Perhaps Sylvester Stallone’s next Rocky Balboa will be a nine-year-old from Alabama.

On Sunday, during the first-ever “Rocky Day” in Philadelphia, Ro Knight got to meet Stallone and recreated one of the most well-known scenes from the movie series.

“It was fantastic,” Knight told NBC. “He was surprised, I guess. It was awesome.”

Knight approached Stallone as he was taking photo ops with fans in front of the city’s famed Rocky statue as part of the celebration.

“Let me tell you something that you already know,” Knight told Stallone. “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows…”

But it certainly was all sunshine and rainbows on this day for Knight and Stallone. Knight continued with the famous speech from the movie “Rocky Balboa” and was even joined at times by Stallone as a large crowd looked on.

“That’s how winning is done!” the two shouted simultaneously midway through the performance.

Following Knight’s 45-second statement, the crowd erupted in applause, fitting Knight’s persona as Rocky after the heavyweight championship triumph. Knight had lived his whole life preparing for this moment, just like Balboa, although his training did not include running up stairs in museums and chasing chickens.

It meant watching a lot of “Rocky” movies, which he said he began watching as a kid with his father. He then had to memorize Stallone’s phrases and rehearse his performance in order to be ready for the crowds.    

“The more people the better,” said Knight, an aspiring actor and wrestler.

“If I’m coming down there, I have to do something,” Knight said. “So, I was like, ‘What’s the most iconic promo?’ I’ve done it in the past before. I started memorizing it again. Then I went up and did it.”

This was Stallone and Knight’s first time standing toe to toe, even though the 77-year-old star had seen Knight’s reproduction before.

The nine-year-old social media sensation Knight was actually more well-known when he entered the ring than Rocky Balboa. His Instagram account, @Ro_knows_wrestling, has over 50,000 followers.

In a video that Stallone shared on Instagram in May 2021, Knight made the same claim while sporting Rocky’s red, white, and blue trunks.