If this were Karate Kid or Cobra Kai, we would normally say that “There's no such thing as a
bad student, only a bad teacher.” However, I would make an exception in this case for
Rocky Balboa's first-ever pupil – Tommy Gunn. Now, despite Rocky V being one of the weakest
films in the franchise both in my opinion and the opinions of many others, like Karate Kid Part III,
there are some highlights to the film and some topics worth discussing. Much how Cobra Kai
was able to bring much more meaning to both Karate Kid Part III and The Next Karate Kid,
the Creed movies have brought new meaning to Rocky V, specifically in the relationship between Rocky
and Adonis, and how that parallels the relationship that Rocky and Tommy had.
So what exactly happened to Tommy? This is why Tommy Gunn failed as Rocky's student.
Let's talk about the parallels between Tommy and Adonis, Tommy's fighting style,
how he ranks as an opponent of Rocky's, the relevance to Creed III, and more.
Let's recap what we know about Tommy Gunn so far. Feel free to skip ahead to avoid the recap, but
be warned – you may miss some important details later on in the video. Tommy grew up in Oklahoma
and had a rough childhood. He got into a lot of fights as a kid and had a father who was a violent
alcoholic, who would lash out both at his wife and Tommy. When he was 13, one incident was so
bad that Tommy couldn't walk for a week. He would later get revenge on his father and knock him out,
and after becoming a fighter, would always see his opponent as his father as both motivation
and a source of his rage. Not long after Rocky moved back to his old neighborhood, Tommy sought
him out for the first time and asked him to be his trainer, but this attempt was interrupted
by George Washington Duke, who once again triedto convince Rocky to fight Union Cane. The following
day, Tommy seeks out Rocky again after he re-opens Mighty Mick's gym. Tommy fights Vincent,
a fellow gym-goer, though begins to go all out throwing vicious hooks and even attacking him
after time is called. Rocky admits that Tommy has talent, but also says that he isn't a manager,
and wishes Tommy good luck. Later that night, for the 3rd time, Tommy again tries to convince
Rocky to be his manager. After claiming to be a fan of his since his first fight with Apollo,
and expressing his belief that Rocky is the best, Rocky invites Tommy to dinner. After an
awkward dinner, Rocky invites Tommy to stay with the family for a while, despite protests from
Adrian and Robert. As Rocky begins to train Tommy and help him climb through the ranks, he begins
to spend less time with his family. At the same time, George Washington Duke also takes notice
of Tommy (which Paulie also warns Rocky about) and begins to bribe him with a new apartment and
a new girlfriend Karen. Duke promises him a shot at the title while also convincing him to separate
from Balboa (which works because during this time, Tommy is growing frustrated from not yet
receiving a title shot and being constantly called Rocky's “Robot”). On Christmas Eve, Tommy comes
over with Duke and talks to Rocky about wanting to be managed by Duke. Rocky unsuccessfully convinces
Tommy to forget about Duke, but because he wants that title shot, Tommy and Karen
speed away in his new car. Tommy, now discarding Apollo's trunks he was given by Rocky as a gift,
knocks out Union Cane and becomes champion. In his post-fight speech, he thanks Duke, and not Rocky,
causing the crowd to boo him. Following the fight during the post-fight conference,
Tommy is still considered to be a lesser fighter and in Rocky's shadow, and is told he should
fight a real contender. Duke gives him the idea to fight Balboa, who he then challenges while Rocky
and Paulie are at Andy's bar. Rocky refuses until Paulie defends Rocky from Tommy, who then agrees
to settle their issues in a street fight. Rocky delivers a vicious onslaught on Tommy, but Tommy
refuses to give up and nearly knocks out Rocky. As the two continue to fight, Rocky gains the upper
hand and knocks out Tommy Gunn against a bus. The last we see of Tommy Gunn are two police officers
who approach him, supposedly apprehending him for starting the fight with Rocky.
