A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

Rocky Balboa is a struggling Philadelphia boxer who is scorned by his gym's owner, patronized by a loan shark and rebuffed by a shy 'plain-Jane', whose butcher brother keeps engineering a romantic match.

Rocky would have remained in this rut had not heavyweight champion Apollo Creed come up with the Bicentennial gimmick to give a chance for a 'nobody' to become a 'somebody'. The "Italian Stallion" trains earnestly and goes the distance...against all odds!