“He died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, February 1st, 2024,” family members of Carl Weathers said in a statement after his passing. Meanwhile, three days after his death, a forgotten picture of him with Sylvester Stallone and Muhammad Ali surfaced online!

The former NFL linebacker cemented himself in the hearts of numerous boxing fans with his performance as Apollo Creed in the ‘Rocky’ movies. So, when the first 1976 movie became a huge success worldwide, he and Stallone came together to celebrate a special milestone with real-life boxing legend Muhammad Ali!

Was Muhammad Ali the inspiration for Apollo Creed?

Turning to X (formerly Twitter), a user with the handle Boxing History shared the snap with a caption that revealed details about the picture. “Muhammad Ali, Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers at the 20th anniversary of Rocky in 1996,” the user wrote in the tweet. It’s worth mentioning that the first movie was a smash hit worldwide and produced triple the profits of the production budget!

Originally, about $1,000,000 was invested in the production of the movie. However, the movie collected $117,235,147 domestically and $225,000,000 from worldwide box office. The tweet then goes on to state, “Weathers played the memorable Apollo Creed, a character obviously inspired by Ali.” What’s more, after Carl’s demise, Stallone hoped on social media to pay a special tribute to the late actor. 

Sylvester Stallone sheds light on first encounter with Carl Weathers

Yesterday, after the news started spreading across the internet like wildfire, colleague and long-time friend of Carl, Sylvester Stalone, turned to Instagram with an emotional message! “Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success, everything about it, I give him credit,” said Stalone. “Because when he walked into that room, and I saw him for the first time, I felt greatness,” he continued. 

It’s worth mentioning that Carl appeared in the first four movies of the series and added incredible value to its success. So, Stallone also said, “I never could have accomplished what we did with Rocky without him.” Stallone emphasized Carl’s image as he remembered the late actor, claiming he was brilliant. “He was absolutely brilliant, his voice, his size, his power, his athletic ability. But more importantly, his heart, his soul. It’s a horrible loss!

Also Read: “There Would Be No Rocky Balboa”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Joins Sylvester Stallone, Jake Paul, and Andrew Tate in Mourning the Demise of Boxing’s Greatest Ambassador Carl Weathers, 76

While the world mourns the unfortunate passing of the legend who entertained and inspired everyone, his legacy will live on through all these pictures and movies he has worked in! What did you think about the picture? Did you watch the movie?

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