Before we get into comparisons between the two disciples of Rocky, let's first talk about Tommy
Gunn's fighting style. Tommy fights using the Orthodox stance. Before training under Rocky,
he mentions that he both competed in amateur and professional fights, but it would be safe to say
that he also fought in street fights, as Rocky commented that he was more like a brawler (perhaps
making the comparison to a younger version of himself). Because of how young he was, Tommy had
stamina and could take the fight to longer rounds if needed, though at best, that is an assumption
as we don't see a lot of details regarding what rounds his opponents were knocked out in. It's
hard to say how strong Tommy was, but considering one of the fights ended with a near clothesline
from the opponent coming off the ropes, it's fair to say that Tommy had punching power. Thanks to
Rocky's training, he would learn techniques from both Rocky's and Apollo's fighting style.
He would attack the body and would learn to slip the jab from not only Mickey's advice but from
the advice both Apollo and Tony gave Rocky when he was training for his fight with Clubber Lang.
Tommy using Apollo's style would also be evident due to the bobbing and weaving he learned to
incorporate in his fights. Prior to learning these techniques, Rocky told Tommy that there was no law
“against ducking,” and like his eventual mentor, didn't have the best defensive capabilities,
but could take punishment if need be. This is also evident in his fight with Rocky, where he didn't
know how to react to Rocky's initial attack that put him on the ground. Gunn, like Clubber Lang,
would learn to trap his opponents in the corner and punish them. Whether he learned this from
Rocky or watching Clubber's fights with Rocky is unknown. In regards to his fight with Rocky, Tommy
was not beneath catching Rocky off-guard with cheap shots and sucker punches. He even resorted
to MMA-like grabs and takedowns at different points during the fight and refused to give
up against Rocky. However, we can't talk about Tommy Gunn's fighting style and not talk about
the person who played him, real-life boxing legend Tommy Morrison. I would highly recommend checking
out BLTV Extra's video: “The Legendary Power of Tommy Morrison” as it offers a more in-depth
look at Morrison's career, but to paraphrase from what I learned from that video: Morrison's left
hook was one of the most standout punches at that time in boxing history. He had power that some say
rivaled Mike Tyson's (someone else we'll also talk about in a bit), and while Tommy acknowledged the
comparisons, he made it clear that he was still his own fighter. He also proved in matches that
he equally had a good right hook and uppercut, and didn't purely rely on his left. While he did
run out of gas in later rounds, Tommy knew to use good lateral movement to stay out of harm's way.
Morrison's record stands at 48 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw, with notable wins against George Foreman,
Joe Hipp, and Donovan Ruddock. As I mentioned Tyson earlier, this is a comparison worth
bringing up, as Tommy Gunn's relationship with Duke was to mirror that of Tyson and King,
with Duke even using the same catchphrase of “only in America.” Another comparison worth
noting that Tommy was a nod to Tyson is that Mickey gives Rocky a speech that is word for
word the same speech that Cus D'Amato, Tyson's trainer, once gave to a young Mike Tyson himself.
In comparison to other major opponents of Rocky, where does Tommy Gunn rank? Even with the addition
of Mason Dixon to that list, in my opinion, Tommy comes in at last place out of all the
major opponents that Rocky has fought. When you look at opponents like Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago,
and even Apollo Creed, they all took Balboa to his limits and all three of those opponents forced him
to change styles and the way he fought. Rocky had to build speed to stand a chance with Apollo at
his best in the rematch, Rocky had to train like Apollo to beat Clubber, and Rocky had to forge
himself into a piece of iron to trade punches with Drago. As I mentioned before, Tommy wasn't
even prepared for the initial onslaught Rocky gave to him at the start of the street fight,
and at the time, Rocky technically was at a disadvantage because of the permanent damage
he suffered from the fight with Drago. Imagine if a pre-Drago Rocky fought Tommy... I think
the fight would be over very quickly. I'd even argue that Rocky from either Rocky I or Rocky
II would also stand a good chance, if not, beat Tommy with very little effort as well.
