Hearts on Fire, Eyes Full of Tears?
We’ve heard some wild Rocky rumors over the years, but this one from the archives of the National Enquirer might just take the cannoli. According to this vintage tabloid gem, our man Sly cried after taking a punch during training for the original Rocky. Yeah, cried. Like, “Yo Adrian, grab me a tissue” cried.
Now, when we chatted with Jimmy Gambina back in 2004—yep, the real boxing trainer on scene to observe Stallone’s footwork—he had a ton to say about how hard Sly trained, how he transformed for the role, how he pulled off moves that made the fights look real. What he didn’t say? That Stallone sobbed like a toddler after catching one in the chops.
Still, the tabloid presses had to roll, and this juicy 1970s scoop lays it on thicker than Adrian’s bologna sandwiches. So grab a ringside seat and enjoy the madness.
Boxing Trainer for ‘Rocky’ Reveals He Even Cried After Getting Punched
By Shelley Ross, National Enquirer (September 6, 1977)
Two fisted Sylvester Stallone, who played a never-say-die boxer in Rocky, is really a big baby who was scared of getting hurt – and the actor even cried after getting punched into the ring ropes.
That’s the eye-opening recollection of boxing trainer Jimmy Gambina, who coached Stallone for his hit movie. Pulling no punches, Jimmy boomed:
“Syvlester told me he had had a few fights in college and had fought here and there afterward. When I first saw him in the gym, I knew that he had never had a fight.
“I could also tell that he was out of shape. Sylvester didn’t know a thing about fighting. Sylvester wanted to do the fight at the beginning of the film to get it ore with. He was scared about getting his nose broken. He was scared of this and he was scared of that.
“He was real bulk. He was a weight lifter and his belly would hang over his shorts. When he stood up straight he looked real fine, but when he went into a boxing stance, his stomach muscles fell down.
“At times I just couldn’t get Sylvester to train. He was forever making excuses.”
The real trouble began, says Jimmy, when the star got too big for his boxing britches. “The more we went into the picture, the cockier he got.”
To take Stallone down a peg, he put the actor in the ring with 45 year old Ray Notaro, owner of the Left Hook Gym in Los Angeles.
Recalled Notaro: “It was in the third round and I was dancing around him and I’m hitting him, not hard. Stallone sort of straightens up and gives me a little tap. He then asks me, “Hey, is that the hardest you can hit?”
“And I told him, ‘Heck, no, that ain’t the hardest I can hit.’ I belted him. That punch left him groping through the ropes.”
Then, said Jimmy Gambina, “Sylvester started to cry.”
Jimmy claims that the actor later hit back at him with a low blow – by taking credit for staging the fight scene that climaxes Rocky.
“I was the choreographer for the fight scene, but Sylvester took all the credit,” he said. “I really think he believes he did it all himself.”
And a spokesman for United Artists confirmed: “Jimmy Gambina did all the choreography for the fight scene in Rocky. Jimmy did not receive credit.”
