11 before it hits digital the very next day. And in the meantime, you can check out some of Sylvester Stallone’s other behind-the-scenes posts online and stream the Rocky films on HBO Max.