Does this mean Tommy is a pushover? Of course not. Although some of it was when Rocky wasn't looking,
Tommy still took the fight to Rocky, even knowing how great of a fighter Rocky was. Tommy hit Rocky
hard enough that it made him remember his fights with Ivan Drago (or Clubber Lang,
depending on which version of the fight you're watching). Despite this, I think Tommy only
stands out because of how unique he was as an opponent, and something we hadn't quite seen in
the franchise at that point – a former student of Rocky's, who now wanted to defeat Rocky to prove
he wasn't caught in the shadow. How well this character was executed is certainly up for debate,
but I also felt that maybe Stallone was trying to do what he could to have a new
type of opponent. After all, Rocky technically fought a World Champion, a hungry contender,
and an overseas challenger. Where else could the series have gone? I would also like to point out
that Robert's fight with Chickie even foreshadowed how the fight between Rocky and Tommy would have
gone down. I feel like that's relevant because Stallone still regrets ever
making Rocky V and how it holds up compared to the other Rocky films.
What exactly happened to Tommy Gunn after his fight with Rocky? As I previously talked about
in my Clubber Lang video, there was a slightly different version of Rocky V before it was
re-edited for theaters and what we know about today. The fight in this version shows Rocky
claiming he didn't want to fight Tommy and that he cares more about Tommy than Duke ever would,
and it shows Tommy catching Rocky off-guard with a different Mickey scene,
and more flashbacks to both Clubber and Ivan Drago fights. After getting up, the fight is
similar to what we see in the final cut, where Rocky turns the tide and starts to get the better
of Tommy. Rocky tries to get Tommy to give up, though the fight continues. However, in the end,
Rocky instead helps Tommy up, and one of the cops asks Tommy for his autograph, showing that Tommy
finally earned respect. If this cut would've been the final cut, we would assume that Tommy
not only got his respect but would continue to prove that he wasn't a puppet of Rocky. However,
Sylvester Stallone in an interview in 2005 with Ain't It Cool News (the same interview where he
talked about what happened to Clubber), said that Tommy “was exposed as being a project
that would never be fully developed as a man and also succumbed to a life of a mediocre fighter
barnstorming around the country and eventually transforming himself into Tommy 'Boom' Gunn,
second rate wrestler performing exclusively in the Midwest in third rate venues.” Again,
take this with a grain of salt, as this interview is considered to be tongue-in-cheek (Stallone
even says that Apollo would return, though as an unrecognizable zombie). The only time that Tommy
is ever referenced after Rocky V is when Adonis first asks Rocky to train, where he laughs and
says “I don't do that no more,” probably thinking back to when he trained Tommy.
Despite all of this, Tommy's concept of being Rocky's student is still important,
because 25 years later, we would see Rocky take on a student again, only this time it is the son of
Apollo Creed, Adonis Creed. Let's take a look at a comparison between the two. Both fighters had a
rough upbringing, with Tommy presumably leaving home after the fight with his abusive fighter,
and Adonis growing up in group homes and juvie. Because of this, they had nothing to lose like
a younger Rocky. Tommy would amass a record both in the amateur and professional league,
similar to how Adonis would fight down in Mexico to gain experience as a fighter. This would also
make them similar to Rocky, who would also fight in underground clubs while training under Mickey.
