Sylvester Stallone once explained why he turned down Mike Tyson’s offer to appear in one of the Rocky films.

Rocky is one of the most well-known and popular boxing film franchises. It has nine films in total, with the first being released in 1976 and the most recent in March 2023, Creed III. Over the years, the film franchise has featured a number of notable boxers, including Canelo Alvarez, Pedro Lovell, and others.

Interestingly, in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa, Mike Tyson wanted to be a part of the film and play Rocky’s final opponent. However, Stallone was not thrilled with Tyson as his opponent. During an interview in 2007, the Hollywood actor stated (H/T Boxing Scene):

“Mike wanted to fight me in this film but I thought it was a bad idea. I know I’m not that young, but I’m still too young to die. I said, ‘Thanks, but I don’t think that would be a very good idea. Thank you very much.’ But he kept calling the office saying he wanted to be in the film fighting me.”

He added:

“Eventually, I relented and said he could be in the audience. Then I never heard from him. Suddenly, when I turn up in the ring he’s there at theMike Tyson discusses how he prepared Francis Ngannou for his fight against Tyson Fury.Mike Tyson has agreed to coach Francis Ngannou in his upcoming fight against Tyson Fury in October. Eight months after leaving the UFC, the former heavyweight champion is set to make his boxing debut against ‘The Gipsy King’.Ngannou brought Mike Tyson to his training camp to prepare for it. Tyson recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to discuss training the former UFC champion and his boxing skills:”I am not easily impressed, but @Francis_Ngannou knows how to box. THIS is what dedication looks like. #FuryNgannou #RiyadhSeason”