By now the formula was starting to look stale, although two further sequels followed this tired effort. The opponent here is Mr T, before he became a star in The A-Team, who takes Sylvester Stallone's championship crown; Rocky then battles to reclaim it. Writer/director Stallone once again finds roles for Talia Shire as his long-suffering wife, Carl Weathers, Burt Young and Burgess Meredith, but the story is predictable and it all goes a little flat outside the ring.

Following Rocky Balboa's intense battle with his most powerful adversary yet – the ferocious Clubber Lang – Rocky joins forces with former rival Apollo Creed in an effort to get back his fighting spirit.