The two would seek out Rocky and ask him to train them, both being persistent in their methods,
even after Tommy gave off the wrong impression and Adonis trying to convince Rocky to do it as
a favor to Apollo. Both would go on to move in with Rocky for a period of time while learning
everything they could from him. Tommy would inherit the same trunks that Apollo gave to
Rocky as a gift. Adonis would also later wear these trunks, though with some custom alterations
to include both the name “Johnson” and “Creed”, as a gift from Mary Anne. Another problem they
both had is that they were caught in the shadow of someone – Tommy was often compared to Rocky as his
“robot” or “puppet,” while Adonis struggled with bearing the last name “Creed” and wanted to make
a legacy for himself. While Tommy was focused on women and his girlfriend Karen “gifted” to him
by George Washington Duke, Adonis would build a meaningful relationship with Bianca Taylor,
the equivalent of Rocky's Adrian. Tommy would eventually go on to be manipulated by promoter
George Washington Duke, and take the title for his own name, forgetting to thank Rocky
and abandoning his trainer. Adonis would be manipulated similarly by Buddy Marcell, who
was sought out by Ivan Drago to get a fight lined up for his son Viktor to take on Adonis. However,
unlike Tommy, Adonis would eventually reconnect with Rocky and ask for his help once again,
as he left Rocky because he thought he could beat Viktor the first time. Adonis would also
become a world champion like Tommy, though the difference is he would defeat credible champion
Danny Wheeler, while Tommy was a “paper champion” because of Duke's help. Both fighters would study
the fights that Rocky had with Apollo, and would learn to fight like both Rocky and Apollo with
Rocky's help, though the difference with Adonis is that he would also undergo a strict regimen
to fight more like Rocky did against Ivan in 1985. Another key difference between the two is
that Tommy would challenge Rocky to a fight, while Adonis would never fight his trainer one-on-one.
One key detail that is worth mentioning is that both fighters would take precedence in
a relationship of student and teacher over Rocky's relationship with his son. However, both would go
on to indirectly or directly help Rocky patch up the relationship with his son. Tommy would do so
indirectly by cutting ties with Rocky, and with Adrian's help, would help Rocky realize that he
should be focused on his family. In Creed II, when Rocky and Adonis are patching things up,
Adonis suggests to Rocky to reach out to his son. Because Rocky is helping Adonis overcome that fear
of expectations, Adonis in return helps Rocky overcome the fear of reaching out to his son.
I think it's also worth pointing out that the difference between Adonis and Tommy is that
Adonis had Mary Anne; he had at least a positive parental figure in his life, while Tommy had no
one. Last but not least, both students went up the steps with Rocky while under his tutelage.
We must also talk about the relevance between Rocky V and Creed III. While the storyline is
completely different in that Adonis must confront his former childhood friend turned rival Damian
Anderson, there are some very similar elements we should take note of. First, Dame seeks out
Adonis just like Tommy sought out Rocky. Though the two already know each other, Adonis invites
Damian to come by the gym, in a similar manner to where Tommy would seek out Rocky again at
Mighty Mick's. Dame shows off and doesn't take it easy on his sparring partner like Tommy did,
and this goes on to put bad blood between the two. Dame is also jealous of Adonis' success,
and states that he's “coming for everything.” We can presume the fighter, Felix Chavez,
that Dame knocks out is the same sparring partner he fought in Adonis' gym, as we can also see a
poster for this fighter on the wall (and can presume he is also training under Adonis),
which makes things even more personal for Adonis. This is similar to how Tommy attacked Paulie,
and Rocky came to his defense and would go on to fight Tommy. This is all we know about the
film for now, but one can't help but notice the similarities and how Creed III is going to go the
Cobra Kai (or should I say Creed route) and bring some nice expansion to elements from Rocky V.
Here are my final thoughts on Tommy Gunn. Although Rocky V is still one of the weaker
films in the franchise, I think Tommy wasn't that bad of an attempt of having a new type
of opponent in the Rocky series. If it wasn't for him, Creed wouldn't exist or at least have
a good foundation to go off, because let's face it – Creed did a lot of justice to some of the
weaker films of the franchise, including Rocky V. It's a shame we didn't see more of Tommy,
and that's probably out of respect for the late great Tommy Morrison, who passed away in 2013,
but maybe someday we'll get an official word on what happened to his character. While he
wasn't the most intriguing character in the Rocky franchise (and to be honest,
he has slightly more depth than Mason Dixon), Tommy was an interesting look
at a pupil of Rocky who went down the dark path. I tip my hat to Mr. Morrison,
who played a believable character and helped carry the film despite its shortcomings.
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